When a one-of-a-kind, hand-knotted oriental rug tape meets hardwood floors, lots of homeowners get nervous. Almost any rug you buy will slip on your floor. Wood and marble are the most common culprits in making rugs slip which poses a big issue when it comes to decor. 

• So how do you stop your rug from slipping on your floor?
• Where can you find a good rug grips item? 
• How to keep rugs from sliding?
• For this purpose, you need rug pads and rug tapes for your rugs.
• What is a rug pad, and do you need one? 
• What is a rug tape, and is it a reliable method?

Many of us put thought into each and every detail of rugs before buying them. We will look into the kind of material we want, their quality and how much time will they take to wear off.

But sometimes we totally forget one of the most important factors that are what comes in between your rug and your floor. If you care about your floors as much as you do about your rugs, this is an important factor to consider.

To dispel some of these initial fears, allow us to mention that rugs have been around a lot longer than hardwood floors. Societies have used wool rugs for thousands of years with minimal difficulty by simply placing them on the ground.

Given a large enough rug, this ancient technique may work just fine in the home. But when smaller or thinner rugs are placed on hardwood floors, sliding and moving becomes an issue.

There are many ways of addressing the rug-flooring interface problem, from masking tape and hot glue to rug pads made of various materials.

The thrifty DIY homeowner may be satisfied with a solution that would make the more discerning rug fanatic cringe. The price tag accompanying some super-premium rug pads may make a lot of us cringe.

Let’s take a quick look at several methods of securing rugs to hardwood flooring, ranging from quick and cheap to durable and a tad more expensive ways on how to hold rugs in place.

 As most of you know at RugKnots we have a dozen options of rugs to choose from. Such as, this beautiful tan Ziegler area rug. 

Keep Rug Tape From Slipping: Tips

Tip 1: The Ubiquitous Cheapish “Rubber” Rug Pad

These are available at big-box retail outlets and are mostly manufactured in China. Rubber rug pads are thin pads with a waffle pattern. They are the perfect rug pad that provides the most common solutions for securing oriental rugs to hardwood floors.

Using rug pads under your rugs is a smart way to protect your hardwood floors. But make sure the rug pads you buy are of good quality because otherwise, they can damage your expensive floors. Rug pads have various advantages. They keep your rug from slipping and they make vacuuming much easier.

However, while they are affordable and easy to install, and certainly do hold rugs in place, these budget rug pads come with several adverse side effects that may make them more of a problem than a solution.

Most of these rug pads are coated with adhesives that can really damage your hardwood floors. The adhesives contain toxins that can leave marks on your floor. Not only that, but the same toxins can also fill up your homes. Anecdotal evidence abounds of these pads leaving behind a sticky, waffle-patterned residue after even only a few months of use.

Apparently, most cheap “rubber” pads are actually manufactured with PVC or other plastics, which bond to polyurethane floor sealant over time. Some of these plastic rug pads are also treated with mysterious adhesives that only worsen the residue issue.

Depending on how much you care about your hardwood floor, it may be best to leave these pads behind. Now that you have come so far, would you look at this beautiful green overdyed rug, maybe you need to change your old rugs with this vintage piece.

Tip 2: Rubber Shelf Liner As A Rug Pad

Several creative homeowners have suggested using rolls of rubber shelf liner instead of pricier material made specifically for rugs. Some of these are made from nonskid rubber while others from decorative shelf liner paper.

However, nonskid rubber shelf liners are recommended as it will hold the rug in place. They are a good substitute to rug pads in terms of quality but they might not be as efficient.

They work best with small rugs where lightweight material is used. Simply measure the length (or width) of your rug, and cut several strips of the liner to size. After laying the strips down on the floor, carefully position the rolled-up rug at one end and unroll it evenly to avoid wrinkles.

While this method is charming in its economy, thrift, and effectiveness, it may be prone to a somewhat similar if not exact, sort of reaction with hardwood floors that cheap rug pads often undergo. After a few weeks or months of use, check the floor underneath to ensure that no sticky residue is being deposited!

We have listed this rug every now and then for its beautiful intricate designs. We would recommend it to you again obviously. All you have to do is to click on the link given and buy it now!

Tip 3: Use Double Sided Carpet Tape

Stretch out your carpet: Unroll and leave out to stretch in the room you wish to place it. This will help in getting rid of creases so that the maximum surface area sticks.

Roll out half of your carpet leaving the back of the carpet exposed. Stick the tape on the sides of the carpet. Unroll the carpet back onto its place. After you're done, you can cut the excess tape, if any, left on the surface of the carpet. Now that you know how to use double-sided tape, go to our website and add to cart now!

Tip 4: Felt Rug Pads

If the health of both the floor and rug alike are of great concern to you, felt rug pads are hands down the best solution for securing oriental rugs in place and it is one best way to keep rugs from slipping on hardwood floors.

Most felt pads are made of recycled plastics, so they are more eco-friendly than many other rug pad options! Felt rug pads are made by combining rubber and felt together by a heating method. This technique produces a natural, non-slip pad making it durable and long-lasting. Felt rug pads that are 100% recycled are made by using natural jute fibers.

These rugs are used more for comfort rather than for non-slipping purposes. While purely felt pads offer wonderful cushioning and harm neither rug nor floor, they aren’t very "grippy."

Felt rug pads are recommended for larger rugs or rugs with furniture placed on top: instances in which slipping isn’t much of an issue. The dense cushion of felt pads also helps mitigate premature pile wear from heavy furniture or foot traffic.

Tip 5: Natural Rubber Pads

For thinner rugs, smaller wool pile rugs or any oriental rug prone to sliding, natural rubber rug pads do a great job of keeping rugs in place without damaging floors or rugs. Unlike cheaper, synthetic “rubber” pads that usually contain various other plastics and adhesives, natural rubber pads will not degrade or bond to polyurethane floor coatings.

Natural Rubber Backing pads that are made naturally will never leave stains or damage your hardwood floors. These are made by using a non-adhesive material that will hold your carpet to the floor without actually sticking to them. Even though naturally made rubber pads are a bit expensive, they are a good long-term investment. These are also eco-friendly and unlike plastic rubber pads, do not contain chemicals that damage your floors.

Natural rubber pads are the best fit for hardwood floors or floors that are more prone to stains. Pure rubber pads don’t provide nearly as much cushion as do felt pads, so several manufacturers have begun producing felt/rubber hybrid pads that pair the grip of natural rubber with the density of feeling.

Keep an eye out for rubber-felt hybrid pads that use heat, rather than adhesives, to bond the rubber base to the felt backing. While these are likely the most expensive solution, these pads hit all the marks: they’re non-slip, they cushion and protect oriental rugs, and they won’t damage hardwood floors and stop the rug from slipping on the hardwood as well!

RugKnots HIGHLY recommends this solution as it is the best way to keep rugs in place. Do you have your own method for securing oriental rugs to hardwood floors? We’d love to hear about more innovative solutions or rug pad alternatives.

As we are talking about rugs, we thought of listing some of the latest arrivals at RugKnots which are these beautiful rugs.

Tip 6: Gripper Tape

The gripper tape is a very popular solution for securing rugs to hardwood floors. It is made of rubber with an adhesive back that sticks firmly to both surfaces and ensures that no movement will occur between them. Most rug grippers come in a variety of widths, lengths, and thicknesses. For the best results always buy tape that is at least an inch wider than the carpet on any side!

Tape may sound like a bit much but it really saves you time as well as ensures your rug will stay in place for years to come and with no mess or hassle when you want to sell your home.

The rug tape is an easy way for anyone, even those with minimal experience in DIY projects, can handle themselves well when it comes to fixing a carpet problem!

Tip 7: Hook And Loop Anchors

Hook and Loop rug anchors are a great way to keep rug tape from slipping. The adhesive on the back of this type of anchor will stick firmly to your flooring and it is designed with small hooks that can be pulled up or down as needed without damaging surfaces. This rug Anchor makes them much easier than other types of anchors, that require nails or screws to be hammered into the flooring.

Tip 8: Silicone Caulking

The gripper drops are a type of silicone caulking that is designed to be used on the edges of your carpet. These are often applied at doorways, thresholds, and even around furniture legs, such as chairs or end tables. The goal of this product is to create a protective barrier between these areas so that you have protection from any slippage when walking over the rug. Also, the caulking will create a smooth, flat surface that is easy to clean.

Tip 9: Hot Glue

Hot glue is often used to anchor rugs. It is a very affordable and accessible type of solution, as it only requires you to purchase this product and some double-sided tape from your local grocery or hardware store. You will then need access to an electric outlet so that the hot glue gun can be plugged in. The other benefit of using hot glue is it's quick and easy to remove when you need to.

You can use a hot glue gun to anchor the rug in place. There are a few ways that you can use this product: around furniture legs, such as chairs or end tables, or on carpeted stairs, so they don't move when people walk over them.

Tip 10: Non-Slip Rug Pad And Carpet Tape

If you are having trouble with the edges of your rug moving, an option for anchoring is a nonslip rug pad and carpet tape. A rug pad will need to be laid down first on the area that needs protection from rugs being pulled up or sliding around. Once this has been done, then use some carpet tape along the edge where it meets. Rug pads also stop rugs from moving from their position.

Tip 11: Rug Pins

Another option for anchoring the rug in place is to use rug pins. You will need to secure these with screws, which should be no more than ¼ inch long so they don't go through your flooring or carpet pad below. Use two per corner and space them evenly along the edges of the area you are covering. With rug pins, we are creating a protective backing for the rug.

Tip 12: Stop Curling Corners.

Stop curling corners and edges. This is done by simply using a bit of tape on the edge to secure it in place so that when you unroll your rug there won't be any curl at all. If you stop curling corners then it will also be less likely that the rug will slip around.

Measure the length and width of your area, so you can determine how much tape you need for this. To stop a corner from curling, start by cutting off an 18″long piece of carpet tape and stick one end to the edge where there are no wrinkles.

Gently unroll the tape and smooth it out so that it is flat against your flooring or carpet pad below. If you use two pieces of tape per corner, then space them evenly along the edges of the area to be covered with a rug so they will not overlap but rather form a rectangle shape from one side to another on each piece of tape.

Warning About Rug Tape For Oriental Rugs

People often don't realize the importance of choosing the correct tape for your carpets and rugs and how it affects the ideas of the best way to keep rugs from slipping on hardwood floors. Some people don't even look into what sort of tape they're buying and end up using non-carpet tape which ends up giving their floors permanent damage.

Others buy carpet/rug tape but don't look into whether or not that tape is fit for use on your floors. For this purpose, carefully selecting your tape for area rugs is essential as choosing the wrong type may ruin your floor. Double-sided carpet tapes may seem the most intuitive solution for slide-prone area rugs, and many homeowners have used them for years without experiencing floor damage. That being said, we remain somewhat skeptical of this tape, especially when applied to hand-knotted oriental rugs.

We just don’t like the idea of strong adhesives pulling at the hundreds of thousands of knots that form an oriental rug’s intricate pattern. It may be better used with cheaper, rugs, where it can stick to latex backing rather than the wool fibers themselves.

Once again, adhesives can be a real pain to remove from hardwood floors, often damaging the finished surface. However, this isn't the case with all kinds of tape made for holding down a carpet in its place. Some more qualitative tapes won't leave any kind of adhesives on your carpet.

They can be easily removed when needed without leaving any kind of mark or residue on the carpet or the floor. If you are able to find good quality tape, you'll find that they have extreme stickiness that will prevent the rug from slipping.

What Is The Best Rug Tape?

The best kind of rug tapes are the ones that will grip both the rug and the floor without leaving a scratch on them. Acrylic Foam tape has been becoming increasingly popular nowadays.

This tape is coated with acrylic adhesive on the layer of foam. The use of acrylic adhesive makes it last longer. However, before choosing the right rug tape, you need to consider the following.

The type of surface you're trying to stick together. For example, you can choose a thinner rug tape if the floor is made up of glass or aluminum. If the floor is of cement or hardwood, you should choose a more aggressive adhesive for it to stick properly.

You should also consider the material of the carpet. For example, polypropylene and polyethylene need a more aggressive rug tape to stick to their surfaces.

Does Gripper Tape For Rugs Work?

Rug grippers are another useful method to prevent your carpet from slipping. They are used in both rugs and large carpets. It is also easier to reposition rugs as this tape releases itself quickly from the carpet when lifted.

Another advantage of this tape is that it can be used on any kind of floor surface. It is also inexpensive in comparison to a rug pad. At RugKnots we have some beautiful rugs which you can have a look at if you plan on buying a new rug.

How Can I Stop My Rug From Moving On The Carpet?

There are many ways to prevent your carpet from moving from its place as discussed above. Using rug gripper for carpet is one of the most common methods to hold carpets in their place. Good quality rug pads are another great option.

Will Rug Tape Stick To Concrete?

Even though concrete blocks don't bond well with tape, there are some strong tapes that can stick to concrete floors.

The masking rug tape is one option to choose from. But you need to make sure you choose masking rug tape with the highest adhesive as there are different types of masking rug tapes. Seam tape is another good option when it comes to concrete surfaces.

If you want better insight into our products, you can check out the reviews section on our page. Or better yet, leave your own review on our site! You'll be delighted to see how seriously we take our customer service!

All our items are carefully packed and the delivery is free of cost. Any item you are not fully satisfied with will be covered under free return shipping. Feel free to reach out to us here at Rugknots online rugs store in USA!

If you are confused or having cold feet on whether to buy an area rug or not, we are here for you. We will guide you through how to Choose an Area Rug and make it look spectacular in your space.

Furthermore, if you have more questions or want any rug done in a custom size, please email us at info@rugknots.com or call us at (240) 252-5452‬.

We are happy to answer your questions.