Are area rugs on carpet ok?
Have you ever wondered if area rugs are ok to put on carpet? Or maybe you’ve wanted to add a splash of color or personality to your boring beige carpeted floors and asked the question will area rugs ruin my carpet?
The answer to this question may surprise you. Not because of how an area rug can hurt a carpet but rather how a carpet can hurt an area rug.
Yes, you read that right. There is actually going to be more of a problem with the area rug getting damaged being on top of a carpet then the carpet being damaged by being under an area rug.
The main problem with area rugs on a carpet is the fact that the rug does not have a stable foundation.
When you step on the area rug, the carpet fibers under it will compress from the weight of your foot and decompress after you lift it away. Three things will happen as a result…
1) when the carpet fibers decompress and stand up again, it pushes against the area rug and making it travel along the floor – forcing your to have to regularly reposition it.
2) the section(s) of an area rug with the most foot traffic will eventually get stretched out of shape and unsightly
3) the area rug will tend to bunch up and become a tripping hazard
Now as for the problems area rugs cause carpets. The main problem happens when you try to save a bit of money and hire an unqualified carpet cleaner to steam clean an area rug in your home.
When a natural fiber rug gets wet, there is a fairly good chance the colors will bleed and transfer to the carpet below. Also if an area rug doesn’t dry quickly enough – especially underneath – you risk having mold grow between the two which can also stain your carpet.
There are products out there that you can put between the carpet and area rug to minimize these problems but they do not work 100% of the time. Everything depends on the carpet you have, the kind of area rug going on top of it, the sizes involved and the material used. What works on one carpet/area rug combination may not work on another.
We once had a situation where a customer had us clean their area rug while she moved (unbeknownst to us) to a different apartment within the same building. After she brought home the area rug and laid it on the same type of carpet she had in her previous apartment, it started to travel all over the place and drove her nuts. Even though she didn’t have this problem in the first place she lived and this new apartment was pretty much the same, the carpet was slightly different – not in color, style or material used – but in the direction the fibers were oriented in the carpet. This tiny change made all the difference.
We solved the issue for her by finding the right kind of pad to put between the carpet and her cherished rug.
So the moral of the story is area rugs on carpet is really not a good idea. It can be done, it does make a floor look better but you will more than likely find yourself running into a few issues that may or may not be able to be solved.
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As the premier area rug care specialist in Victoria BC Canada we here at Luv-A-Rug Services have a passion for rugs. Not only can we tell you how to care for your rug while it’s in your home, we can also provide you with high-quality cushion for it, tell you it’s history, offer insurance approved written appraisals, along with full cleaning, hand repairs and guaranteed pet odor removal.
Luv-A-Rug cleans all types of rugs, not just wool, in all sizes and shapes including Synthetic, Cotton, Jute, Sisal, Silk, Hand hooked, Sheepskin, Man-made Silk, Viscose, Lamb’s wool, Camel hair, Braided and many more.
We also repair fringes, puppy chewed edges, moth damage, color bleed, frayed edges. We do authentic hand repairs and machine binding, serging and fringes.
Luv-A-Rug specializes in pet urine removal, non-chemical moth control and wine spills. There isn’t a spill or stain we haven’t had to clean throughout the years.
Come see us at 445 Beta St. Victoria BC or visit us online at http://luvarug.com
This video was filmed in beautiful Victoria BC Canada – one of the TOP TEN places to live in the world according to Conda Nast Traveler 2016 Readers Choice Awards.
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Do you have any questions about your area rugs? Then email them to us at luvarugofvictoria@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to answer it in an upcoming video (and just so you know…we will NOT be using your name in our videos).
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