Rug pads for hardwood floors: which one, and which to avoid

What a pad does

Stops the rug sliding and creeping. Cushions the knots against the floor so they do not wear from underneath. Lifts the rug so a vacuum can pull air through it. And makes a runner on a stair or in a hall safe. A rug on a bare floor is ground between the foot and the floor with every step.

The one to throw away

Thin PVC "waffle" pads from home stores. They off‑gas plasticizers that permanently discolor polyurethane floor finishes, they disintegrate into crumbs within a few years, and they hold urine and odor. If your pad is sticky, yellow, or leaving crumbs, it is one of these.

Which pad where

• Felt with a natural‑rubber face, ¼ inch: the standard for hand‑knotted rugs on hardwood, tile and stone. Dense, cushioning, non‑slip, floor‑safe.
• Thin natural rubber, ⅛ inch: for kilims, dhurries and other thin rugs where grip matters more than cushion.
• Dense felt, ⅜ inch: for heavy rugs that need flattening (Heriz, Bidjar, large Oushaks) and rooms where cushion is wanted.
• Carpet‑grip pad: for a rug over wall‑to‑wall carpet, to stop wrinkling and walking.

Sizing and laying

Cut the pad about an inch inside the rug's edges all round so it never shows and the edges taper to the floor. Rugs are rarely perfectly rectangular; measure the rug, not the room. Lay the pad rubber‑side down, unroll the rug over it, and walk it flat.

Replace it when

After any urine treatment (the pad has absorbed it), after a flood, and whenever it starts to crumble. The padding page lists what we supply; padding is cut to your rug at the plant and delivered with it.