The Best Carpet Pad for Pets (and Why You Should Get One Today)

Pets are like kids — they’re adorable, loving, and friendly. But, they can wreak havoc on your home at a moment’s notice.

If you’ve ever lived with a pet, you understand that mishaps happen. Your dog spills water on your carpet, pees from excitement when you get home, or runs into your home with muddy paws. Plus, you can’t forget your enthusiastic cat who loves to scratch the carpet.

It’s the typical day in the life of a pet owner. So, you’ll have to take a few extra measures to safeguard your carpet and floors.

You can start by investing in a carpet pad for pets.

As people who have lived with animals, we’d love to share what we’ve learned about carpet pads for pets.

You Might Also Like: Five Practical Tips for Pet Proofing Your Home

Why Get Carpet or Rugs With Pets?

For the most part, carpets and rugs are seen as centerpieces or talking points. However, when you have pets, you have to think past the beauty aspect of a carpet or rug – you also need functionality!

Benefits

Keep your space clean — The moment your pet returns indoors after being outside, they’re tracking in dirt from wherever they’ve been. The remedy to this would be to place a washable carpet square or rug at your house entrances, ensuring that the dirt doesn’t get past the doorway.

Carpets dampen sound — Pets are hyper and will run around playing with toys, barking at the mail carrier, or just run for the sake of running. While it’s cute and funny sometimes, it can also make a lot of noise. A carpet or rug can muffle the little taps their nails make on tile or hardwood floors.

Warm, soft floors — Pets will lay down almost anywhere in the house. The least you can do is provide them with a warm, soft surface to lay on when they’re not in their beds. This is especially true if you don’t want your pets hanging out on the furniture all the time.

Prevent scratches and accidents — Your pet might damage your hardwood floors. Back to the whole running thing – it’s cute and fun… until your hard floors are covered in tons of scratches from their nails. However, if you’re using a rug or carpet, those scratches won’t happen. Plus, if your pet has an accident, the right carpet or rug pad will provide a barrier to keep the liquid off your floor and give you time to clean it up.

Disadvantages

Stains — If your dog really loves mud or is still working on house training, you can probably expect to see stains on your carpet and rug regardless of how diligent you are. (Though they can generally get cleaned up.)

High maintenance — If your pet is stepping or laying on the carpet or rug every day, it will collect fur, dirt, etc. You’ll need to vacuum the carpet regularly and schedule professional cleaning to remove tough stains.

What Is the Best Carpet Pad for Pets?

While your carpet or rug can absorb some liquid, you don’t want to let it just sit there because a) it’ll start to smell and b) the moisture can stick around and damage the floor underneath!

This is where carpet padding comes into play.

The primary goal of pet-friendly carpet padding is to protect your floors, not your carpet. Pet accidents are bound to happen, but you can use padding to maintain your hardwood floors’ pristine condition underneath because pet-proof pads will act as a moisture barrier to give you time to clean up the liquid.

waterproof carpet padding

There is a wide array of padding available, but the best types of carpet padding for pets are waterproof rug pads. These create a moisture barrier that will block liquid from getting to your floors so you can easily clean up the liquid like you would on any hard surface.

Here is the best rug padding for your pets.

SpillTech RugPad

SpillTech is arguably the best rug padding you can get with pets, because it features Scotchgard’s Advanced Repel Technology. This helps create a barrier that prevents liquids from seeping through the padding to your floors.

Shop SpillTech

The pad is ⅜” thick and uses polyurethane foam — a material commonly used for residential rug padding.

Overall, the rug pad offers decent cushioning, but the feature that most stands out is the moisture barrier, as seen in this review from a user:

A must-have for pet households

“This rug pad has certainly been put to the test by my two 65 pound dogs. The waterproof properties bring me peace of mind knowing that I don’t have to worry about accidents seeping through the rug pad. I clean up the mess with a portable rug cleaner and bring in the experts every so often to deep clean the rugs. Their pad offers good cushion- I can sit comfortably on the living room floor to play with my daughter. I’ve since added this product to my dining room and will put one in the playroom as well.”

— Allison J.

What Does a Pet-Proof Carpet Pad Really Mean?

A pet-proof carpet pad is another term for a moisture-proof pad. The idea is to prevent moisture, especially pet urine, from seeping to the floor.

This type of carpet padding tends to be pricier than regular padding, but if you have pets, it’s often worth the price for the peace of mind knowing your floors underneath are safe.

They’re made from a wide array of frothed foam, visco-elastic foam padding, or even a Soybean oil-based polymer blend. In addition to the foam padding, pet-proof pads tend to have an extra layer that’s water-proof.

What to Consider When Choosing a Pet-Proof Carpet Pad

When choosing the right padding for your pet, you want to consider several different features such as durability, stain resistance, and waterproofing. Let’s get into it.

Durability

The pad needs to be sturdy enough to protect your floors and carpet. Keep in mind that factors such as density and thickness can influence durability.

Density is another term for weight, and it’s denoted in pounds per cubic foot. Typically, the thickness of rug pads ranges from 3–10 pounds per cubic foot so there’s a pretty wide range. The more dense the pad, the heavier it’ll be and the more durable.

The ideal density for maximum comfort and durability with pets ranges from 6–10 pounds per cubic foot.

In terms of thickness, you want about ⅜” as it’s more comfortable for your pets and for sitting on. This kind of thickness is comfortable enough for your pets but is also durable.

However, if the pad’s in a high-traffic area, you might want to choose a thinner pad with a higher density to avoid a tripping hazard.

Stain Resistance

If you’re buying a rug pad for your pets, you probably want it to be stain resistant. But, how do you know if it is?

Check the product description. If it’s waterproof, it’s going to be pretty stain resistant too.

Stains typically result from moisture seeping through an object and then drying up, thus leaving a patch. Therefore, if pet urine can’t get into the pad, consider it stain resistant.

Note: Since the pad goes under the rug, unfortunately this doesn’t stop the rug from getting stained, so you’ll still want to keep some good carpet or rug cleaning handy too.

Waterproofing

One of the ways pet owners can pet-proof their homes is to invest in waterproof rug pads.

Pet accidents will probably happen at one point or another, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. With a waterproof pad under your rug, your floors are about as safe as they can be.

The rug pad will ensure that any spills or pet accidents don’t damage your floor.

Is Moisture Barrier Carpet Padding Worth the Price?

Yes, it is. However, it’s not a magical feature that will prevent pet accidents. A moisture barrier will only stop the spills from leaking through to the floor.

If the pad is installed correctly, the spills remain on the surface of the rug pad. This means that whatever was spilled will be trapped between the pad and the rug.

Since your waterproof pad isn’t absorbing the spills, your rug will be exposed to urine or moisture damage. If you don’t clean it fast, the spills will spread out, and most of it will be absorbed by your rug. Eventually, you’ll have to get a new rug or start off with a washable cotton rug.

So, is the moisture barrier worth it? Yes. It’s easier and cheaper to buy a new carpet or rug after several years of cleaning than to replace your hardwood floors because of staining.

Also, you’ll need to learn how to get rid of the odors. For example, if your pet pees on the carpet, the smell can stick if it’s not cleaned properly.

Find the Best Overall Carpet Pad

If you don’t have pets, a rug pad is still a good idea to put under your rug to protect and prolong your rug and floors – you just may not need a waterproof one.

That’s why RugPadUSA is here — we have all types of rug pads for your needs from non slip to memory foam. If you want a rug pad for your high-rise area rugs or flat woven rugs, we’ve got you covered.

At RugPadUSA, we aim to provide the best rug pad for your needs at a favorable price. If you have any questions, talk to our experts and they’ll help you figure out what you need for your rugs.