How to Protect Your Vinyl Floors from Damage

Fashion always comes back around. It's true for clothing – bright colored sportswear first made popular in the 80s has won our hearts again for its comfort and style. Home decor trends, such as vinyl flooring, follow a similar pattern. Its budget friendly price, wide variety of designs, and durability make it an attractive option for many home owners.

Vinyl floors: the pros

Vinyl flooring is an attractive alternative to hardwood and tile flooring because of its flexibility and versatility. It can take the texture of gorgeous white stained marble for bathroom and kitchen surfaces or transform itself into oak planks that are barely distinguishable from real hardwood. And unlike hardwood and tile, vinyl floors are softer on the foot. They absorb sound better and feel warmer and more comfortable than other hard surface flooring.

One of vinyl’s most attractive features is its ease of care. Vinyl is waterproof, easy to clean, resilient to damage, and requires very little overall maintenance. Sweep as needed and mop using a vinyl floor cleaner and you’re good to go.

Vinyl floors: the cons

This flexibility that vinyl flooring provides unfortunately comes at a price. Because it is softer than other hard surface flooring, sharp objects and heavy furniture can cause scratches, abrasions, and other permanent damage. With certain vinyl tiles, the attrition can cause the whole tile to pop out and require replacement.

That's why it's necessary to use furniture pads and rug pads to keep heavy furniture and rugs from slipping and sliding and damaging the floor.

Rubber rug pads and vinyl floors: not a match made in heaven

While vinyl usually durable and low maintenance, it can be damaged by certain materials found in many rug pads. Rubber, both the natural and synthetic, is not safe to use with vinyl floors because it reacts with the chemicals found in vinyl and causes staining. Heat from sunlight or even the friction of foot traffic on rubber-backed rug pads causes this chemical reaction.

A lot of cheaper rug pad alternatives are made using a type of plastic called PVC. Rug pads that contain PVC have a number of issues – typically, they are made with glues and adhesives that stick to floors and negatively affect the air quality of your home.

The best rug pad for vinyl floors

It is important to choose a rug pad that is made from materials that are compatible with vinyl floors. Anchor Grip is the best solution – it’s low-profile, non-slip, and contains absolutely no rubber or latex. Anchor grip is made with an EVA backing engineered to keep rugs firmly in place without damaging the floor beneath. Its ingredients are non-reactive with vinyl flooring, making it a great non-slip alternative to rug pads that contain natural rubber or latex. Anchor Grip’s low-profile doesn’t add any extra bulk, great for rugs in high traffic areas or underneath doorways and is ideal for thinner rugs and high quality Persian carpets.