The best rug pads to protect rugs and floors from furniture

If you love your floors and your rugs as much as you love your furniture but worry that particularly heavy or often-moved pieces may scratch your floors or indent, mar, or tear your rugs, the right rug pad is your simple solution.

High-quality, durable, solid-design pads are the best choices for placing under furniture to provide a barrier between your rug and floor and cushion to prevent heavier pieces from indenting or tearing rugs.

But pay attention to quality and materials. Not all solid rug pads are created equal. Some, made with plastics and other synthetics, glues, and clay fillers that can quickly disintegrate may actually cause more harm to your floors than furniture by sticking to, stripping, and staining your floors.

Be sure to look for natural rubber, natural felt, or a combination of the two. Precisely which pads will work best may depend primarily on the size of your rug and where you are placing it.

For Small and Light Rugs that Need Grip

Smaller, thinner rugs placed in high-traffic areas usually require pads with some grip to prevent them from slipping, bunching, or buckling so look for pads with some rubber as well as felt for cushion and floor and rug protection under furniture.

For a relatively low profile option, consider Contour Lock, a 1/8 inch-thick heat-pressed felt and rubber pad offers a strong grip and moderate levels of cushioning without bulking. Made in the USA from 100% recycled felt with a 100% natural rubber backing, this eco-friendly, moisture and-mildew resistant pad comes with a 15-year warranty.

For reliable grip with slightly more cushion, there’s Superior Lock. Available in two thicknesses, 1/4 inch and 7/16 inch, these pads are made with a bit more felt fabric than Contour Lock, using a gentle heat-pressing technique for great non-slip traction with thicker, more cushioned support. The needle-punched felt surface naturally clings to the bottom of rugs to anchor it to its surface. The natural rubber side grips to floors securely to keep rugs from slipping, sliding, bunching, or buckling. These pads work particularly well in places like living rooms and dining rooms, where chairs may be moved frequently, keeping rugs securely in place while protecting both rugs and floors from damage under tables and chairs.

For Large and Heavy Rugs that Don’t Need Grip

In general, heavy furniture is placed on larger rugs (that usually stay put on their own anyway) and will help to anchor rugs, so grip is less of an issue, if at all. Here, you can focus on thickness and cushion in 100% felt or foam pads.

Eco Plush pads are a great choice, available in three thicknesses, 1/2", 3/8", and 1/4", depending on how much cushion you’d like. Made of tightly woven, eco-friendly heat-pressed 100% recycled felt, Eco Plush pads will not only offer cushion and protect your floors and rugs for years to come, they’ll also help soundproof and insulate your home and improve acoustics.

To protect your floors and rugs from heavy furniture while enjoying the most luxurious cushion under larger rugs that don’t require non-slip pads, consider Cloud Comfort, made from the same high-quality, 100% visco-elastic memory foam found in premium mattresses. Available in two thicknesses, 1/4 inch and 7/16 inch, these ultra-cushiony pads offer the highest levels of sound absorption and insulation as well as superior floor and rug protection from even the heaviest pieced of furniture like beds, armoires, sofas and dining tables. Cloud Comfort pads are perfect for places where you want to be most comfortable, like bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, and dens.

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