Tape/Adhesive for area rugs
I have red oak floor throughout my house. We also have rugs we put in certain places. In some of the high traffic areas the corners of the rugs get bent upwards when people catch their foot on the corner. What adhesive would be safe (for the long term) to put between the rug and the floor to keep the corner of the rug from sticking up? My main concerns are how hard the adhesive is to get off and will it discolor/change the apperance of the floor after it is removed. Thanks. Joe. Several companies (most notably 3M) market a 'carpet' tape. It s atape with adhesive on both sides. It works well (apply to a CLEAN surface). Any residue is usually easily removed with a soft brush or rag and paint thinner. The paint thinner will not hurt the finish on the floor. As someone who has sold probably around 1000 rolls of carpet tape in my time I must comment on the suggestion.1) There are several different types of carpet tape.Various retailers will carry what they consider to be the types that sell at their location.Talk to the sales help for advice and go to a hardware store not a big box retailer.2) Carpet tape works fine on smooth backed somewhat stiffer carpeting however on throw rugs and the like,uneven flexible materials and for rugs that are made of materials that can be pulled or torn away,carpet tape will be,at best,a very temporary solution and will give way eventually.If the rug is regularly pulled at by being walked on or caught at the edges the tape will eventually lose it's adhesive qualities.3) Getting back to the multiple types of tape situation,this also will effect the ability to remove it at some later point.Some carpet tapes are extremely difficult to remove and are designed to be permanent.Don't assume they will all remove easily.Also don't assume that the tape won't leave a residue that is difficult to remove. I can't offer you an adhesive alternative that doesn't carry the risk of being difficult to remove and/or could damage the floor.Carpet adhesives are all designed to be permanent and are solvent based. Tape may help you but you'll likely be replacing it regularly. i would forget the tape/adhesive idea and either 1) turn the rug around to where the upturned corner is in a less trafficked area, or 2) try to bend the corner under for a while to retrain it to be flat again (which probably won't work), or 3) get rid of that worn out rug buy a new heavy rug that is nice flat. i, too, have area rugs on wood floors. my newer, nicer, heavier rugs are nice and flat. one of the old ones that the previous owners left for us is obviously worn out one corner is all flipped up. no amount of curling it under will keep it down for long. it's worn out. we need to replace it. i wouldn't think to adhere it to the wood floor as a solution. one reason is that you're supposed to rotate your rugs occasionally to keep the wear even, and when you mop/sweep/clean, you need to move them to get underneath, don't you? as tempting as it may be, i just can't imagine that you'd really want to permanently attach the rug to the floor, although right now, the flipped up corner is very annoying, i know! Here's something that seemed to work for me... 1. Use the flat 90-degree metal braces used in woodworking 2. Cut strips of carpet tape just a bit narrower shorter than the brace's width and length. 3. Line one side of the brace with the tape. 4. Remove the other side of the tape, and adhere the brace to the corner of the rug that's curling. 5. Cut small pieces of the fuzzy part of a velcro strip (loop), about 3/8 x 3/8 and place one on the corner and one on each end of the brace. The weight rigidity of the brace keeps down the corner curling. The velcro fuzz protects the floor without any adhesive in contact with the floor. And it's thin enough to not show when in place. Good luck. GREAT IDEA!!!!! but instead of using only one part of a velcro set, just use those self-adhesive protector felt pads. they come in various sizes of circles or in strips. the strips would be perfect! Annette- I'm a BIG fan of felt pads for protecting floors (chair legs), protecting walls (back of dressers), and other sundry uses. And lighter duty felt pads might be a good way to go for the bracket/rug thing. But my initial assessment was that the higher density (and greater thickness) of the felt pads would raise the bracket off the floor to a greater degree. The Velcro fuzzy seemed sleeker. But I'll experiment and see how it goes. Thanks- FHamilton58 actually, if a rug PAD is being used, neither one may be necessary. Annette- Excellent point! The first rug I did (small area) didn't have a pad, and it was over a laminate floor. But the second, larger rug next does have a pad, and your trick will definitely work. Thanks!
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