Area rugs can be used to protect high-traffic areas of your home. If you have wood flooring in areas like hallways, entries, and living rooms, you should consider adding an area rug. They reduce the wear and tear while still letting you show off your stylish floors.
Cheap area rugs can damage floors by scratching them and dulling the finish. To protect your hardwood floors invest in quality rugs and use the right rug pads. Felt and rubber pads are great for keeping area rugs from sliding without causing damage to the wood.
The best options are natural rubber and felt. Avoid plastic, latex and PVC. Some will still say they're safe for hardwood, but they aren't. The off-gassing from these materials creates a chemical reaction with your floor, leaving an etched, discolored pattern that oftentimes cannot be removed, even with refinishing.
Note that while oils on the floor can damage rugs, a rug can also damage a refinished floor. If the oils have not sufficiently dried, the imprint of the rug's texture on the floor can become a permanent feature, requiring another round of refinishing.
Wait 3 weeks before putting area rugs on newly refinished/finished hardwood floors. Wait 48 to 72 hours after the hardwood has been refinished/ finished before "PLACING" furniture back in its place. Keep a steady temperature and humidity within your home.
If your hardwood floors have been sanded and finished with Bona Mega Clear HD, it is safe to sleep in the home about 2-3 hours after the project is finished, but again, only if there are other rooms that have not been robbed of their furniture – furniture should stay off floors for at least 24 hours after ANY project ...
Don't use straight ammonia, alkaline products or abrasive cleaners. They'll dull or scratch the finish. Don't rely on lemon juice or a vinegar-and-water solution to clean hardwood floors. "I don't recommend using vinegar or lemon juice, at least not in large quantities, as these can damage the floor's seal," said Wise.
Hardwood flooring
Natural rubber is safe to use on hardwood floors. A rug with plastic or artificial rubber backing contains glue or adhesives, and unfortunately these are harsh on hardwood floors. They can scratch and ruin the wood, incurring damage costs.
In most cases, rubber mats will not damage a hardwood floor. However, in some cases, certain finishes used on the hardwood can have a chemical reaction with the rubber.
The way to prevent the rug from scratching your hardwood floor is by providing some pad or cushioning underneath the rug. The first type of pad you can get is a mesh style type that is made of extruded rubber. This type works really well in keeping the rug from moving an holds it up off the floor.
The International Residential Code, on which most local building codes are based, requires that floors in non-sleeping rooms must support a minimum live load of 40 pounds per square foot, and floors in sleeping rooms must be able to handle a live load of 30 pounds per square foot.
Latex rugs, pads and grips inhibit ventilation and potentially cause irreparable damage to the finish of a hardwood floor. In addition to problems caused by the accumulation of moisture beneath the rug, the plasticizers in latex coating can migrate into the wood's finish and cause discoloration.
A Popular Rug Pad With Gorilla Grip Technology
Boasting a 4.5-star overall rating after 32,000 reviews, this popular area rug pad is made for hardwood and other hard-surface floors and comes in lots of sizes, making it one of the most versatile options.
The best way to clean hardwood floors is to adopt a regular routine. Use a broom or hardwood floor mop for cleaning wood floors daily. A microfiber dust mop pre-treated with a dusting agent will pick up dust and dirt and prevent scratches. Vacuum your hardwood floor once a week.
Water You Using to Clean Your Floors? You can safely use Swiffer products on hardwood floors. For a quick clean, try Swiffer WetJet Wood Starter Kit. With just the right amount of solution, it breaks up tough, sticky messes, brings out the natural beauty of your floors and won't damage them.
Once a week, wood floors should be cleaned in high traffic areas with a damp mop. Low traffic areas can be done less frequently, like once a month or once a quarter. Unsealed wood floors are more susceptible to water, so make sure that the mop is just slightly damp.
How long do I have to wait to use my room after new floors are installed? We recommend waiting 6 hours before walking on your new floors in socks. After 24 hours you can walk through with shoes on. Allow 48 hours before setting furniture and returning pets.
After refinishing hardwood floors, you'll want to wait a minimum of two weeks before applying any cleaner as they are still curing.
What Can You Use Instead of a Rug Pad? If you're just looking for non slip grip, a simple fix to a runaway rug is to put a bead of silicone glue, hot glue, or caulking around the underside of the rug.
In conclusion, PVC pads are not recommended for use over hardwood floors. Synthetic Latex is a satisfactory option for short-term use but will cost more in the long term due to replacements. Natural Rubber is a great eco-friendly choice with great performance and suitable for any size rugs.
The rug pad should be about one inch less than your rug size on all four sides. So if the size of your rug size is 8'x10', then the rug pad size should be 7'10”x9'10”, a total of two inches less in each dimension, which is the same as one inch less on all four sides.
A rug pad provides a welcome protective barrier between the rug and the hardwood. A denser pad, such as one made from felt, will even resist the pressure exerted by heavy furniture, which can cause dents and divots.
Do you need a pad underneath an area rug? Yes! Well, this assumes you care about the flooring underneath as well as the area rug. If you don't have an area rug pad, you are likely to damage your hardwood floors underneath (by scratches, discoloration and/or wearing the finish down).