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Anti-slip pads & underlays

Flying rugs are fun in storybooks, but not in your home. And our carpet underlays are designed to ensure your rug stays put on the floor where it belongs! Our durable, affordable anti-slip rug pads keep your rugs firmly in place as your family walks, moves and plays without worry. In addition to making your rug safer—helping prevent falls from a rug shifting underfoot—they also enhance comfort and make your rugs easier to vacuum. Browse our easy-to-use selection of rug underlays to find the right fit for your rugs.  

Benefits of carpet underlays

In addition to protecting your rug and the floor underneath, helping preserve and improve the lifespan of both, rug underlays boast a few other important benefits…

  • Keeps your rug securely where you place it, reducing the risk it will move underfoot and cause a trip, fall or spill
  • In addition to the enhanced safety, your rug itself also looks fresher and more polished when it doesn’t have any ripples, bunches or folded over edges thanks to a secure carpet underlay
  • Enhanced air circulation so your rug can ‘breathe’ and dry more quickly if it gets wet
  • Increased softness and plushness underfoot, particularly for very low-profile designs like flatwoven rugs

What is the best material for anti-slip rug pads?

At IKEA, we offer a few material choices, including a felt and synthetic latex blend, and polyethylene and synthetic rubber blend. Each can be easily cut to the size and shape you need for your rug, and is suitable for all types of flooring.

Let’s explore what makes each a smart choice depending on your primary concerns:

  • Felt Anti-Slip Rug Pads: The felt top holds firm to your rug while the synthetic latex backing hugs the floor. Thanks to the solid design of our felt rug pads, dirt and debris that makes its way through your carpet won’t find its way to the floor underneath. Simply freshen up your rug pad whenever you vacuum your rug
  • Polyethylene Rug Pads: This affordable rug underlay is the type you might be most familiar with, with an open waffle design that grabs onto your rug and reliably holds it in place. Ours is especially durable so you won’t have to replace your underlay or your rugs as often. Security and sustainability!

Pro tip: Find your mat losing its grip over time? Simply wash it to get it back into slip-fighting friction shape!

Do you need rug underlays if you have carpeting?

If you’ll be adding an area rug on top of existing carpeting, it is still recommended that you use an anti-slip rug pad for many of the same reasons they’re recommended for use with hard flooring. Namely, they decrease the chances of the area rug moving when you don’t want it to, and help protect the carpet underneath from friction-related damage.