The Overlooked Kitchen Rug Addition That Stops Slips Instantly

Kitchens are high traffic areas where spills and quick movements happen quite often. Equipping your kitchen with a rug will add both warmth and comfort, especially if you spend a lot of time cooking or cleaning. However, if your rug doesn't have the right support underneath, it will turn into a slipping hazard. That's why a rug pad is an essential addition when shopping for a comfortable kitchen mat or rug. This accessory secures your rug in place and prevents dangerous slides. Moreover, it adds a cushioning layer that makes standing on hard floors much more comfortable.

While it is needed, it's important to remember that not every rug pad is suited to kitchen use. With that in mind, you should consider rug pads with excellent grip for different kitchen flooring materials like vinyl, laminate, and hardwood since those are some of the more popular floor materials in homes. In general, materials such as natural rubber or felt-rubber blends are ideal because they are an effective non-slip base on such flooring while providing some additional cushioning. Moreover, these kinds of materials resist mildew and mold, which is important given that a kitchen generates tons of moisture.

When shopping for a kitchen rug pad, you're going to want durability and easy cleaning as your top priorities. After all, spills and foot traffic are common in kitchens, so your rug pad needs to stand up to moisture without breaking down too quickly. That said, you should look for pads marked as water resistant to protect both your floor and your rug from water damage. Moreover, it'll help if you need to use the ice hack to flatten your kitchen rug out, keeping it from seeping into the floor below.

Also, you'll want to consider thickness since a thin rug pad won't protect the floor and will likely cause you to trip over it by curling or bunching into an even layer. Keep in mind that a pad that's too thick can add extra height underneath the rug, which then also becomes a tripping hazard. In terms of a good amount of padding, aim for about a ¼ inch of thickness, which is the perfect balance of comfort while still keeping your rug stable and flat.

It's important that the pad is slightly smaller than the size of your rug to keep it from peeping through. You should aim for it to be about 1 inch smaller — anything more will only expose the edges of your rug to the floor and increase the chance of you slipping. Alternatively, if it's too big, you can trim most rug pads so they can fit to your kitchen rug perfectly.