Rugs and Wood Floors

Rugs will move or slide around on a wood floor and cause scratching due to different types and coarseness of rug backings.

It is recommended that a pad be placed under the rug to protect the wood floor.

Rugs should not be placed on newly sanded and finished floors or floors that have been recoated until they are completely cured.

This can take anywhere from 7-30 days depending on whether or not the contractor used water based or oil based finish, and the condition of the jobsite. Also, rugs should not be placed on pre-finished floors until the adhesive is cured (cure time depends on the manufacturer). Placing rugs or a cover of any kind over the floor before it has cured can cause discolorations, softness, and/or luster change of the finish.
We recommend that you wait 7 days for rugs one water based finished floors and 1 month for oil based finish.

Some rug pads are made of PVC (vinyl) that contains plasticizers.

Even after the cure cycle, plasticizers can migrate out of the pad and discolor the finish or wood (including pre-finished). A rubber honeycomb-type pad, which has holes in it, is most recommended because it allows the finish and floor to breathe. Avoid solid rubber, or vinyl backed rugs as they do not allow the floor to breath. Do not use a stiff pad with hard cleats or grippers on the bottom as these can cause indentations in the wood.

Wood will change color over time due to sunlight, and the portion under the rug may change color as well.

It is best to move the rug periodically to keep more even color throughout the wood floor. Shift your rugs from side to side as well as up and down to avoid a “hallow” or ring affect in your floor finish.