LESLIE: Our next caller listens to The Money Pit on WCTC in New Jersey.
Marie, how can we help you?
MARIE: Well, I’m looking for a product that I can use to spray on the back of my throw rug; so actually, carpeting. And I find that they have a tendency to slide and, at my age, I’m trying to be a little careful. So I’m wondering if you can help me.
LESLIE: Now are your throw rugs on top of a wood floor?
MARIE: Well, some of them are on top of tile, some of them are on top of linoleum, and some of them are on top of wood.
LESLIE: Well, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend spraying something to the back side of these area rugs but what you can find at any sort of home improvement center – even a place like Bed Bath & Beyond or Linens ‘n Things – they sell something, it’s called a carpet pad and it’s very similar to a …
MARIE: It’s kind of like a weaving.
TOM: Yeah, exactly.
LESLIE: Yeah, it’s like a rubber weaving and sometimes you can buy it in smaller pads to put your glassware on and your cabinets. But this comes in large sizes and it’s usually matched to the size of your area rug and, if not, you can buy it in a much larger sheet and cut it to that size. And what that’ll do is that’ll sort of stick to the floor and the rug will stick to that because it does have sort of a slight adhesion to it but it won’t damage your rug or your floor and it’ll really stop you from slipping on it.
MARIE: Well, that’s very true. I have some of that but, of course, you have to get the right one. Some of it is to be used against tile, some is to be used on the wood, and then there’s even some I think that you would use on top of carpeting. So that’s the only solution, then, to that type of problem.
TOM: Yeah, and you know, you really do want something that’s going to be a mat in between the rug and the floor you’re trying to protect. Now in my home, I have an anti-slip mat like that that goes in between a wool carpet and a hardwood floor and the particular one that I have has large pores in it. It’s sort of like a – it almost looks like a graph paper. And the reason that’s important is because it lets the dirt and the dust go right through without getting trapped and then adding to the slipperiness of it. Because sometimes when dirt and dust gets under those things, it can really act like ball bearings.
MARIE: Yeah. Well, what I’ve done – and maybe I’ve ruined it – is I’ve – particularly in the bathroom, which is on the tile, I’ve taken it and when I brushed out the rugs I would take that matting and I would wash it, rinse it, to get any dust or anything out of it. Maybe that is ruining it.
LESLIE: Yeah, I think washing it might get rid of that sort of adhesion that they put on it. Maybe a better bet would be to just hang it outside; you know, beat it with a broom like you would a normal rug.
MARIE: That’s probably what I will have to do, then.
TOM: OK, Marie. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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