You have purchased the perfect rug for your room; but you find the rug moves when you walk across it, or rucks against furniture. At best this can be annoying, at worst it can be dangerous causing slips and a major tripping hazard. There are numerous ways and suggestions online to stop your rug from moving but the vast majority of these are impractical, short term or likely to damage your rug or your existing floorcovering. In this blog post we will give our expert advice to stop your rugs moving on carpet and hard flooring.
Start With the Correct Type of Rug for your Floor Type.
There are a few different manufacturing processes employed to produce a rug. A rug can be machine woven, hand-loomed, hand-tufted and hand knotted. Most rug types are fine to use on most floors. However, there are a few exceptions when you are laying a rug on top of a carpet. We would not recommend using thin hides, flatweave kilims or chenille rugs on carpeted floors. The construction of these types of rugs are too light in weight and can be permanently damaged by furniture if the base is too soft.
Stopping your rug moving on Carpeted floors.
Ideally a rug should be laid on a firm base. There are three main reasons a rug moves on a carpeted floor. The thickness of the carpet, the type and pile height of the carpet, and the thickness and density of the carpet underlay. All these things individually or combined may cause your new rug to move. The softer the base and longer the pile the more likely rug will move, this will also cause the rug to ruck when walked on, aggravating problems with creasing and causing indentation issues where furniture is placed on and around the rug.
Image Credit: Reddit
Anti-slip Rug Underlay
This is the preferred method to prevent a rug constantly moving or to prevent slippage on your carpet caused by foot traffic. There are many brands and types of anti-slip mats available to purchase online and in stores, all with varying degrees of effectiveness and prices. We recommend using Tee-baud non-slip rug underlay on all carpeted floors to stop your rug from slipping. A market leader, we have found this produces the best results, while also extending the life and appearance of your rug and protecting your floor. In terms of price, you really do get what you pay for, it compares favourably with the better-quality anti-slip mats that work.
Stopping your rug from moving on Hardwood and Laminate floors.
Because hardwood floors and laminate floors tend to have a smoother and often a more polished finish, your rug is much more likely to move or creep when you walk over it, posing a greater risk of trips and slips leading to injury. Again, the preferred method to stop rugs slipping on these types of floorcoverings is a good quality rug pad. These underlays are specially designed to provide added grip on wood and laminate surfaces. Be careful to choose an underlay that is suitable for your floor surface and under floor heating system if in use. Some underlays can be used on both carpeted floors and smooth flooring.
Stopping your rug moving on Vinyl and LVT Flooring.
There is a further issue to consider when using a non-slip underlay on sheet vinyl and luxury vinyl tiles. These products have seen huge increases in sales over recent years. Initially popular in kitchen and bathroom areas, these floors are now installed throughout the home. Be aware that not all anti-slip underlays are compatible with these types of floors. Consult your installer or flooring manufacturer for more guidance.
Anchoring rugs using Furniture
On larger rugs heavy furniture can be placed to keep your rugs from moving, although any exposed edges can still cause a slipping or trip hazard, especially in high traffic areas. A lot will depend on the weight of the rug. We would only recommend this method on hard surfaces, due to the weight of the furniture being transferred to a small area such as castors or legs. Rather than preventing rugs from moving, furniture can cause rucking and creasing on the rug surface.
Image Credit: Best Flooring Choices
Using Tapes, Sprays and Grips to keep your rug in place
There are numerous rug grips, double sided tape, carpet tape, and sprays available to prevent rugs slipping. Although these types of solutions are cheaper than using a non-slip mat, we have found they have limited applications and work better with small rugs. Adhesives on some of these products can cause permanent damage to wooden or laminate floors and cannot be removed from the carpet pile once used, leaving a permanent sticky residue. Rubber pads can cause permanent staining on hard floors and oxidization on the carpet underneath the rug.
What Size Should my Non-Slip Underlay Be?
For the best results, ensure that your underlay is the correct size and shape for the intended rug. Ideally the underlay should be 20-30 mm shorter than the size of the rug, this will allow for the rug to lay flat to floor around the edges and will prevent the edge being seen when the rug is in place. The easiest way to cut shapes, such as circles, is to lay the underlay flat, place the rug on top and draw around with a pen. Remove the rug and trim the underlay leaving a 25mm gap around the edge. Ensure floors are dry and vacuum any loose fibres from carpets. Lay out the underlay on the correct side and roll your rug over the top.
Our Teebaud® non-slip underlay is manufactured in standard rug sizes and can be easily trimmed using a pair of sharp scissors. Unlike cheaper alternatives, Teebaud® is manufactured in the USA. Built to last, it is made of two sheets of polyester fibres, needle punched together, and coated on both sides with a specially formulated water based, pressure sensitive, dry resin system. This specially formulated coating allows it to outperform other underlays that are treated with a plain polymeric-acrylic adhesive.
Teebaud® rug and mat hold is thicker and denser compared to other underlays which produces a light cushioning effect. It is also suitable for use with underfloor heating that doesn’t exceed 32 degrees Celsius.
Now you know how to stop your rug from moving and prevent slippage on carpet, hardwood, laminate flooring, and luxury vinyl tiles, you can make sure your rugs and hall runners are kept exactly where you want them to stay in every room in your home.
Here at Rugstore NE, we offer an incredible array of stunning rugs and hall runners, with designs and colours to suit every room in your home.
