1. The Safest Rug Pads on Hardwood Floors
I’m sure you have heard the horror stories regarding flooring which has been ruined
due to substandard rug padding. Many of the rug retailers out there will give you a
low quality, inferior rug pad because it’s typically cheaper for them and they can
throw it in for free with your Oriental rug. Unless your close with your rug dealer,
do not simply choose the cheapest rug pad!
Sub par rug pads manufactured with cheap rubber and pvc materials will break
down over time, leaving a mark on your hardwood floors. At this time, polyvinyl rug
padding and pure 100% natural rubber rug pads are nowadays designed well
enough to overcome this issue.
Nowadays, many consumers are skeptical of anything less than 100% natural
rubber. The truth is however that all rubber rug pads that are labeled as “100%
natural rubber” are not actually 100% all natural rubber. All the major brands who
manufacture these natural rubber pads use fillers in addition to natural rubber
materials. All of them do, trust me, I have seen most of the major players facilities
and witnessed first hand. Even ours own pads rugpadusa.com , Super-Lock natural
and Econo-Lock rug pads use some degree of filler in them (although our natural
line of rug pads contain the highest level natural rubber available on the market).
Throughout my career, I have supplied rug and rug pads in New England for both
small and wholesale buyers. My top recommendation for the ideal rug pad on
hardwood surfaces depends entirely on the type of rug as well as the flooring. Your
budget also plays an important factor. You should never buy a $170 rug pad for
arug which only costs $215. You have to take into consideration the thickness,
sizing, type, and your spending budget when shopping for a rug padding. In regards
to a premium rug pad – I
think the best option is a
felt + rubber rug pad.
The two main choices on
the market are PVC or
Natural Rubber Rug Pads.
Pvc rug pads have come a
long way in the past 10
years. They used to be over
manufactured garbage that
would break down after 10 or so years. Nowadays, technology has caught up and
PVC pads will slowly start to overtake rubber rug pads in years to come. Some

2. higher end and luxury rug pads have begun using high performance polyvynil
materials in their production. With that being said, natural rubber rug pads are an
excellent solution. Their natural grip and long term durability/performance have
been proven year after year.
The combination of recycled felt along with natural rubber haveproved itself an
effective rug pad for any type of floor. Check out our Premium-Lock rug pads. They
use both recycled felt cloth along with all-natural rubber elements to improve both
floor gripping as well as provide extra support. They are extra thick to prevent
creeping and bunching – which tend to be common concerns from rug users. The
rubber backed bottom isdesigned to grip your floors as the upper felt surfaceclings
to your Oriental rug. One of the greatest aspect about these pads is that you could
easily flip these over, rubber facing up, to perform on wall surface rug setting.