Posted on August 25, 2020 by Behnam Rugs

If you own a rug, we cannot stress enough the importance of padding. Padding is not only a safety precaution- but it also extends the life of your rug and protects your floor from scratching and dye transfer.

Without padding, foot traffic, and furniture warp the shape of your rug with ease. Rugs also wrinkle and get bunched up sliding around on the floor. By investing in padding you are doing both yourself and your rug a service. In addition, padding is a quite inexpensive solution that solves these problems.

When you are shopping for padding, it’s important to know the dimensions of your rug so that you end up with the ideal amount of coverage. Part of what makes handmade rugs so beautiful is the fact that they are made by hand, resulting in tiny imperfections that impart character. Therefore, it is not unusual for handmade rugs especially, to vary in length and width across the body of the rug.

Even though a rug may look perfectly rectangular, accurate measurements often show that there can be inches of difference from one side to the other, especially if the rug is older or handmade. That’s why we recommend you measure for padding using multiple measurements. You should measure the length from the two edges and the middle. Do the same for the width. Please view our diagram above if you have any questions about making these measurements.

It is typical for a rug to have slightly different measurements depending on where you measure. For example, the length on one side might be 11 feet, but when you take a lengthwise measurement on the other side, the length comes out to 11 feet 2 inches. This is normal, especially for handmade rugs, although machine-made rugs often measure slightly imperfectly as well.

In addition, the longer you have had the rug, the more likely it is that the rug is not a perfect square or rectangle. Wear from foot traffic can stretch and shift the rug, especially a rug that has been used with no padding. That’s why we place rugs on top of a larger piece of padding to cut the padding to the exact size and shape.

Sometimes, people try to use old padding from a different rug underneath their new rug. We cannot stress enough what a bad idea this is. When you use padding that was not cut to fit that particular rug, the padding will not extend the edges of the rug. When walked on, the edges of the padding will stretch the rug. This results in wrinkles, unevenness, and slipping. When the padding is the wrong size, the rug can quickly become warped from traffic.

Once you have your rug’s measurements, share them with us and we will cut to size. We cut padding one inch shorter than the shortest measurements for length and height.

Another question you might have is which type of rug padding is right for you. At Behnam Rugs, we carry three different kinds of padding- felt, rubber, and non-slip rubber-backed felt. Felt is recommended for many rugs, as it provides solid cushioning. However, if you have a small rug, rubber padding is recommended, since smaller rugs may still slide with felt padding. Rubber-backed felt is the best of both worlds, providing cushioning while also ensuring no slippage occurs. We do not advise using sponge or foam padding, as they lose integrity easily, are too soft, and may even disintegrate and stick to your hardwoods.

When you talk to the rug experts at Behnam Rugs about padding, we will take into account the type of rug, the type of floor the rug will be placed on, as well as the size and density of your rug before making a padding recommendation. Let us know the dimensions you measured and which side is the long side, short side, etc. and we will cut the pad to fit perfectly beneath your rug.

Call 972-733-0400 to request padding. The process goes faster if you have your measurements ready. If you don’t feel comfortable measuring your rug, bring it to our gallery at 18000 Preston Road and we will measure for you before cutting your custom-sized padding. The best time to replace your rug pad is when you get your rug professionally cleaned, or every four to six years depending on traffic.