Do Rug Pads Damage Hardwood Floors?

Hardwood flooring is expensive, and installing or repairing it is best left to experts. It is also prone to discoloration, scratches, and moisture buildup. An area rug provides comfort, warmth, and protection for your hardwood floor, while the padding prevents tripping hazards and bunched runners and extends the rug's lifespan.

Do rug pads damage hardwood floors?

Rug pads can scratch the floor and cause discoloration or staining. Avoid cheap, inferior-quality area rug pads. Spend more on high-quality rug pads. In this post, I'll guide you on the best area rug pads to invest in and why, how to clean hardwood floors after removing an area rug, and more.

It's a resourceful and interesting post! Read till the end.

Do Rug Pads Damage Hardwood Floors?

Poor-quality rug pads trap oil, dirt, debris, and dust, resulting in hardwood floor discoloration and scratching over time.

High-quality rug pads don't damage the flooring; they reduce wear and tear. Investing in top-quality rug pads also helps keep your rug in place, which increases safety while walking on it and makes vacuuming much easier.

Thick rug pads also make walking on the area rug more comfortable, reduce noise from heavy footsteps, and extend the lifespan of your rugs.

Opt for breathable area rugs with padding made of natural materials; they offer great grip, are safe to walk on, and are easy to clean.

Take caution. There are many cheap counter fake area pads. They break down easily and turn into powder, causing your rug to come into contact with the hardwood flooring, resulting in floor finishing damages, especially in high-traffic areas.

Does the Quality of the Rug Pad Matter?

The quality of an area rug pad matters. A low-quality rug pad poses great health to you and your loved ones and also damages your hardwood flooring. Some low-quality rug pads are toxic, while others stick to the floor, permanently damaging it.

Toxic Padding

Inexpensive imported plastic padding under area rugs can release toxic chemicals, stain floors, and emit harmful gases.Inexpensive imported plastic padding under area rugs can release toxic chemicals, stain floors, and emit harmful gases.

When the oils, adhesives, and chemicals from your area rug padding react with the chemicals in the hardwood floor finish, they release toxins in your home.

For example, phthalates, often used to make rug pads harder, are highly toxic. Phthalates are also dissolving agents; they could damage your hardwood floor, especially a new one.

Adhesive Coating Damages the Floor

The adhesive on most imported plastic rug pads is meant to keep rugs in place, but it doesn't grip the floor; it sticks permanently, causing damage. The adhesive also creates lumps on the floor, causing serious damage to the rug and the hardwood floor.

Avoid cheap plastic area rug pads; they feature a poor-quality adhesive.

Do Area Rugs Damage Hardwood Floors?

Area rugs provide comfort and warmth underfoot, enhance the aesthetics of your home, and protect your hardwood floor from wear and tear and scratches. Take precautions and have a good budget when buying an area rug because a poor-quality, cheap rug causes abrasion and scratching, chemical reactions, moisture trapping, and fading.

A lack of area rug padding (or high-quality padding) results in area rugs damaging hardwood flooring. To test if the rug pad will scratch your hardwood flooring, turn one of its corners so that its backside faces the ceiling.

Rub your knuckles against the backside of the area rug with a little pressure. If the rug is rough on your knuckles, it will damage your hardwood flooring.

Persian hand-knotted rugs, for example, are knuckle-friendly. They also feature a scrim along the backside but require much thicker padding. Thick padding is essential because these rugs slip easily, making them dangerous for use on hardwood flooring.

Listed are some common ways rugs damage hardwood floors.

Chemical Reactions

Tufted rugs featuring rubber and carpet adhesives can react with your hardwood flooring, resulting in a damaged finish or discoloration. Area rugs made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material can react with the hardwood flooring, resulting in discoloration.

Abrasion and Scratching

Area rugs that lack padding or backing move around when walked on or during cleaning, resulting in abrasion and scratching of the hardwood flooring.

When an area rug traps debris, dust, and dirt, it scratches the flooring when people walk on it or vacuum it, dulling the luster and sheen of the hardwood flooring. Regularly mopping the hardwood floor and area rugs helps prevent abrasion and scratching, thus extending their lifespan.

Fading

Area rugs cover only certain portions of the floor, making the areas exposed to direct sunlight fade or darken. Rotating the area rug helps prevent uneven hardwood floor discoloration.

Moisture Tapping

Act immediately after liquid spills or cat pees on the carpet or area rug to prevent moisture buildup. Moisture buildup under area rugs and carpets results in staining, warping, or cupping the hardwood floor.

Embedding the Uncured Finish

If you put an area rug on a newly installed hardwood floor, the uncured/soft floor finish embeds and seeps into the rug, damaging both the rug and the floor. Wait at least one month so the floor finish can graduate from 'soft and vulnerable' to 'hard and long lasting.'

Some hardwood finishes require at least six months before you place an area rug, especially those that lose or gain color quickly. Hardwood floors also need enough time to gain or shed color, so consider the type of hardwood floor you're using, its finish and the manufacturer's recommendation before putting area rugs on it.

This is key in helping the new hardwood floor settle completely, ensuring that the off-gas from the finish has dissipated fully, and ensuring that there's no discoloration or damage once the area rug is placed on the floor.

Which Are the Best Rugs to Hide Damaged Hardwood?

You can use rugs to hide damaged hardwood floors until you can afford a new one. Natural fiber rugs with a good padding area are ideal because they're soft and warm to your feet, have a breathable material that prevents moisture buildup underneath, and offer great grip to prevent accidental slips.

Below are some of the best rug materials to buy to cover a damaged hardwood floor.

Wool Area Rugs

Wool is a natural material that makes your rugs durable and comfortable with a transcendent style. Wool also acts as a protective shield for your already damaged hardwood floor, making it last longer until you're financially stable to install new flooring.

Cotton Area Rugs

Cotton area rugs are soft, versatile, and lightweight, making them good for covering a damaged hardwood floor if they have thick padding. They come in various colors and are easy to maintain, making them a good choice for people with pets, as it's easy to clean cat pee out of carpets and rugs made of cotton.

Microfiber Area Rugs

Most microfibers have a non-slip backing, making them suitable for covering damaged hardwood floors. They also feature a plush texture and are soft to the underfoot.

Will Rubber-Backed Rugs Damage Hardwood Floors?

Rubber-backed rugs cause permanent marks and discoloration on hardwood floors. Breathable rug pads made of natural materials provide stability for the area rug without damaging the floor.

Rubber-backed rugs contain adhesives or glue, which are harsh on hardwood flooring and ruin it. The plasticizer found in rubber-backed rugs causes discoloration on hardwood or leaves behind a permanent orange/yellow stain often referred to as 'nicotine' or 'tobacco.'

You can repair a solid hardwood floor by doing full sand and refinishing, but that would cost a lot.

Avoid low-end rubber-backed rugs; buy those with an "Acceptable for use with hardwood" tag. They are more expensive but worth every penny as they do not contain "plasticizers."

Will Latex-Backed Rugs Damage Hardwood Floors?

Latex is liquid, an emulsion/dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous fluid. Rubber is the finished product, making rubber and latex-bucked rugs unsuitable for hardwood flooring.

This means that latex-backed rugs also damage hardwood floors because they contain plasticizers, which react chemically with the flooring finishes. The chemical reactions leave a sticky/rough surface beneath the rug and a gold/brown stain on the hardwood floor.

Latex also traps gases and moisture, damaging the hardwood floor and costing much money to repair or replace.

How Do You Clean Hardwood Floors After Removing Area Rugs?

Area rugs can trap dust, dirt, and debris, so you must clean the floor after removing it. Below are the steps to follow to clean your hardwood floor.

• Remove dirt, dust, and debris: Use a vacuum cleaner or a broom to remove dirt, debris, and dust.

• Remove the glue/adhesive: Use a scraper to remove the glue/adhesive; be extra careful not to damage the finish. You can also place a dry ice cube on a tin cookie sheet. Place the sheet on the glue/stain and let it sit for about 10 minutes. This makes it easy to remove the ice together with the adhesive. If DIY fails, contact Zerorez®; we're experts in cleaning hardwood floors.

• Make a cleaning solution: Mix warm water with your recommended, hardwood-friendly cleaning solution in a clean bucket. Religiously follow the manufacturers' dilution ratio to avoid damaging your hardwood flooring.

• Mop: Use a mop or a clean cloth to clean the floor, starting from the furthest corner towards the door. When cleaning a hardwood floor, use a gentle back-and-forth motion. If the mop gets dirty or too dry, dip it into the solution, rinse, and continue cleaning until the entire room is mopped.

• Dry your floor completely, ensuring no moisture is left behind, as this could damage or make the hardwood floors slippery.

• Allow extra time for the floor to air dry before putting in furniture. This will protect the hardwood floor from furniture damage, as moisture could result in cracks and deformations.

Get In Touch With a Professional Rug and Hardwood Floor Cleaner

Soiled rugs and rug pads damage hardwood floors. Periodic rug and hardwood floor cleaning is essential in saving money that could be spent on repairing or replacing a damaged floor.

Contact the nearest Zerorez locations for exceptional carpet, rug, and hardwood floor cleaning services.

Schedule a service now or contact us at 866-937-6739.