Buying Guide for Rug Pads
A rug pad is a sheet of material that serves as a buffer between your area rug and the floor. The purpose of a rug pad is to protect both the rug and the floor. It also protects you by making the rug less slippery. A non-slip rug pad holds the rug in place, softens the floor, makes cleaning easier, and dampens sounds.
Rug pads are used to provide a variety of benefits related to the protection of both rugs and floors while optimizing the use of your rug. A rug placed directly on the floor results in friction between the two surfaces, with dirt and debris getting trapped in between. This can cause staining and stripping of the flooring. Meanwhile, the rug slides around, making it unpleasant to walk on and tricky to clean.
Benefits of Rug Pads
Prevents Slips and Falls
If a rug is not held down by a coffee table or other piece of large furniture, it presents a safety risk for you and your family in the way of slips and falls. Pads underneath the rug eliminate that slippery aspect of rugs so there is no give when walking on top of the carpet in your home. To get it right, make sure you match the pad to the type of rug. Pads made for tile, linoleum, or wood floors should only be used on those surfaces.
Provides Protection for the Rug
Dirt particles wear away a rug's fabric over time. Debris that is trapped between a rug and the floor will tear into a carpet's materials when footsteps create pressure, which will create traffic lanes and limit a rug's life span. Padding beneath a rug provides protection against this damage and helps you maintain the value of your investment.
Helping with Cleaning
It is challenging to keep rugs looking great between professional cleanings. Another benefit of pads is they allow for more efficient vacuuming by providing a space for air to flow between carpet and floor. Vacuums work better when air flows underneath the rug, which allows you to remove dirt and debris that can damage the fabric. Naturally, solid pads don't provide this benefit, but carpet pads with air holes do.
Adding Extra Cushion
While some of the benefits to padding a rug are subtle, the extra cushion padding provides is obvious. You will feel the effect in every step you take over your area rugs. You can feel confident the pads are protecting your rugs and allowing for safer conditions, but walking with the extra cushion will allow you to enjoy the functionality of rugs more than ever.
Factors to Consider Before Buying of Rug Pads
Thickness
A rug pad's thickness can alter its height as well as its comfort level. Flat pads work well with both thick and low-pile rugs, but they're especially helpful when dealing with taller piles. For plush shag pile rugs, their level surface provides great grip and surface protection without pushing an already tall rug further off the ground. In contrast, plumped-up selections give a flat or low pile rugs added height. Some of the thick rug pads reach upwards of half an inch and provide soft shock absorbers for knotted as well as braided styles. When dealing with natural or resilient materials like wool, the added padding gives already strong fibers a base to quickly spring back into shape.
Material
Materials shape how a rug pad performs under normal conditions. Many selections combine both natural and synthetic materials to create specialized blends based on their usage, location, and selected features. Natural mediums provide a strong surface without harmful chemicals or dyes. Synthetic options offer affordable solutions that retain their bounce after years of use.
Special Features
Choosing the best rug pad often depends on which special features you're looking for. Individual pads may incorporate several features based on the mix of materials and overall thickness. Soundproofing is one of the most popular choices because it reduces noise, especially in large spaces. Pads utilize thick materials like felt to cushion footsteps and decrease the sound levels when dealing with older hardwood flooring.
Finding the Perfect Fit
Finding the right fit is essential to using a rug pad to its full potential. When selecting a rug pad, start by looking at the floor that will be under it. While some flooring will take to any type of padding, others take better to selected materials. For example, wool or plant-based products work well on vinyl flooring and prevent marks from reaching the surface. Natural fiber rugs can benefit from rubber or PVC pads that increase traction.
Conclusion
Check out the shape and rug pad size before you buy. As a rule, the rug itself should completely cover the pad on all sides and include a slight overhang. If a rug pad is slightly larger or in a different shape, cut it to ensure the best placement.
To get more information about your buying options, go through some of the best outdoor rug pads that we have listed in our featured section above. They are been reviewed and are recommended on the basis of their quality, performance, and durability.
