Help me pad my rug.
June 12, 2011 10:44 AM Subscribe
Do most people put rug pads under area rugs that are on hardwood floors? I am a rug-owning n00b.
I have an area rug used in a similar way to this one. I realized after going to a friend's house that her rug felt so much plusher and nicer because she had a rug pad underneath. My rug is laying straight on top of my hardwood floors.
1) Can this do any sort of damage?
2) I'm noticing there are different types of rug pads - is one type better than another?
3) Do most people put rug pads under their rugs? My house growing up was all carpet so I have no experience with this sort of thing.
I have an area rug used in a similar way to this one. I realized after going to a friend's house that her rug felt so much plusher and nicer because she had a rug pad underneath. My rug is laying straight on top of my hardwood floors.
1) Can this do any sort of damage?
2) I'm noticing there are different types of rug pads - is one type better than another?
3) Do most people put rug pads under their rugs? My house growing up was all carpet so I have no experience with this sort of thing.
My parents always do, as do/did both of my grandmothers. I have exactly one rug in my house, it's in front of the stove and I put a pad on it because I stand there a lot and my feet feel better if I have a pad. Also, rugs are slippery, and that's no good.
Watch out for cheap pads. Depending on humidity and such, they can leave marks or even bits of plastic on the floor. Not an issue on linoleum, so much, but a bear on nice wood floors. You also still need to remove the rug and pad and clean fairly frequently - crud gets underneath the pads.
posted by SMPA at 10:52 AM on June 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Watch out for cheap pads. Depending on humidity and such, they can leave marks or even bits of plastic on the floor. Not an issue on linoleum, so much, but a bear on nice wood floors. You also still need to remove the rug and pad and clean fairly frequently - crud gets underneath the pads.
posted by SMPA at 10:52 AM on June 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Rug pads don't just make the rug feel more plush, on smaller rugs it helps keep the rug from shifting and sliding around. It's a safety thing.
posted by TooFewShoes at 10:52 AM on June 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by TooFewShoes at 10:52 AM on June 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
We just bought a house with hardwood floors and had to get two new pads as well. I'm not an expert on this, but I find the pads to be great. They add a bit of padding and in some ways more importantly they keep the rugs in place.
We got actually two different types of pads, one was the Gray fibrous types (I don't know the technical name) and one of the Tan Grid type. I can't tell a real difference between the two (they are also under different rugs) The Tan grid was definitely easier to trim if you need to do that (we had to cut down both pads) because you can line up a row of the grid cells as you cut. The other type took some careful work with a straight edge and a utility knife.
posted by bitdamaged at 10:52 AM on June 12, 2011
We got actually two different types of pads, one was the Gray fibrous types (I don't know the technical name) and one of the Tan Grid type. I can't tell a real difference between the two (they are also under different rugs) The Tan grid was definitely easier to trim if you need to do that (we had to cut down both pads) because you can line up a row of the grid cells as you cut. The other type took some careful work with a straight edge and a utility knife.
posted by bitdamaged at 10:52 AM on June 12, 2011
Response by poster: We don't have the problem with sliding because a couch and chair anchor the rug on two sides and an ottoman anchors it in the middle.
posted by kthxbi at 11:03 AM on June 12, 2011
posted by kthxbi at 11:03 AM on June 12, 2011
Best answer: Following on bitdamaged's comment, the cheaper tan grid type of pad isn't so much a pad as a non-slip solution for safety. It'll keep you from sailing across the room on your rug. The real downside of them is they often--almost always in my experience--leave permanent marks on the floor because of plastic interacting with the hardwood or stain or... something, I don't know. It happens. The thicker, fibrous types are more expensive but offer that plusher feeling underfoot. And they don't leave gunk or marks on the floor. You can get this type of pad from carpet stores, but they're often cheaper from carpet cleaning places. I've paid $80-100 for a 9x12 pad of this type, and because I'm a dog owner, I get a new one whenever I have the carpets professionally cleaned every few years.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 11:05 AM on June 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 11:05 AM on June 12, 2011 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I use a rug pad to prevent dirt and dust from getting trapped beneath the rug and scratching the hardwood floor. Purchased a felted rug pad at Overstock.com, it's very thick and seems to work well. As others have noted, watch out for ones that stick to the floor and leave permanent marks.
posted by bCat at 11:13 AM on June 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by bCat at 11:13 AM on June 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Looks like I'm going to be buying a felted rug pad. Thanks all!
posted by kthxbi at 11:31 AM on June 12, 2011
posted by kthxbi at 11:31 AM on June 12, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
My rug pads were bought with the rugs (orientals) more than 10 years ago, so I can't help with pad purchase decisions. I'm expecting an expert to pop up and tell me that I need to get new ones after 10 years now that I've mentioned that.
posted by immlass at 10:51 AM on June 12, 2011