An artful rug on a hardwood floor looks beautiful but can also be quite slippery. Also, the surface of the rug and health of the hardwood can be easily damaged through a number of different factors.
So, how can you have it all without compromise?
By choosing the best rug pads for hardwood Floors.
These pads sit between the rug and the floor to resist impact, absorb noise, maintain the texture & placement of the rug, take care of the hardwood’s durability, and much more.
And in this guide, we’ll give you a quick but effective overview about how all that works.
Let’s jump right into it then!
Top 9 Rug Pads For Hardwood Floors Reviews
1. Gorilla Grip, Original Area Rug Gripper Pad
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A Gorilla’s grip is 4 to 10 times stronger than a human. And while reviewing this product, we found that the grip strength of this pad might be just as strong.
The quality of the rug pad’s grip ensures that no sagging or curling up happens around the edges of the rug. It eliminates injury possibilities like slipping off or falling. This feature also maintains the positioning of the rug, keeping your décor looking nice and fit.
The (2×3)-feet mat is equipped with an easy-trim technology. So, you can scissor down the pad to fit your rug. You can even use the extra pieces for other household needs.
The entire production process is held strictly in the United States. The pad is constructed with materials chosen and processed under a high-standard, quality control system.
The pad is designed with an effective, open framework structure. This feature helps you to vacuum the rug easily. It also allows an easy and constant airflow system, which prevents buildup of moisture and bacteria to protect your hardwood floors.
- Provides an effective and non-adhesive grip feature.
- Maintains the look of your décor by keeping the rug in place.
- Prevents physical injuries like kids slipping over or pets getting hurt.
- Offers an open framework structure that’s easy to vacuum.
- Protects Hardwood by preventing moisture and bacterial expansion.
2. Mohawk Home, Dual Surface Felt Non Slip Rug Pad
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This product delivers much more than you’d expect from a rug pad. From extending the lifetime of your precious rug to reducing noise, the manufacturer didn’t leave much room for dissatisfaction.
It is designed in two parts. The 0.25-inch thick pad has a top Felt layer, made purely from recycled material. It is backed by a tough-grip latex rubber back, designed in a crisscross pattern to increase the level of grip strength.
The top part is designed to resist impact and absorb noise. Thus, it protects your rug from being stretched out along with keeping a quiet environment.
The latex back, with a specialized pattern, ensures that you receive a superior grip strength. Thus, you won’t face any more annoying situations like the rug moving around while vacuuming it.
The product also offers a simple trimming feature. Mohawk Home advises to keep the pad’s dimension 1-inch shorter than the actual rug to prevent the rug’s edge from bending or drooping.
The product is Green-label Plus certified. That means it has been tested by an independent authority to be environmentally safe and doesn’t emit any health-hazardous element.
- Certified by “Green Label Plus” to be environmentally safe.
- Provides a Felt layer produced purely from recycled materials.
- The Top Felt layer offers impact resistance to protect the rug and reduces noise.
- The bottom layer uses a crisscross pattern to provide superior grip strength.
- Offers an easy vacuum feature.
3. RUGPADUSA, Basics Protective Cushioning Rug Pad – Safe for All Hardwoods
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If you are looking for a pure Felt pad for your rugs, then this is the product you need.
It is made using only Felt Rubber. The 0.5-inch thick pad holds 40-ounce of Felt per SY (square yard). Thus, it is able to deliver a rich depth to your rug.
The thickness not only absorbs sound, it also provides a good amount of shock resistance. So, if you are decorating a living room with an expensive rug and heavy furniture, this pad will be able to save both.
However, since it doesn’t have a gripping back, you need to be careful about its placement. For example, you shouldn’t put it in slippery places or stairs.
As the rug is thick, it’s better to measure beforehand before ordering to get the perfect size. Because, in terms of trimming feasibility, things might get complicated. If measured correctly there shouldn’t be any issue with the edges of the rug getting bulged down or curled up.
The fabric texture of the product is fantastic. The quality and purity of production is highly praised by the users. It is also capable of providing a powerful amount of surface protection between the rug and hardwood floors.
- Made from pure, high quality Felt.
- Perfect for stabilizing heavy furniture without harming the rug’s texture.
- Provides noise reduction and shock absorption capabilities.
- The texture of the fabric is highly praised by the user.
- Produced entirely in USA under grade-A quality control.
4. Home Techpro, Rug Grippers
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It’s about time someone took a new approach to rug pads. And Home Techpro has done exactly that employing a brilliantly innovative style.
You get 4 rug grippers in the package.
The manufacturer’s patented “Vacuum Tech” feature puts a vast number of air pockets on one part of the surface. You’ll need to glue the opposite part to the rug. Thus, when pressure is applied, these air pockets will release air, creating an immediate suction that’ll function as a powerful adhesive.
The top part, which is attached to the rug uses an acrylic adhesive. The major construction material is polyester. However, the side equipped with the air pockets primarily uses acrylic resin.
The product is super lightweight, with a mass of only 0.64-ounces. With a (3.9 x 3.9 x 0.1)-inch dimension, you’ll hardly notice its presence under the rug while enjoying a fully secure grip.
However, once they’re glued to the rugs, they can’t be taken off. But, on the bright side, this way you can wash the rug and pad both at the same time.
- Applies “Vacuum Tech” as an alternative to traditional adhesives.
- Provides a lightweight gripper with a high amount of grip strength.
- Doesn’t need to be washed separately.
- Uses acrylic adhesive on the top surface to ensure a complete attachment.
- Doesn’t increase the weight and maintains appearance of the rug.
5. DoubleCheck Products, Non-Slip Extra Strong Grip Area Rug Pad
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This product brings to you the best of both worlds.
While some pads will provide anonymity through a sleek design, they fail to add a sense of plushness to the rug and vice versa. However, this pad can offer both.
It’s manufactured in a closed grip design, which combines velvety fabric blocks with suction squares. Thus, the product provides the comfort of cushioning as well as a lean look.
The top layer’s surface provides a nice feel by cushioning the space between your rug and the hardwood floor. As a result, your rug absorbs less impact and increases in longevity. It also reduces the noise generated on the surface by cupping it through its cushioned structure.
The bottom layer provides a strong grip to keep the rug in place. This provides a safe environment for movement and keeps the rug in a fit shape by eliminating sagging edges and curling corners.
The 21-inch long and 31-inch wide rug has a convenient trimming feature, letting you size it up to your liking. The pad is manufactured to be odorless, doesn’t leave stains, and naturally prevents buildup of harmful microorganisms. The pad is also compatible with a manual wash.
- Combines the comfort of cushioning with the convenience of a lean look.
- Uses a closed grid, sleek design to disappear under the rug.
- Provides an odorless feature and anti-stain protection.
- Naturally eliminates microorganisms harmful to hardwood surface.
- Can be washed manually.
6. X-Protector, Best Anti Curling Rug Gripper For Hardwood
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X-protector brings to table one of the most effective infusion of technology in terms of producing rug grippers.
Each gripper is designed in a unique rectangular shape that offers a universal adaptability to rugs of all shapes and sizes. The rectangle is designed with a top length of 4.5-inches, bottom length of 7-inches, and width of 1.625-inches.
The manufacturer uses a hard-plastic surface in the middle, with two unique types of glue on each surface to create the grippers.
On the top surface, a strong glue is applied that firmly attaches to your rug. The bottom surface utilizes a gel adhesive that can be reapplied, increasing effectiveness of use. This method of construction improves support capability and grip strength.
The innovative shape of the pads allows you to strategically place them around the corner or edges of the rug. Thus, you can maintain the depth perception of your carpet while ensuring that its corners & edges don’t get curled or folded.
The users report that the grippers are effective at blocking accidents caused by children and animals slipping on the rug.
- Designed with a rectangular shape to effectively hold down corners and edges.
- Provides 8 pieces of pad to cover normal to larger sized areas.
- Uses a hard-plastic pad to improve support capability and impact resistance.
- Uses a strong adhesive to ensure the pads stay attached to the rug.
- Features a gel on the bottom that can be reapplied multiple times.
7. Epica, Super-Grip Non-Slip Area Rug Pad for Hard Surface Floor
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Such a well-researched and smart approach to pads for flooring rugs is quite unprecedented.
Epica uses data, derived from privately conducted research, to create an open square grid design. The output pattern is a combination of thick fiber squares intertwined with empty blocks. This feature significantly improves hardwood breathability, blocking of mycobacterial buildup, and dampening issues.
The pad is designed to be much thicker than other open framework pads. Thus, it can provide better cushioning and noise reduction, making it one of the best area rug pads for hardwood floors.
The grip strength is fantastic, and the manufacturer claims it’s at least twice as stronger than the competitors. The pad’s design method also keeps into consideration the factor of trimming, ensuring you can tailor the pad to fit any shape of rug.
Users have reported the pads to be particularly effective on hardwood floors. It has a well-defined, all around balanced grip, which can handle fast, sudden movements effectively to keep the placing of your rug uninterrupted.
- Applies research-based data to create a patented “open square” design.
- Provides more thickness than regular open framework pads.
- Features almost 2 times stronger grip strength than its competitors.
- Delivers a balanced grip that can handle fast, sudden movements.
- Uses high-quality fiber squares intertwined with empty blocks for user comfort.
8. Veken, Non-Slip Rug Pad Gripper For Any Hardwood
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We’ve all seen open framework approach to rug pads, but not at this quality.
This product is extremely durable. It uses high quality material to produce the fabric blocks. Thus, once you make the purchase you can keep using the pad for a long time.
The blocks are a little puffed up to provide cushioning to your rugs, which makes it comfortable to walk on. This feature also protects the texture of your rug from sharp impacts and harmful movements. For example, the push of heavy furniture or scratches and stretch marks created by pulling materials over the rug.
The pad comes in a 2-feet long and 3-feet wide pre-cut sheet.
It offers an easy trimming and installing feature. Thus, you can use simple household items like kitchen scissors to shape the pad according to the dimension of your rug. You can also divide the pad and use it to cover multiple hardwood surfaces.
However, we recommend not to use the pad where it can get bent. For example, on stairs or surfaces with layers of multiple heights.
Being an open framework pad, it allows your rug to breath, extending its lifetime by keeping the air channels activated. This also protects your hardwood from dampening issues created by moisture and bacteria.
- Provides puffy fabric blocks to improve cushioning.
- Features an easy installation method.
- Allows your rug and hardwood floor to breathe.
- Delivers lasting protection to your rug’s surface.
- Praised by users for its durability.
9. RUGPADUSA, Anchor Grip Premium Non-Slip Rug Pad
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RUGPUDUSA is famous for consistently producing quality pads for rugs and this product is no exception.
The 0.25-inch thick rug is made from pure felt rubber. This feature offers better durability than felt pads produced by PVC and other artificial alternatives, making this pad one of the best felt rug pads for hardwood floors.
The top surface is plush and rich. This element of the pad cushions the rug quite satisfyingly, so it’s a pleasure to step on. It also absorbs annoying noises that may disrupt the ambiance of your living room and provides much better impact resistance than regular felt pads.
The bottom surface is designed in a 3D, square grid structure. Thus, it can provide superior traction between the pad and the hardwood, resulting in a powerful grip that’s omnidirectionally functional. The top Felt surface is also heat treated to increase the anti-slip protection.
The pad has very little organic compounds that can fester over time and release harmful toxins. It is also manufactured to be resistant to molding, dampening, microbials infestation, and repels insects like moths and bugs.
It is produced from Hypoallergenic materials, meaning the product is unlikely to cause any sort of allergic reaction.
- Created from Hypoallergenic materials to prevent allergic reactions.
- Applies a 3D, square grid to produce an omnidirectionally functional grip.
- Uses 0.25-inch thick Felt made from natural rubber to increase durability.
- Offers a low VOC count to protect your health.
- The felt surface is heat treated to provide an anti-slip feature.
How To Choose The Right Rug Pads For Hardwood Floors
Trimming Compatibility
We recommend purchasing a rug that is equipped with an effective trimming feature. Unless you pre-measure your rug before ordering the pad, this feature can be a lifesaver.
If the pad is easy to trim, you can manipulate its shape to match with one or multiple rugs. Also, it allows you to use the spare pieces for other necessary purposes, like using it under a toilet mat or putting it under furniture that have slippery legs.
Hardwood Compatibility And Preservation
Ensure that the pad you intend to buy is compatible to use on a hardwood surface. Also, look for pads that are equipped with features designed to protect hardwood floors.
For example, pads with an open framework design provide air circulation through activating air channels, keeping the hardwood from being affected by moisture, dampening, insects, and microbial infestation.
Impact Resistance
Rugs, specially the expensive ones, can be quite high maintenance. If they are laid out on a hardwood floor using a pad with poor impact resistance, their textures can be harmed.
Specially, if the rug is placed on a hardwood living room floor, there are a variety of ways through which its surface can be damaged. For example, Pets running over the rug, placement of heavy furniture, scratches and stretch marks caused by high heels or a wheeling suitcase, etc.
Thus, we recommend purchasing rug pads that provide a high amount of impact resistance. You can purchase pads that are constructed from Pure Felt (produced from natural rubber) with sufficient thickness to obtain this feature.
This will also allow you to reduce noise as pads of such kind are good at noise absorption as well.
Safety And Quality Of Production Material
We recommend choosing pads that are produced from safe materials. For example, you can look for “Green-Label Plus” certified pads. Also choose pads that don’t emit any kind of harmful toxins after a period of use and don’t instigate any type of allergies.
If you plan to purchase a pad made from pure Felt, we recommend buying one that’s produced from natural rubber. This will allow your pads to last much longer than regular brands.
Grip Strength
It is an incredibly important factor when it come to buying the best carpet pads for hardwood floors.
A pad with poor grip strength will defeat all the main purposes of buying a pad in the first place, such as preventing the edges and corners from curling, keeping the rug’s placement right, protecting against injuries caused by a slippery rug, etc.
You can look at the bottom surface of the pad for effective features, such as patterns designed to increase the amount of grip, replicable gels, along with strong adhesives and attachment methods on the top surface to ensure you are getting a rug with a proper grip strength.
Final Words
We all know that a nice rug is the crown jewel of any well decorated room. And, the appeal of a hardwood flooring simply adds to that charm.
However, combining these two elements to decorate a perfect living or bed room can cause some complicacies.
To this day, the most effective solution of resolving those complicacies depends on one simple factor- being able to choose the best rug pads for hardwood floors.
And, throughout this guide, our goal has been to provide you that capability in an easy yet informed manner. We hope it helped!