Confusion over Rug Pads for Harwood Floors, HELP!

16 years ago

We had harwood floors installed in our new home. The are 5" wide oak board, stained English Chesnut, and finished with water based urethane - Basics coatings. I have two Karastan rugs I'd like to put down. When I contacted Karatan, they recommended a dual type rug pad with rubber on one side (to go against the floor) and felt on the other. When I asked Basics, they said that any rug pad with synthetic PVC would cause discoloration of hardwood floors. They suggested a natural rubber waffle pad so the floors could "breath". When I went to an area carpet dealer - quite reputable - he said the waffle pad will dry rot and stick to the floor. HELP! I don't know who is correct. I'm more worried about our hardwood floors than wear to the rugs. I don't understand why I have to put anything down - the backing of these rugs are not scratchy! And the rugs are large and heavy.

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Jbrig

16 years ago

Libby,

I just had a similar decision to make for my hardwood floors. After researching online, I called Vantage Industries(longtime mfr of rug pads, a division of Leggett & Platt) and asked them which of their products they recommended. In my case, I wanted a pad that would also provide maximum cushioning but could also be used w/ furniture on top of it. The rep recommended their Super Movenot, which is a dual pad like Karastan recommended to you. I found the best price on it at Sears.com ($80 for the 8'x11'). It has a 15 yr warranty, I believe, "not to mar, stain, or discolor" floors or carpet.

Oh, one other important thing the rep told me was that if the floor had been recently stained or poly'd, then you should wait 6 wks before putting down a rug pad or rug to avoid lifting of the floor color.

Hope that helps--at least till you get some other replies!

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Comments (13)

glennsfc
16 years ago
Most waterborne polyurethane wood floor finishes are totally cured in about seven (7) days. Read the manufacturer's literature to determine when rugs can be spread out over newly-finished wood flooring.
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I just blithely did a little search for you sue, thinking I would come up with all sorts of options, & I'm really dismayed to discover that the felt pads of yore are....well, just that....yore :( I have several pads made of felt & horsehair that I've had for many, many years - I had a huge horsehair pad that I just keep cutting to fit smaller rugs. And I expect them to last for many more years. Which is why I haven't had to shop for one for a long time. Everything now is synthetic, but the good news is that you can still find synthetic felt pads - hopefully they are no less damaging to your floors than the felt pads are. Still, check out your local rug dealers - the ones who sell area rugs, & see what they have. The problem with most synthetics is that they bond to your flooring & create damage that can be very hard to repair w/o resurfacing. And/or the pad is too thick & the carpet gets dents that turn into worn fiber. And/or the pad does nothing but keep the carpet from slipping & ruin the floor underneath at the same time. BTW, if your carpet is a thick one, you're probably better off w/o a pad. HTH, & good luck!
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Jbrig
16 years ago
Thanks for that info, glennsfc. I will certainly be checking into that for my flooring, as I didn't want to have to pull my new rug out of my room for 6 weeks!
libbytrostle
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the info!
Laura6NJ
11 years ago
I have rubber on one side, felt on the other. The reason you can not just put the rug down is because it will slip a little here and there and dirt will work its way through the rug so dirt plus a rug moving is like sand paper on the hardwood.

I also vacuum under the whole rug every couple weeks so any dirt that does work its way down doesn't do any damage.
Jennifer Witeby
3 years ago
Do you put the rubber side or felt side down? Which side touches the floor?
Roslyn Mac
2 years ago
Jennifer - that's the answer I'm looking for, too as I have a hardwood floor.
Debbi Wendt
2 years ago
I can’t believe no one will say which side goes on hardware floor? Can’t find this answer anywhere!,
Laura6NJ
2 years ago
I just happened to come back across this. Rubber side down (on the wood), felt side on the rug side. So, it has been 8 years since I originally responded. My 10 x 15 foot area rug with the rubber side on the wood floor has not caused any damage to the wood floor. Life has become more busy so I probably vacuum under it once a month now. My other area rug which has a waffle type pad has left marks on my wood floor.
Jbrig
2 years ago
I originally replied to this comment 14 years ago 😬

I used the abovementioned rug pad for 8 years (rubber side down) and had no marking on my hardwood floor. I've since moved, but that rug pad is still in excellent shape and is being used again at my current home on another hardwood floor I also bought a similar pad a couple of years ago to use in another room on hardwood flooring, and it has done just as well.
tdemonti
last year
@Laura6NJ and @Jbrig, I'm shopping for rug padding now. Do you know the brand or manufacturer of the rug padding?
Jbrig
last year
tdemonti, one brand is Rug Pad USA. They have a website, but they also sell through Amazon. I prefer to go through Amazon bc they have free shipping/free return option (on some sizes), plus Amazon always has excellent customer service, in the event I had issues.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/C0F9CB19-6BA8-48D3-90A4-DF14DE5C0E2E/?encoding=UTF8&store_ref=SB_A0624846GA9FT7NGHD8Z&pd_rd_plhdr=t&aaxitk=11cf8d58ba3be5864bb990b851af8217&hsa_cr_id=3808631820001&lp_asins=B01HN7U7KA%2CB0149KH2ZW&lp_query=Rug%20pad%20usa%20contour%20lock&lp_slot=auto-sparkle-hsa-tetris&ref=sbx_be_s_sparkle_ssd_cta&pd_rd_w=ifQ3G&content-id=amzn1.sym.53aae2ac-0129-49a5-9c09-6530a9e11786%3Aamzn1.sym.53aae2ac-0129-49a5-9c09-6530a9e11786&pf_rd_p=53aae2ac-0129-49a5-9c09-6530a9e11786&pf_rd_r=8QNY7A546DJ1JEJ0CV7K&pd_rd_wg=RSSvw&pd_rd_r=2459101c-8848-4353-a97b-024207510772
tdemonti
last year
Thank you very much

Confusion over Rug Pads for Harwood Floors, HELP!

Jbrig

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glennsfc

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Confusion over Rug Pads for Harwood Floors, HELP!

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