An area rug is usually the foundation of every room. This is no exception for rooms that have wall to wall carpet. Many people tell me they place a rug on top of the carpet. I like the look of this and keeping the decorative look requires placing the proper pad underneath your rug to keep it as wrinkle free and flat as possible. There are a few types of rug to carpet pads available yet not all perform as they should.

I often hear customers ask how to keep rugs flat on carpet. Their first idea is to use carpet tape or something sticky to hold the edges of the rug down. This is a misconception as any kind of tape truly does not work if you plan to use your room. Think about the tape. If you stick tape along the outer edge of your rug, perhaps the tape will keep the edges of your rug in place temporarily. Now, walk on the rug and place furniture on it and you will find this tape to be very short lived. The rug on top of carpet needs a solid foundation underneath its entirety for it to remain flat and wrinkle free during normal use.

I advise customers to not waste their time trying to solve this dilemma. The proper thing to do is to find a rug pad that is reversible, used for hard floors as well as carpet. This type of pad is available as a combination jute and rubber. Rubber side down, it works great for rugs on hard floors. Rubber side up, it works great on top of carpet. Here the idea is that the rubber grabs your rug and prevents it from shifting as best as possible. One great aspect of this pad is that since it is extremely dense, it resists weight of furniture that you may add to your rug, again helping to keep your rug as flat as possible.

Now, it is just as important to choose the right jute and rubber reversible rug pad for your rug on carpet. If possible, try to choose one that is composed of a recycled jute and a solid, natural layer of rubber. If you skimp, you’ll get one that is synthetic jute and a rubber like substance. Although this may work at first, we need to be careful not to cause any damage to your rug or carpet. The recycled jute does not transfer to your carpet andf the real layer of rubber that is sewn on to the jute does not break down and crumble.

You may see the quality version of this reversible rug pad at Rug Pad Corner where the jute is recycled and the rubber is real. The rug pad should be cut about one inch less on all sides than the size of your rug as this eliminates the edges of your rug from being lifted off the carpet. Once you place the proper rug on carpet pad under your rug, you will enjoy your room for many years and, if you ever decide to use the rug on a hard floor, flip the pad over and use it for rugs on hard floor surfaces.