How to Keep Rugs From Sliding: 4 Easy (and Cheap) Solutions

We get the pain of rugs moving around on your floors.

After all, that's what our entire business is about!

We also get that not everyone is looking for a rug pad, but want instead something more permanent or cheaper.

The problem?

One wrong choice and you could be left with discolored floors forever.

We care about your floors, so we wanted to go through a list of solutions to help you find what's right for you.

4 ways to keep rugs from slipping

1. Use a rug pad

Cost: Medium
Ease of Installation: Easy
Damage Risk: Low
Longevity: Long-term

Using a rug pad is one of the most common ways to keep your rug in place simply because it works. It's also one of the most reliable ways to keep your rug in place, reliably anchoring it down without damaging your floors.

Rug pads are typically made from either PVC, natural rubber, or felt. However, cheap rug pads ruin your floor as they contain oils, adhesives, or toxic chemicals that can react with the finish, so it's important to vet the quality of rug pads you're getting before making a purchase.

And no, rubberized shelf liners do not work in place of rug pads.

Rubber rug pads are great at preventing rugs from slipping but don’t always offer the comfort you want. On the other hand, felt pads, though not amazing at gripping, are usually thick, provide soundproofing, and provide a soft, cozy underfoot feeling.

Felt + rubber rug pads offer you the best of both worlds, with the natural rubber offering excellent gripping power that keeps your rug in place and the felt providing cushioning and comfort.

Pros

• Makes cleaning and vacuuming your rug easier.
• Enhances your rug’s soundproofing ability.
• Protects your floor from scratches, scuffs, damage, and staining from rug dyes.
• Helps reduce friction between the rug and floor, increasing the life of both.

Cons

• Cheap plastic rug pads can harm your hardwood floor.
• Felt rug pads lack good gripping power.

2. Use rug gripper or rug tape

Cost: Low
Ease of Installation: Easy
Damage Risk: Low
Longevity: Short-term

Rug gripper or rug tape is a double-sided adhesive that grips your rug and anchors it in place.

It’s easy to use as you only need to stick one side of the tape on the rug then stick the rug to the floor. Edges and corners are prone to folding, but rug tape helps keep them in place.

Rug tape comes in different designs and sizes to fit different types of rugs. However, unlike a rug pad, rug tape does not add cushioning to the rug, protect your flooring, or extend the life of your rug.

But it is cheap and will keep your area rug in place. For optimum effectiveness, clean and dry the floor before installing the tape.

Pros

• Can be used on various floors like tile, hardwood, and even carpet.
• Reusable: You can adjust and move the gripper to a different position without losing its grip. Others are also washable.
• Affordable and offered in sets with several pieces, giving you enough for more than one rug.
• Grips the rug and keeps it stationary, making it easy to clean and vacuum.

Cons

• Rug gripper may not work very well on concrete floors.
• Doesn’t add cushioning to the rug.

3. Use silicone caulking

Cost: Low
Ease of Installation: Easy
Damage Risk: Medium
Longevity: Super long-term

Silicone caulking or hot glue are adhesives you apply on the underside of the rug. While we don't really recommend it for general households, it's a pretty popular solution used in commercial settings.

Before gluing anything to your floors, check with your flooring manufacture about how this particular substance might interact with your floors. Also be absolutely sure about the placement of your rug because once the glue goes down, it will be a mission to get that bad boy off.

Instructions for using silicone caulking:

1. Apply the caulking on the edges every 3 inches. Flatten out the caulking bead with a putty knife to prevent it from getting too thick and also to create a large surface area for adhesion.
2. It should be applied on a clean, dry, and mold-free surface. Damp surfaces and moisture leaks can prevent the glue from adhering.
3. Silicone caulk takes about 24 hours to fully cure. Ensure you allow enough time before placing the rug on the floor. When it’s done, the dried glue will have a rubber texture and added grip, preventing the rug from moving.

Just a bit of caution: when walked on frequently, caulking can leave a sticky residue on your flooring. The glue also pulls on the fibers of the rug, potentially ruining it.

Pros

• Simple and easy to install.
• Provides proper anchorage to reduce skids and falls.

Cons

• Can leave residue on your floor, especially on high-traffic areas.
• Glue pulls on your rug’s fibers and can destroy them.

4. Use Velcro

Cost: Low
Ease of Installation: Easy
Damage Risk: Low
Longevity: Short-term

Unlike grippers, Velcro is applied on the top side of rug anchors. You can then stick them to the rug’s bottom side.

Velcro works best when used on small rugs to prevent curling at the corners. Velcro is a workable solution that requires low maintenance.

Applying pressure by walking on the rug locks the Velcro system and reinforces the connection.

This is ideal for people in short-term living situations, like dorms or apartments as it's a pretty low-commitment solution. It won't last too long and it won't break the bank either.

Pros

• Easy installation and removal. To install, peel the protective backing from the strip, then adhere it to your rug. The rug anchor peels easily from the rug when removing.
• Rug anchors come pre-cut. You can trim them to fit the size of your rug. Also, like grippers, they come in packs with multiple pieces.
• Waterproof and non-porous, preventing moisture damage.

Cons

• Not effective for large rugs.

Non-slip rugs and carpets by room

Your choice of non-slip solutions for your carpets and rugs will depend on whether you need them for comfort or décor and the room they’re intended for.

Different rooms have different flooring types. It’s essential to know how to keep rugs from sliding on every floor in your home.

How to keep furniture from sliding

If you have a tile, vinyl, laminate, or hardwood floor, chances are, your furniture will occasionally slide around on the floor. This happens because the furniture lacks a good grip.

When furniture moves around, it can destroy your flooring and leave scratches. It’s also annoying when your couch slips away from you every time you try to sit on it.

However, you can solve the problem in several different ways:

• Place furniture grippers under the furniture’s legs.
• Use a rug pad to protect your floor.
• Place stop blocks behind the furniture’s legs to prevent it from sliding backward.
• Dust your floor daily or weekly as dust makes the floor more slippery.

We looked into each of these solutions and went into detail about each in this article.

How to keep rugs from slipping on carpet

Rugs move around on carpet due to the carpet pile beneath them. Naturally, they move where the carpet pile moves.

To prevent this, use a non-slip rug pad, rug tape, or choose a rug with a gripper or a non-slip rubber backing.

Our Carpet Lock is designed to anchor rugs in place against carpet flooring to prevent wrinkling, bunching, and shifting.

A non-slip rug with rubber backing is easy to find and has a strong gel that grips on its backing for extra hold on the carpet and hard flooring. However, not all rubber-backed rugs are good quality. Be sure to check with your flooring manufacture to ensure that the materials used won't damage your floors.

How to keep rugs from slipping on laminate flooring

Laminate flooring is smooth and polished, making your rugs prone to slipping and wrinkling. The best way to avoid this is by placing an anti-slip pad, sometimes called an anti-skid underlay, under your rugs.

Just be careful of any rubber-based rug pads or mats as they can potentially damage your laminate flooring. Our Anchor Grip rug pad is made with an EVA, making them safe for laminate flooring without damaging the finish or the rug.

How to keep rugs from slipping on tile

Like laminate, tiled flooring is very slippery. To keep rugs from sliding, we recommend either a non-slip rug pad made from natural rubber and felt, or silicone caulk.

Our favorite non-slip solution for tile is Contour-Lock. It is made of recycled felt and natural rubber, giving it strong grip with a bit of cushioning. The natural rubber blend contains less clay filler compared to other rubber backed rugs and rug pads, meaning that they won't break down prematurely in high-traffic areas.

How to keep a rug in place on wood floor

Just like with all slippery surfaces, rugs can wrinkle and bunch on hardwood floors. But due to the nature of hardwood floors, they damage easily. So it's super important that you check with your flooring manufacture before choosing any one solution.

While we can't speak to your exact flooring type and how it will interact with silicone caulk or rug tape, we do have an entire collection of rug pads for hardwood floors that use materials that are safe for wood flooring. Our favorite is RugPro because it works well with any rug type and is flush against the floor's surface, making it hard to notice that it's even there.

If you actually want some noticeable cushioning, then the Superior-Lock 1/4" is a better fit.

If you actually want some noticeable cushioning, then the Superior-Lock 1/4" is a better fit.

How to keep bathroom rugs from sliding

All of the same applies to bathroom rugs, with the added consideration for mildew and mold resistant materials. Because bathrooms are generally wetter than other areas of the home, we recommend a waterproof solution, such a waterproof rug pad or silicone caulking.

Silicone caulking will definitely hold your rug in place, but may trap moisture underneath your rug, leading to mold or mildew growth. Rubber-backed rugs are a cheap and easy solution in this case, but not all of them are easily washable. If you've got your heart set on a very cute rug that didn't come with rubber backing, then we recommend the Anchor Grip rug pad to go with it. It's made with an EVA backing making it resistant to mold and mildew.

How to keep a kitchen mat from sliding

Area rugs in the kitchen are often stepped on and continuously move around. For this reason, we don't generally recommend a temporary solution like rug tape or velcro. Silicone caulking will work here, if you're prepared for the long-term commitment, or a cushioned waterproof rug pad, like Cloud Comfort Memory Foam. With 7/16" worth of memory foam, you'll be happy to stand firm on your rug any time.

How to keep a rug from slipping on a vinyl floor

Rugs usually slip around on a smooth, luxurious vinyl floor. While using a rubber backing provides excellent grip, natural rubber can stain the vinyl. Instead, use a rug pad with felt and an EVA backing.

For the best performance, Anchor Grip's EVA backing will easily grip the rug and flooring. As it is latex and rubber free they are safe for vinly flooring without damaging the finish or the rug.

Other ways to keep your rug in place on a vinyl floor include installing Velcro, using double-sided tape on slippery mats, and anchoring the rug using furniture. But check with your flooring manufacturer before sticking anything to the vinyl flooring just to be sure that you won't damage it.