How To Stop Rugs and Mats From Moving Around on Carpets or Hard Floor Surfaces

This article will explain and assist anyone who uses or looking at buying or has already purchased Floor Rugs and Mats

It really does not matter what type of flooring your Rugs or Mats are sitting on, whether it’s an expensive carpet, cheap carpet, wood floor or tiles for various reasons, they almost always have a tendency to move around.

The size and weight of your Carpet Rugs and Mats play a huge role in that the heavier and larger the rug the less chance of movement.

So the two types of floors that Mats or Rugs are placed on are either carpet or hard surfaces, whether it be for comfort, aesthetics or for the wiping of feet, all present different problems and may require different solutions..

Reasons Why Area Rugs Move Around on Carpets:

Area Rugs and Mats placed on top of carpets are the most difficult problem for the prevention of movement, the reason for this is, that, all carpets a have a pile.

This means that the top surface of the carpet is above the base of the hard floor, this area has air voids, and, when walked on it will always compress down.

Now! the carpet pile will always move in one direction when compressed, so when a Rug or Mat is placed on top and is walked on, the pile of the carpet moves sideways in one direction, making the Rug, move with it.

The taller the pile the more chance of movement, but if the pile is very dense (some more expensive types are denser), the sideways movement is reduced.

So it depends on which type of carpet is being used, before you need to determine the amount of control needed, note! some cheap carpets will move less than an expensive one.

Reasons Why Floor Rugs Move Around on Hard Floors:

Hard floors are the easiest for the control of Rugs and Mats moving, gloss tiles are the slipperiest, followed by wood and non gloss tiles, and then vinyl, as a general rule only.

One of the problems with hard floors, is that, people like Rugs that have a smooth backing to prevent scratching, and if its thin or light, it will slip very easily.

Movement of Mats and Rugs really is a huge problem, especially for safety, for this reason alone, some manufacturers make some mats or rugs with a rubber backing already built in.

This can be a problem in itself, as some types of rubber can harden and deteriorate, especially if they are maintained incorrectly, eg. washed in hot water or dried in the sun, and generally they are only made up as a thin and cheap type of rug.

Solution for Carpet Rugs & Mats Moving on Carpet:

There are a few different types of products available on the market, some are quite good, and others are average.

After many years of feedback from our customers, the self adhesive type foam seems to be the best way to go.

This Rug Underlay product premium rug lock (for carpet runners) or total rug grip (for rugs) are made with a special dry adhesive that will adhere to any surface, and is to be placed on the under side of your Door Mats or Rug, (a link to a instructional video can be seen below).

As it’s only available in 60cm wide on a continuous roll, how much to use is dependent on the situation, eg. type of carpet or how big and heavy the rug or hallway runner is, or the amount of foot traffic in the area.

Ideally the whole area of the rug should be covered with the foam underlay to minimize movement.

Other advantages is that this product can also be used on hard floors, and when its life effectiveness runs out, it can be switched out easily.

Solution for Floor Rugs & Mats Moving on Hard floors:

As mentioned above the foam works very well on hard floors, but there are other products made from rubber that are less expensive that can be used instead.

Rug Underlay anti-slip (for carpet runners) or the total grip rug underlay Rubber Matting Underlay is only suitable for hard floors, it is dimpled and open to allow air to circulate, this helps to prevent moisture trapping, but it is not self adhesive product.

The non slip matting is placed under the rug, ideally the more the better, and if you find that the rug moves off the matting, then you can spot glue it to the back of the rug.

One other popular use for this product, is, for the use in drawers in caravans, to help stop cutlery etc. moving and smashing when traveling.

 Alternative to Rug Underlay 

This product called Anti Skid Rug Spray is a spray on rubber that is applied to the back of any type of Floor Mat or Rug, it eliminates the need for any material underneath your area rugs.

The only disadvantage of this product compared to the others, is, it doesn’t have any bulk, meaning that it isn’t constantly in contact with the floor, especially if its only a thin light rug or mat, but once a small amount of pressure is applied on the mat, it won’t move.

“The spray on rubber I use myself on our wood floors at home, and I think it’s brilliant”, the only drawback is, after the initial application and the first couple weeks use, a smear of rubber residue is left on the floor, clean it off once and that should be it.

For instruction on how to use this Premium Rug Lock for Rugs or mats on top of carpet see this video 

To view the hard floors video look below at video

For video on Anti-skid Rug Spray view the below

Scattermats Rug Warehouse has been established since 1983 and is situated at the Stock Road Markets, we are open 9am – 5pm, 7 days a week so buy our Best Quality Rugs and get Free Shipping for orders over $150 or $20 for up to $149 Australia Wide!

Here at Scattermats, we are an enthusiastic, family-run business which is owner/operated and dedicated to provide quality service to all our customers, we can even Modify your Rugs according to your preferences. You can choose from the following collections- Carpet Runners, Animal Skins and Print Rugs, Persian Rugs / Traditional Design Rugs, Modern Rugs, Wool Rugs, Round Rugs / Circles, Shag Rugs, Kids Rugs or Kids Novelty Rugs or Activity Floor Mats like road rugs, Indoor or Outdoor Rugs plus loads more.

Author: “Neville Barnes“