Several years ago, I purchased a woven natural-fiber rug with a pretty design.

It stank.

Really. To high heaven. When the weather warmed up, it released the aroma of burning rubber -- or something worse -- that permeated the upstairs. It wasn't a cheap rug either. So I moved it outdoors to a patio area. I thought a rug would look great, and it did. Eventually rain and weather washed the smell away. Unfortunately it also mildewed and rotted the fibers. At the end of summer, I cut it up and carted it away.

That didn't stop my quest to transform a small patio space into an "outdoor living room." When I noticed outdoor rugs being touted in magazines, catalogs and stores such as Target, Home Depot and others, I bought one. A red-and-white kilim design made of recycled polypropylene measuring 5-by-8 feet. It cost less than $40 and weighs as much as an empty milk jug.

Most of these rugs are made from polypropylene, a plastic product that, if it bears the recycled label, means it was made out of recycled plastic milk jugs. Some of the polypropylene products are virgin, some are recycled. Some go by the brand name Olefin, others DuraCord. The fibers are put on the same looms as regular rugs, and the finished product can be as intricate as a Persian or as basic as a rag. Prices are reflective of the heft of the product and intricacy of the pattern.

Most are priced below $100, although thicker rugs cost more.

Outdoor rugs come in a variety of colors and patterns, including Persian and kilim, Native American motifs, stripes, flouncy flowers, reversibles, bright or earthy or muted tones. There also are the sedate color-bound models or jacquard borders in soft, natural tones. Rugs can be woven or hooked. There also are bamboo fiber rugs.

Manufacturers all make the same claims: all-weather, resistant to mildew, mold, fading and pool chemicals.

"There's a real trend lately for people to decorate outdoors like they decorate indoors. Rugs are part of that trend. All of our lawn and garden furniture and accessories are trending more upscale. The rugs are made for outside -- all-weather proof, mold and mildew resistant," says Bob Myshka, assistant manager at Target Superstore in Waterloo.

Woven rugs are the most popular, says Tim Fooks, one of Home Depot's kitchen and bath designers at the Atlanta home office.

He can't put a life expectancy on these rugs, as they have only been on the market for two years, but he says the early reports are good and there haven't been any negative comments.

"The best way to clean them is to use one of those soft scrub brushes, with a gentle detergent and hose them off - they look wonderful," says Fooks. If you are using your outdoor rug on a wooden deck he suggests hanging it over a railing to dry as the rug, saturated with water, might damage the wood.

The only things he has found that are harmful to the polypropylene fiber are fabric dyes and petrochemicals such as oil-based paint. Latex paint, which spilled on one of his rugs, hosed off.