My heavy furniture doesn't have feet. How do I protect the carpet?

January 10, 2017 2:26 PM

I need to protect the carpeted floor from some furniture I have. I've got some dressers (MALMs from Ikea) that have a rim around the bottom, rather then a discrete foot. Additionally, I've got a dresser with one long foot the length of the dresser on either side. What can I put under them to protect the floor, and where do I buy it?

With the bed, couch, etc, I've put down rubber feet from the hardware store. This won't work for the long feet or rim type bases. I was thinking long strips of rubber, or a mat, but have no idea where to get these. My only idea so far would be to get one of those rubber mats you put boots on and then cut it to size, but have a feeling that might be too thin (plus hard to cut).

So ideas on what to put down, and where to get it would be useful. I'm in Vancouver, BC (Well, Burnaby), if anyone has specific suggestions.

My backup/temporary plan involves multiple layers of cardboard, but I'd like something a bit more heavy duty.

posted by Canageek to Home & Garden (14 answers total)

They make several kinds of "coaster type" protectors.
I have some that are felt covered on the bottom for use on hardwood.
But there are many kinds. Perhaps a google search would give you ideas. Or even Amazon.
posted by JayRwv at 2:29 PM on January 10, 2017

I always put stick-on felt on the bottom of furniture like this. You can find it at most hardware stores, either in circles of various sizes, or (what might work better for you) strips or sheets that can be cut into strips.
posted by sapere aude at 2:31 PM on January 10, 2017 [4 favorites]

Yes, you want furniture felt strips. Should be able to get them at any hardware store.
posted by LKWorking at 2:37 PM on January 10, 2017

This is ugly, but it works great to minimize the dent that your furniture makes in the carpet: A small bamboo cutting board from Dollarama.
posted by clawsoon at 2:38 PM on January 10, 2017

Be very careful about introducing instability to the MALM line.

IKEA has already had product liability issues with this line because they fall over when the top drawers are open and filled with heavy things or pulled on by people. They are very front heavy (the backing is essentially nothing) so they are completely imbalanced. I assume since you are protecting carpet that you are probably not securing them to the wall with the mounts IKEA now provides and recommends.
posted by srboisvert at 3:23 PM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Lowes (or whatever big-box hardware store you've got) should sell stick-on felt strips you can cut to length, along with felt disks, felt rectangles, carpet sliders, etc. I was just looking at some last night, because we are needing to put felt protectors on all our furniture to protect our new floors.
posted by leahwrenn at 3:45 PM on January 10, 2017

Response by poster: Sorry, I should clarify: This is going on carpet, not solid floor. What I'm worried about is it compressing the carpet, not scratching the floor. So I've put those rubber cups that help absorb and distribute the weight under most of them, but am not sure what to do about these items. Wouldn't felt pads just prevent scratches on hard floors?
posted by Canageek at 4:18 PM on January 10, 2017

Best answer: The rubber cups help distribute the weight over a slightly wider area - it still compresses the carpet but not as sharply. To some degree, this furniture already has its weight spread out of a much bigger area (the entire length of the edge) instead of focused on just four little feet. I agree that felt strips wouldn't expand the area of contact so they won't help. A bamboo cutting board under each corner might be an improvement - you could do the math to calculate the total area of contact with and without. In any case you never get zero compression - for me, I just accept what I get with these kinds of items. If you can shift the item a few inches every couple months, the compression will be better than if you just leave it in the same spot for years.
posted by metahawk at 4:29 PM on January 10, 2017 [3 favorites]

Honestly I've never ever thought about damaging the carpet. About every three months I move the furniture (dressers and the like) to vacuum beneath it and within just a few passes of the beater brush, the carpet looks 95% of the carpet around the foot. I would imagine that within a few weeks the carpet padding would regain the majority of its loft as well. I can't imagine anything that you could put under a long ended that would distribute the weight without making the furniture unstable.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 4:36 PM on January 10, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: To protect the carpet you need the spikey kind of protector. I was just given an amazing wool rug that my grandmother made and I'm waiting by to put it down because the feet on my couch are oversized; I may just end up cutting one of these office mats to size. Perhaps you can place one (or two?) under the dresser. Note that the spikey protectors are available with different spike heights depending on the carpet pile.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:16 PM on January 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Sorry, I missed the carpet specification. Yes, Room 641-A has it, you want the kind with the plastic spikes pointing down to not compress the carpet.
posted by sapere aude at 8:48 PM on January 10, 2017

Response by poster: Thanks all, I think some of those should work. I looked at the furniture more closely and they do have feet, just very hard to see large ones. A couple of either those spikey pads or those rubber one should work. We've also set an alarm in our calendar to move all our furniture every three months.
posted by Canageek at 9:01 PM on January 10, 2017

I've also heard that you can melt an ice cube on dented carpet to restore it. No personal knowledge if it works, as I am blessed with wood floors.
posted by sarajane at 4:15 AM on January 11, 2017

I have seen the ice-cube-melting restoring carpet dents in action: it works, at least on dents from furniture in an art gallery. I do not know if it restores years-old dents.
posted by telophase at 2:32 PM on January 11, 2017