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Flooring Design Dilemma Before & After

Protecting hardwood floors

Laura Grosmaire

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

We put in white oak floors w/water based finish approximately 18 months ago. Under the stereo system, we placed a ~ 3x5 piece of wool carpet (the underside was not "soft") over a "grid" plastic/rubber like no skid sheet (common type) to protect floor from scratchy stuff on bottom of carpet piece. I inquired about whether the grid would be safe on floor and was assured AOK. I've never had a warm fuzzy about it and yesterday bought the more traditional felt like carpet pads (which also has a rubbery no skid side) to place under. Low and behold, when we pulled stereo cabinet out last night, there were 2 darkish lines on wood along line of weight bearing bottom of cabinet and additionally, a very faint grid pattern on wood where pad was. The grid is not from plastic micro pieces, I tried cleaning up with damp washcloth, it appears to be in finish (?). So, what now? Use the pad we just bought? Is there a, "yes, this really is safe", option out there? We gave the floors some time to cure (~2 weeks) before we did this, do you think this is the problem? Or is it unique to water based finish? Etc. Any words of experience/wisdom appreciated. The floor is so beautiful, hate to see it marred.

dark lines + grid:

closeup of grid (no grid on top/grid on bottom):

This type of "pad":

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Comments (5)

PRO
HALLETT & Co.
5 years ago
Wow. Surprised to see this with a waterbased finish. I would get felt sliders and stick them on the bottom of the stereo equipment in lieu of the rug. Hopefully it will fade with time.
tatts
5 years ago
I had the same thing happen to the insides of my kitchen drawers when I put that same liner in them to keep stuff from sliding around. It's a water-based finish on drawers that I built and finished myself.

I just checked, and I see the same thing in the master bath vanity, a commercial product--don't know what kind of clear finish it is.

The dots are from the soft foam where it touches the finish; they aren't from light getting in through the holes. It's a contact thing.
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Thanks all for these helpful commments. I followed the link about padding for hardwood floors and was pleased to see that rebond polyurethane is recommended since it is cheap. Someone gave us some nice free carpet remnants and some nice-looking polyurethane padding with one coated side, but for some reason that padding has a strong chemical smell, so I guess we will have to bite the bullet and actually put out some cash for new padding. I'm intrigued by the idea of using another area rug as padding for this carpet, but it sounds expensive and too thick! In answer to the question of whether we couldn't have rented a place without hardwood, what a sensible question :-) But actually, we were really lucky to rent a place at all with three large dogs! And our rental happens to be right across the street from the house we're remodeling! So no, we didn't have another option anywhere near this attractive. I wouldn't risk just clipping the dogs' nails in this situation to protect the wood, so a pad under our temporary carpet it shall be. The advice to roll up the carpet periodically to remove carried-in dirt is obviously from a fellow experienced dog owner :-) and is very well-taken. Fortunately, our dogs are all very reliable in terms of housebreaking so we don't expect any problems in that area. Thank you all so much for your kind input!
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I found this product online. I also put a few scatter rugs around, mostly for the dog so she didn't slip! Good Luck! Here is a link that might be useful: stair protection
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Yes, I confess, I am a closet clean freak. I try to pretend I am not but really I can not help it. I don't love to clean, I just can't relax if I walk on a floor with even one tiny little sand grit on my foot. Even with college roomates I was the girl cleaning at 3 am. While everyone was passed out drunk. I was raised this way. You should see my sisters. We all scrub our floors on hands and knees. No one walks in our homes with shoes on. Every night before bed I wipe down the floors in the kitchen. Maids quit with me they don't get fired. : ) I must be from a long line of cleaning ladies... When I gave birth to my first child, my mother and aunts arrived. My husband was shocked to find one aunt scrubbing the sidewalk in front of our home. She bleached the steps and walkway. It was then DH realized that he married into a family of clean freaks. Sorry to go off topic. I guess this is why the felt pads work for my floor. Or maybe it is me working for the felt pads. > Boxerpups (Yes, I chase dog hair like the rest of the world)
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Take a look at Slipsticks. I haven't used them yet but read about them here. They seem like a good alternative to felt pads. Here is a link that might be useful: Slipstick
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Laura Grosmaire
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you both for your responses. A little searching took me to these customer reviews. . . Argh. And they are labeled as "safe" for hardwood floors. How can there not be liability in this?

We'll buy felt pads, lesson learned, $3000 hardwood floor later. . .

https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Premium-5-ft-x-7-ft-Non-Slip-Rug-to-Floor-Gripper-Pad-RGP58/100648255
SJ McCarthy
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Sigh...the description tells it all: "...PVC..."

Sorry but PVC is VINYL!!!! And VINYL has a chemical reaction to hardwood floor finishes! They are not allowed to go anywhere near each other. Vinyl and latex (natural rubber as well as most forms of man-made rubber) are DEATH to hardwood floor finishes. The 'plasticizers' in vinyl (PVC) and in latex/rubber products (the stuff that makes them soft and 'rubbery') are the culprits.

These plasticizers are have a chemical reaction (touch) once placed on top of the urethane/polyurethane finishes. And to be clear, it is the hardwood floor/finish manufacturer that dictates if something is 'safe' for use on hardwoods. Which the link does not say....it just says "protects hardwood floors"...but it does not have the magic words: "Safe for Use with Hardwood Floors".

I'm sorry this has happened. To figure out if any of this has to do with "curing", simply run your fingers over the grid pattern. If you can "feel" the grid pattern, then it is a curing issue (the weft has left indentations IN the finish = soft finish = curing was not allowed given enough time). I would go with felt in this area until the time comes to have the floors refinished (in 20 years or so). Good luck.
Laura Grosmaire
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for that, very useful information. If you look at questions under the review page, you will find a question, "Is this pad safe for hardwood floors/will it discolor or damage?". There is at least one response that says no, their floor was damaged but an "Expert"/HD Advisor says, yes, and that it will not discolor or mar your floor. This is clearly not the case as you very clearly explain why. In the specs it says it can be "used on hard surfaces". I get the vagueness of that, but then they go on to say to not use on rugs which have just been cleaned (don't know if they're talking moisture or chemical rxns). Regardless, my only hope now is to prevent others from making the same mistake.

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