Short answer: yes. You need a rug pad.

It’s easy to adopt an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality with rug pads. After all, the pad is going under the rug, so you’ll never actually see or touch it. It might be easy to think of rug pads as a useless add-on or upsell.

In fact, rug pads are an essential purchase no matter what style of rug you have or where you are placing it. Here are five of the major benefits you can expect.

1. Prevent slipping, buckling and wrinkling

The most obvious benefit of a rug pad is that they keep your rugs locked in place. If you’ve ever moved too quickly on a rug and had it move out from under you, you understand how dangerous a slipping rug can be.

Even if your rug is weighed down by heavy furniture, the loose ends of the rug can buckle and bunch up. A rug pad is important to prevent unsightly wrinkling and dangerous tripping hazard this creates.

2. Protect your floors

Another obvious benefit of a rug pad is the additional layer of protection it puts between your floor and your rug.

Many rugs have rough backing materials—it’s the nature of the beast. Even if the rug is only sliding around a little bit, this can severely damage your floors over time. With a rug pad, you can make sure your rug never moves. Even if it does, the soft texture of the pad will protect your floor.

3. Rugs last longer with rug pads

Keeping the rug from slipping doesn’t just extend the life of your floors—it extends the life of your rug too!

Friction can cause damage to the rug’s backing which can lead to loosening pile. By keeping your rug still, you’ll be able to avoid that possibility. Additionally, the extra cushion and support that a rug pad provides can help keep the pile from crushing, which helps keep the rug looking better, longer.

4. Easier cleaning and vacuuming

Rug pads promote airflow through the rug. This has two major benefits when it comes to cleaning and maintaining your rug.

First, the circulating air goes a long way toward preventing harmful and foul-smelling bacteria from growing. Second, that airflow minimizes friction when vacuuming, making that chore much easier.

5. More comfort and sound absorption

Finally, rug pads offer an additional level of comfort and sound absorption you just can’t get with a rug alone.

The benefit you can expect will depend on the type of rug pad you get.

Standard, “waffle” pads are focused on keeping your rug in place and additional costs down. They will only provide a minimal amount of additional cushion and sound absorption. These are a great choice for plush rugs that don’t need a lot more help in the comfort department.

Felt-and-rubber pads like the Super-Loc pads we sell on Rugs.com are a different story. These thick pads provide the ultimate in comfort, sound absorption, and insulation from the floor beneath the rug. Felt pads are a great choice for low-pile and flatweave rugs that might otherwise lack in these departments.

Sizing Rug Pads

Your rug pad should be about 1 inch shorter than your rug around every side (two inches shorter in both directions). So, for a 9’ x 12’ rug, an appropriately sized rug pad will be 8’ 10” x 11’ 10”. If you don’t want to do the math yourself, you can just refer to the chart below for other common rug sizes:

Rug Size	Rug Pad Size
4’ x 6’	3’ 10” x 5’ 10”
6’ x 9’	5’ 10” x 8’ 10”
8’ x 10’	7’ 10” x 9’ 10”
9’ x 12’	8’ 10” x 11’ 10”

It’s important to keep the rug pad just a little smaller than the rug to make sure it stays out of sight. You want all the focus to be on your beautiful rug, after all!

The reason for the 1” border (and not a smaller border) is mainly for safety. If the pad ran all the way to the edge of the rug, it might pose a tripping hazard. By leaving a full inch, you’ll make sure your rug can drape over the side of the pad and touch the floor. The result is a slight “beveled” effect that neatly tapers to the ground and is as easy to walk over as it is good looking.

Protect your investment with a quality rug pad

No matter what type of rug or flooring you have, a quality rug pad is a necessity. Whether you decide to get a simple non-slip “waffle” pad or opt for a more luxurious felt pad, you can find it at Rugs.com. Available in standard sizes or cut-to-order, our rug pads are the perfect companion to any rug and home.