If youre planning on 10+ year carpet, I recommend going all out with 8+lb pad. Rubber usually avoids this. Some more firm, and some like a squishy pillow. Thickness: HighWeight/Density: HighInsulation: HighLongevity: LowCost: Low. The good news is its a decision that will pay off for years. Fiber pads come in synthetic and natural varieties. The average consumer would not consider this carpet cushion because of its cost. Who knew there was so much to consider when choosing the best carpet pad for your home? For both the synthetic and natural fiber pads, Id let your warranty make the decision if its right for you or not. Some carpet warranties outline specific requirements for the padding. This is the carpet padding that I prefer for my own home, but it is extremely pricey and difficult to find. Most are synthetic now, and you should go with synthetic in most cases. Pounds and ounces, in this case, are completely different measurements and cant be compared directly (its not just a 1lb = 16 oz conversion). That said, there are varying types of memory foam. If you have purchased a rebond carpet cushion and yellowing has occurred, rinse with white vinegar or other mild acid before applying a detergent solution. Spring. Not exactly. The one I took outRead more . It is made from reclaimed scrap of high-density urethane foam used in furniture and automotive manufacturing, which is bonded together to form carpet cushion. "A pad also extends the life of a rug by preventing the fibers from being crushed, as it acts as a buffer between the rug and the surface under it," Sylvie Johnson, Merida's artistic director, tells House Beautiful. Rugs require different padding than carpet. Do you have any thoughts about whether I should take a chance on the rebond memory foam? A study conducted by the Carpet Cushion Council found that carpets without pads lose 19% of their pile height, while those with padding lose only around 510%. Interested in partnering with Carpet Captain to help our readers? Without padding, the backing will break. Fiber Cushion: This carpet padding is used primarily to take advantage of scrap fiber and promote environmental stewardships. We recommend this pad for low pile / berber carpets where a low profile firm foundation is needed. The thought process here is if inch is recommended, retailers will go to 5/8 inch. Here is a full list of densities by pad type: Some of these, especially fiber pad, may grade the durability high, medium, low. In this case, you would just have to trust that it is accurate. While here are RugPadUSA, we dont offer carpet padding (only rug pads), we still want to make sure you find the very best for under your carpets. Dont confuse yourself trying to convert ounces to pounds or vice versa. Many carpet manufacturers recommend a minimum of 8 pounds per cubic foot. And if you can snag a frothed foam or slab rubber pad for a similar price to rebond (unlikely), you might as well takeone of those because they will be more durable. Bonded Urethane: This carpet cushion is also called rebond and is the most popular type of carpet padding sold today. Dont confuse frothed foam with a standard foam pad. Whats the price of free? Moral of the story? Are you getting free padding with your carpet? Carpets with a higher R-value are more successful in trapping and storing heat, so it doesnt seep out through the floor. Shameless advertisement (that I think will help you): A good vs bad carpet installer will not only make or break your carpet purchase, but they also can help you choose the best carpet pad for your home setup. You may be told that a thicker carpet cushion will cause performance problems, but the primary reason for selecting thinner carpet padding is so the carpet is not so high from the floor that it will not hold on to the tack strip. Its our most economical FHA approved pad. It is best to ask for written assurances from the retailer that the carpet padding that you choose does not contain Bht. The foam padding is great for long term residential carpeting on high traffic areas or in high traffic commercial spaces like hotels or waiting rooms. Our Top Picks for the Best Gifts Under $200. This leads to thick, low-density foam padding. With carpets, the underlay carpet pad is the foundation between the carpet and your floor which is essential for your carpet to be comfortable and last a long time. Thickness: MediumWeight/Density: MediumInsulation: LowLongevity: MediumCost: High. Read more about moisture barrier padding for basements. You drive directly on top of it. Other names: bonded urethane, bonded polyurethane. Carpets and carpet pads lower reverberation levels the degree to which the sound lives on in the room as well as eliminate noise from things like children running around, footfalls, and chairs scraping. There are only a couple of situations where foam pad is acceptable for your house: rooms you dont use and areas where you dont need the carpet to last more than 4 years. Rebond comes in various thicknesses and densities. So I dont get this stretching thing. But this goes back to the bridge analogy (Im getting more use out of this analogy than I thought). The most important reason is if your carpet warranty calls for something else. Read on to learn everything you need to know about rug pads. Here, weve answered the most common questions for you. Sometimes the pad isnt as durable and can cause wrinkles in the carpet, which dont look aesthetically pleasing and can be a tripping hazard. Provide a buffer between your carpet and rug that prevents shifting, wrinkling, and bunching under foot traffic. It depends on the type and condition of your padding. But with padding, thicker pad isnt always the best carpet padding. The carpet industry has established a maximum recommended thickness of 7/16 inch, but you should never exceed inch. Captains warning! For more information on waterproof rug pads, check out our guide on the best carpet pad for pets. This padding is your choice for apartments and rentals. One is if you have slab rubber or frothed foam pad. Follow Carpet Captain on Pinterest for more flooring ideas and tips! It also adds cushioning and contributes to noise reduction, insulation, and stability. You now know why padding is important, but did you know its so important that a free padding deal could void your warranty? I am in the process of carpeting my stairs. 1/2 Pet Bloc has a Spill Trap that blocks spills and stains from seeping to the sub floor. Over time if the structure under the carpet is squishing, the carpet will get damaged. If you have an uneducated or dishonest salesman, they may ignore these guidelines and give you the cheapest pad possible. It depends because it can be a pretty big investment. And whats the point of a luxury you cant show off? However, this isnt always the case. It can retain heat inside your home and also prevent cool air from escaping. A rug pad is a sheet of material that serves as a buffer between your area rug and the floor. Carpet padding can make you feel like youre walking on clouds, but thats not all theyre good for. Let me know in the comments below. Wont let your dog damage your floor. Sometimes they just charge more for everything else. This type of padding comes from new polyurethane foam meaning its not recycled and is instead cut from a big mass of foam. And we know you do. Once this happens, the carpet starts to age. carpet padding using the broader area of evaluation may equate to a pound rating for a square inch measure. But just because the salesman isnt trying to mislead you, doesnt mean you wont get ripped off. 1/2 Pet Bloc memory foam redistributes weight and surface pressure for the ultimate in comfort. Other names: synthetic felt, felt pad, jute. Then you dont have it.) The point is: You deserve a nicer rug padit might not seem like an important purchase right now, but you'll thank yourself later. The two components work together to absorb the pounding of foot traffic, providing the ultimate in luxury and performance. Thickness: MediumWeight/Density: MediumInsulation: HighLongevity: HighCost: High. Find a rug pad for less common floor types, including bamboo, vinyl, stained concrete, and linoleum. Since there are carpet pads that perform similarly at a lower cost, I dont recommend you buy waffle rubber with your carpet. Related:A Practical Guide to Soundproofing Floors In Your Home. However, I will say this: I dont think memory foam will perform better than a high-quality rebond pad. Site development by, Urine Off Carpet & Hard Surface Treatment, Doubles the Texture Retention Warranty on Anso, EverTouch and ClearTouch carpets. Captains warning! Have you ever stepped on a memory foam mat? Support Guard Collection Products offer the ultimate in comfort, support and durability by incorporating aunique blend of ultra-plushmemory foam and first quality prime foam in the cushion. Some of these densified prime urethane carpet padding can be very good performers, but make sure you know what you are buying. Doing your homework is even more important when you arent dealing with a reputable retailer. This is probably what youre getting, and you should probably take a hard pass on it. If youre looking for ultimate luxury and comfort, then yes, memory foam is definitely worth it. For more information, see our complete terms of use. You might find this highly durable padding worth it if you want to live in your house 20 years or more (you wont need to replace the pad with new carpet), you have very high traffic areas, or you just want to guarantee your giving your carpet the best shot at lasting as long as possible. By the time you notice the damage, theyre nowhere to be found. In the carpet world, the asphalt = carpet and the foundation/structure = padding. Those webbed rubber ones? These are the things youll want to think about. Good pads will make your rug look better, feel better, and last longer. This allows the carpet to assume the rest of the impact burden; thus shortening carpet performance life. With memory foam, youre starting to see carpet manufacturers part with brand names like Tempurpedic andNike.The verdict on many of these is still out. However, nowadays most manufacturers are much more careful about toxins in carpet padding and there are strict regulations to ensure carpet padding is safe for homes. We do our best to provide unbiased, honest, and up-to-date information to help you with your carpet purchase. Also worth mentioning is wool carpet pads. The good news is most retailers know the padding thickness you need. It depends on your situation, so below I give you the pros and cons of each carpet pads to figure out which will work best in your home. The viscoelastic part is where memory foam gets difficult to judge. Or what if the store just doesnt care or do a good job of training their salesman? This means you should be able to ask for 15% off the final padding bill. I even called Shaw carpeting and the rep really wasnt much help, she just said not to go over 7/16th or 8lbs. However, the fact is that, regardless of how thick the carpet is, without carpet padding it wont be comfortable. What can get confusing is the various methods of rating carpet cushion performance. The cost of padding depends on the type you want and how big of an area youll be carpeting. In your home, Id expect this padding to last through two sets of carpet or more. The majority of padding will become worn, dirty, and even smelly after years of use. Thicker pad can have too much give and damage these carpets. Densities of these carpet cushions can be as low as pound per square inch (psi). Side note: the densities I just recommended are for standard rebond pad. A carpet is essentially just fiber woven together. You can have the highest grade asphalt in the world, but it will crumble the first time a car drives over it if it doesnt have the right foundation. Most retailers will charge you for the same amount of padding is carpet. So how do they do it? Detergent solutions have the tendency to permanently set the yellowing. Carpet padding is a necessary part of the carpet installation process and is a fairly permanent thing, while rug pads go under a rug that you can move around and switch up. This is the most durable option on our list using high-density urethane foam. Just like in carpet, if you love your rug, support it by not cheaping out on the pad. Any time the carpet store is giving something free, you better figure out why. Guest room Carpet Face weight 42 oz.sq yard Pile Height 0.781 Texture tufted available padding Rebond 6 lb 7/16 Or Rebond 8 lb 5/16 Same price Also, due to current conditions, Im self installibg, have prior experience, and the proper tools, but it been years since I did this.. Military family, our carpets with waffle padding, traveled the world, and were loose layed under furniture. This is because it sometimes needs a firmer thinner pad to support it. Yes, it is. This deserves a whole page, and weve got exactly that. It is important to note which method is used when comparing carpet padding, because an 8 lb. For example, a Berber has a lower face weight than Saxonies because of their low pile. There are also thicker rubber rug pads that are sticky and offer plenty of cushion as well, if you prefer not to go the felt route. They dont offer a standard 8 pound rebond (or so I was told). Carpet Pads vs Carpet Padding: Which One Should You Get? But there are a few cases where it makes sense and saves you money. An 8-pound carpet cushion may weigh 8 pounds in a standard 3 ft by 3 ft by 3-ft cube. This is why its always important to do your homework, and its even more important if your carpet retailer doesnt have a great reputation. This is great for places like living rooms or bedrooms where you want to sit and relax. Click here to enter your zip code and get free quotes from 3 top installers in your area. This is a good carpet cushion, but in the past, its filler percentage was very high and the carpet padding tended to break down over the years. But if you suffer from allergies, rugs can also mean sneezing and allergy symptoms. Captains secret tip! For a rug, getting a pad under it will also make a difference by making the rug softer, keeping the rug in place, and providing protection for your floors and rug. Memory foam is made of frothed foam with viscoelastic gel infused. which is softer: an 8 pound or 7 pound memory foam carpet? But to find out more on how much you should pay for your specific padding features, check out our carpet and padding pricing page. That makes it difficult for me to give a straightforward opinion on memory foam carpet pad. Rebond pad is the most common pad choice and is often the most affordable too. Unless you dont care at all about how long your carpet lasts (in which case you probably wouldnt be reading this), you want to go with at least a 6.5lb pad. If you live in an apartment and can hear your upstairs neighbors stomping around, they dont have carpet padding. This content is imported from poll. Thickness: HighWeight/Density: HighInsulation: MediumLongevity: HighCost: High. You can pull up carpet 10 years after its installed and the rubber pad will look the same in high traffic areas as it did new. And if your primary concern is that the rug stays in place, you can also purchase a felt-rubber hybrid pad, which combines the best of both worlds. Memory foam squishes. .css-d1h32f{color:#000000;display:block;font-family:Visuelt,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;-webkit-text-stroke:0;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-d1h32f:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-d1h32f{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.3125rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-d1h32f{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.3125rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-d1h32f{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.625rem;}}Our Top Picks for the Best Gifts Under $200, 10 Amazon Holiday Gifts Everyone Will Love, The Best Gifts for Mom This Holiday Season, Your Guide to Buying the Softest Sheets Ever, Get a Deep Clean With Dupray's Neat Steam Cleaner, The Best Washable Rugs for All of Life's Messes.