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A quality underlay can transform the look of your carpet – making it softer, more comfortable, preventing slipping, and even extending its life.
After reviewing dozens of carpets, interviewing four experts, and testing 15 models, we found the Mohawk Home Reversible Rug to have the best combination of cushioning and non-slip traction of any rug we tested.
This felt rubber mat provides the most cushioning underfoot of any mat we’ve tried and is one of the best at holding the carpet in place.
The durable Durahold pad has a unique ribbed surface that holds the carpet in place better than any other pad we’ve tried. The thick, durable felt is ideal for high-traffic areas.
This rug is thinner than most others we tested, so it’s versatile enough to use anywhere, and you can easily cut it to fit any size rug.
This felt rubber mat provides the most cushioning underfoot of any mat we’ve tried and is one of the best at holding the carpet in place.
Most testers found the Mohawk Home ¼-inch double-sided mat to be the most comfortable and resilient. We also found that this mat provided better traction than most other mats we tested, keeping even the most active and active pets’ paws firmly underfoot. It’s available in a variety of rectangular and round sizes and comes with a one-year warranty.
The durable Durahold pad has a unique ribbed surface that holds the carpet in place better than any other pad we’ve tried. The thick, durable felt is ideal for high-traffic areas.
If you need extra traction or have high-quality carpet, consider the ⅓-inch Durahold felt-rubber backing, a favorite among our experts and testers. It grips carpet and hardwood better thanks to heat-pressed grooves on the top and solid rubber on the bottom. This design makes it especially good for high-traffic areas or if you have pets or kids who like to move the carpet around. Durahold felt has a higher density and is more durable than our recommended carpet pads, and it won’t wrinkle over time. This rug comes in a variety of sizes and costs about twice as much as the Mohawk Home rug. No-Muv, the company that makes Durahold carpet pads, offers a 10-year warranty.
This rug is thinner than most others we tested, so it’s versatile enough to use anywhere, and you can easily cut it to fit any size rug.
While felt rubber pads generally perform better than pure rubber mesh pads, the Rug Pad USA Super Lock Natural is a good choice if you have low doors and outdoor carpeting in your home, or if you prefer a thinner, non-felt pad. This rubber pad feels almost as soft as our felt pads, but it’s much thinner and still provides excellent traction. The Super Lock Natural has a tighter mesh than its competitors, so it does a better job of protecting your rugs and carpets and keeping them in place. However, for most living room, bedroom, or entryway rugs, we recommend choosing our Workhorse or Upgrade, as both pads will extend the life of your rug.
This felt rubber mat provides the most cushioning underfoot of any mat we’ve tried and is one of the best at holding the carpet in place.
Of the mats we reviewed, the Mohawk Home Reversible Mat provides the best cushioning, excellent traction, and a variety of size combinations.
Provides ample cushioning. We tested this 1/4-inch thick pad under both flat-woven and deep-pile rugs and found that it provided the most cushioning of any of our rugs, resulting in an improved underfoot experience across all rugs. While this rug provides springy cushioning, the dense felt retains its shape for years.
It has great traction. The Mohawk Home’s handle is one of the best we’ve tested. No matter how our testers pushed, pulled, or stepped on it, it didn’t budge. In our home testing, the rug withstood a cat’s back-and-forth jumps without slipping or bunching up. Wirecutter contributor Michael Sullivan uses the Mohawk under a large kilim rug in his living room and says it provides plenty of cushioning without feeling bulky under thinner rugs.
This rug comes in a variety of sizes and shapes. There are over 30 sizes available, including rectangular, square, and round. Most people will find it easy to find the right size without any additional cutting.
The durable Durahold pad has a unique ribbed surface that holds the carpet in place better than any other pad we’ve tried. The thick, durable felt is ideal for high-traffic areas.
If you have high-quality carpet and want to protect it, Carpet Experts highly recommends using Durahold Plus Carpet Underlay.
It provides excellent traction and is slip-resistant. In our tests, the patterned felt surface provided better traction than the rugs we recommend. The rubber backing also grips wood and cork floors better than the Mowahk Home (and no other carpet backing we tested grips floors as well as the Mowahk Home).
We tested this rug in our kitchen, replacing an old carpet area rug that was notorious for being slippery and wrinkling. In high-traffic areas, the Durahold rugs didn’t move at all. A Wirecutter editor noted that the pattern on the felt can be used as a guide if you need to trim the rug yourself. Former staff writer Alex Arpaia has been using the Durahold since 2018 and considers it one of the best rugs she’s ever owned. “Even in high-traffic areas, it rarely moves across the floor and keeps my rugs firmly in place. Plus, the thick cushioning is nice to walk on,” she says.
The warranty period is 10 years. Durahold is covered by a 10-year No-Muv limited manufacturer’s warranty, which covers defects in workmanship or construction.
Durahold comes in a variety of sizes and shapes. There are 20 sizes available on Amazon, including round, half-round, square, oblong, and rectangular. If you don’t see the size you need or are looking for a custom-made pad, try other Durahold stores, like this one.
This rug is thinner than most others we tested, so it’s versatile enough to use anywhere, and you can easily cut it to fit any size rug.
If you have a low door or are installing your rug outdoors or in a damp area, we recommend using Rug Pad USA Super Lock Natural Rug Underlay.
Made from 100% natural rubber. Of the three mesh mats we tested, this one is the only one that clearly states that it is made from 100% natural rubber, rather than other rubber-like materials like PVC. Like the Durahold mat, it comes with a 10-year warranty.
Despite the thin mesh, it provides decent cushioning. The Super Lock Natural mat has a denser construction than other mesh mats we reviewed, allowing it to grip the floor better and provide better cushioning underfoot. The denser backing will also better protect your carpet from wear and tear.
Leaves no residue. Many reviews of competing products complain about the sticky residue they leave behind. In our years of testing, this has never happened with Super Lock Natural.
It can be easily cut at home. If the rug you purchased is a little larger, the easiest option is a rubber mesh rug that you can cut to size yourself. If you prefer, you can also purchase custom rug sizes and shapes directly from Rug Pad USA.
Carpet padding helps your carpet stay in place, provides cushioning, protects your floor, and extends the life of your carpet. If your carpet already has a rubber non-slip backing, you may not need a carpet pad. In this guide, we’ve focused on carpet pads that work on hardwood, tile, and other hard floors; we haven’t covered underlays or tape for wall-to-wall carpeting.
If your current carpeting isn’t holding up or you want to replace it with something more cushioned, consider buying a new one. If you’ve been using cheap carpeting, like the thin felt you get at IKEA, you might be surprised to learn how much better carpeting can improve the feel of your carpet. Carpeting will reduce slippage and provide a more pleasant walking experience. It’s also a small investment with potentially huge benefits: Extending the life of your carpet will only cost you $1 to $2 per square foot.
According to carpet manufacturers and retailers, the pad should be 1 to 2 inches smaller than the area around the rug. This ensures that the edge of the rug lies flat on the floor, preventing tripping hazards; it also reduces wear and tear and makes the rug less noticeable. If you have a good quality rug, you won’t have to use extra glue to secure it.
A good carpet pad should provide a strong bond with the carpet and the floor; it should also fit the carpet and not damage the floor over time. Carpet pads are made from a variety of materials, including polyvinyl chloride (PVC), rubber, felt, or memory foam. Generally, the best carpet pads are made with a layer of synthetic felt and a backing made of natural rubber.
Felt vs. Rubber: Our experts agree that felt with a rubber backing is superior to other types of carpet because the felt provides cushioning underfoot and the rubber backing provides traction to prevent slipping. Paul Iskyan, a carpet cleaning expert at ABC Carpet & Home in New York City, says the density of the felt is more important than the thickness of the carpet because denser carpet will not flatten out over time like lower-density carpet.
Felt: If you have a large rug with heavy furniture on it, a felt backing alone may be sufficient, but this type of backing tends to provide the weakest traction.
Rubber Mesh Mats: Iskyan says he prefers a felt and rubber mat in most cases, but admits that for areas with tight spaces between doors or where moisture is common, like outdoors, a full rubber mesh mat is sometimes necessary. Mesh pads don’t have the soft padding of felt, so the carpet will wear out faster. Many rubber mesh mats also contain fillers like clay and sand, which can leave a powdery residue on the floor underneath the carpet, so it’s best to choose a mat made of 100% rubber. Iskyan advises us to never buy PVC mats, as they can stain or discolor the floor.
A quality carpet rug can (and should) last for many years. Some carpets come with a 10- or 20-year warranty, and many will easily last longer. Stephanie Waterman of Armadillo Carpet Company says, “In many cases, the carpet pad will outlast the carpet itself and can be easily cut up and reused.” Because warranties vary widely, we don’t think a good warranty, while helpful, is essential to finding quality carpet.
Some of our experts argue that quality carpet padding should have a tightly woven felt that is difficult to trim with household scissors. We generally agree with this advice, but have found that in an emergency it is wiser to cut rugs (especially rubber mesh or thin felt rugs) to size.
Using these criteria, we searched for the most popular two-ply felt rubber rugs on sites like Amazon, West Elm, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, IKEA, Home Depot, and Wayfair. We didn’t set a thickness limit, but it turned out that all of the rugs we looked at were less than ⅓ inch thick—thicker than thicker ones. We also looked at non-slip pads, since most people buy pads to keep their rugs in place. Once we narrowed the selection down to 14 options (11 felt-rubber pads, 1 all-felt pad, and 3 pure rubber pads), we began testing.
We quickly noticed that many of the rugs we brought in looked almost identical. We eliminated the ones that were too slippery on cork floors or not soft enough for our feet. We tried each rug on carpet of varying thicknesses and piles, as well as on cork and wood floors. Once we had narrowed it down to our top five, we invited a panel of testers to try them out.
We love the Crate and Barrel’s multi-functional thick rug, and there’s nothing technically wrong with it, but we prefer the feel of the Mohawk Home and Durahold designs.
The Crate and Barrel Multi-Surface Thin Area Rug Pad is too thin and not as comfortable for your feet as our options.
The Gorilla Grip and Epica mesh pads have a very loose weave with large gaps between the rubber parts of the mesh. They are noticeably less grippy than the mesh pads we recommend, and the Epica mesh pads can even make the carpet feel uneven underfoot.
IKEA’s Båring oil-absorbing paper is thin and only comes in one size. When we opened it, we found that it had a sticky coating that seemed to easily leave marks on the floor. We wouldn’t want that in our home.
We tested the Rug Pad USA thick felt backing to see what a full felt backing would feel like, but ultimately found that the backing simply didn’t hold the rug in place.
Felt rubber pads from Gorilla Grip, Wayfair Basics, Birch Lane, American Slide Stop (Full Surface and Premium), and Rug Pad USA are very similar. In some cases, their felt materials are slightly different, but none are as soft as Mohawk Home or as grippy as Durahold.
We’ve tested dozens of rugs and found several different styles to suit every price range and preference.
For a thorough cleaning of carpets and rugs, you will need a full-featured vacuum cleaner. Good options include the SEBO Felix Premium and SEBO Airbelt K3 Premium.
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