Heat-resistant rug pads for radiant heat floors

If you love the warm, cozy feeling of your heated floors, but worry about rugs or rug pads being damaged by radiant heat flooring or sticking to them, no worries. A number of different types of high quality rug pads will protect your rugs and your floors while keeping rugs from slipping and providing added cushion and comfort. Whether you have heated tile, heated hardwood, or other kinds of radiant heat flooring, these rug pads can take the heat, naturally, and won’t ever melt, stick, or disintegrate.

They key is in the materials. While plastics and other synthetic (and even some natural polymer materials) can be risky to use on heated floors, natural felt and rubber are always perfectly safe. While all-felt pads will last the longest, you may need the grip and lower profile of pads with some natural rubber in them. Here are a few good options, qualified by the amount of grip and cushion you might need or want under your rugs and where in the house you might be placing them.

Rug pads made with rubber, felt, or a combination of these two materials are safest to use with heated floors because they will not melt, stick, or disintegrate.

Low-Profile Rug Pads for Heated Floors

For high-traffic areas, particularly entryways and hallways where floor clearance might be an issue, you’ll want a strong gripping pad with minimal lift. RugPro is your best option. Made with a layer of coarse felt designed to grab and hold the bottom of rugs and a solid natural rubber backing to keep rugs firmly anchored on the floor, this pad is highperformance but very low profile. RugPro’s solid design offers full floor coverage to prevent rug fibers and dirt from accumulating between the rug and the floor, but it’s needle-punched using very small holes to allow rugs and floors to breathe and facilitate air flow, especially important on heated floors.

If you’d like a bit of subtle cushion under your rugs but still need to keep a relatively low profile, consider Contour Lock. This 1/8 inch-thick felt and rubber pad offers a strong grip and moderate levels of cushioning without bulking. This pad offers a great overall value for reliable grip and subtle cushioning.

Cushioned Rug Pads for Heated Floors

For more cushion, particularly under larger rugs in living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms under tile or hardwood heated floors, there’s Superior Lock, combining the best of both grip and cushion. Made with more felt and a gentle heat-pressing technique, Superior Lock offers unyielding, non-slip traction with thick, cushioned support. It’s essentially a thick layer of felt combined with a thinner non-slip, natural rubber pad. The needle-punched felt surface naturally clings to the bottom of rugs while offering extra softness and comfort in two thicknesses, 1/4 inch and 7/16 inch.

For larger rugs, 8x10 and over — particularly those placed in living rooms, dining rooms, dens and bedrooms where you’ll want generally more cushion — 100% recycled felt Eco Plush pads can work very well. While these all-felt pads do not offer any grip, the weight of these larger rugs generally anchors the rug in place, as does furniture that usually sits on these rugs. Eco Plush is made of 100% heat-pressed felt for sumptuous cushioning that’s naturally able to tolerate the changing temperatures of heated flooring.

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