How to Remove Rug Pad Marks from Hardwood Floors?

“How to Remove Rug Pad Marks from Hardwood Floors?”

Rug pads are used to protect the backing of the floor rugs and prevent their wear and tear. Using them not only protects the back of your rug but also makes the rug last longer.

One worrying factor about using the rug pads is that they leave a mark on your floor if not cleaned regularly.

Whether it is a hardwood floor or any other, the rug pads often leave a mark if kept placed in one place for a long.

Many people would be wondering what to do if the rug pads leave a tough mark on the floor. People may be on the hunt to find the solution to remove rug pad marks from hardwood floors.

To remove a mark left behind by a rug pad is often easy but that totally depends on what kind of mark was left behind.

Some rug pads leave an adhesive mark while some leave behind a scuff mark. In both cases, the solution to remove the mark is different.

Keep reading to find out more about the proper ways to remove rug pad marks from the hardwood floors.

How to Remove Rug Pad Residue or Marks from the Hardwood Floors?

It happens more often when people put off their rug pads and they get a disgusting residue or mark in return. The marks left could be of any type.

Sometimes the rugs placed on the rug pads often look older and worn out and people may throw them away. Do not do that.

Rather go through our ways to remove the marks or residue and renew your rug and rug pads.

Find below some ways through which you can remove the marks on the floor and save money on buying new rug and rug pads. Read through:

While there is a different way for different kinds of marks, you can use either one of these products to get rid of the rug pad marks depending on their type.

• WD-40
• Goof-Off Marks and Stain Remover
• Spatula (Plastic Scrapper)
• Hardwood Floor Mop
• Microfiber Cloth
• Oil Soap

Why Do the Rug Pad Leave Marks or Residue On My Hardwood Floor?

While most people do not know about it but most of the rug pad backing is made from latex or rubber material.

They are bound to leave marks on the hardwood floors. There are many common reasons the rug pads do that to your floors.

Out of the many common reasons, the most prominent one is the use of adhesive material used in the backing of the rug pads.

The adhesive material often reacts with the floor or its polish leaving behind the difficult to remove marks on the floor.

If that happens, the backing of your pad will wear out eventually leaving behind scars, marks, and residue.

In addition to that, some other marks you may see after removing the rug pads are rubber marks or deposits. That mostly happens with the rug pads having the rubber backing when they keep placed in one place for a long.

In both cases, there is nothing to worry about. Both of these marks can be removed easily without damaging or fading your hardwood floor.

Keep reading to find out more about how to remove rug pad marks from hardwood floors.

What is the Difference between Marks and Residue?

Before you go for the solutions to remove rug pad marks, you must know the difference between a residue and marks on the floor.

If your hardwood floor got black scuffs, which are on the surface, only, those are the marks and there are great chances that your floor’s backing has not degraded or worn out.

Meaning there is no damage to your floor. These surface-level scuffs can be easily removed using any of the ways mentioned above.

If you see a sticky or adhesive material on your floor, that is a residue. They may appear black due to reaction with your floor or its polish. In that case, you should use a good quality residue remover to get rid of the blackish stuff.

The basic difference between a mark and a residue is that the residue is an adhesive substance that mostly happens due to the chemical reaction of the adhesive material with the floor or its polish. The mark is just a scuff on the surface.

How to Remove Rug Pad Surface Scuffs and Marks on the Hardwood Floors?

Scuffs and marks on the floor are meant to be removed easily. But one thing to take care of is that there should not be any kind of residue or adhesive element present on the floor at the time of cleaning.

You can remove the surface scuffs and marks in simple steps. The first thing you need to do is to run a plastic scrapper along the marks to find out bumpy or sticky areas (if any).

If none are found, you should vacuum the floor to remove any kind of dust or debris before cleaning the surface.

Once the vacuuming is completed, you should read the user manual of the product you are going to use for cleaning to make a proper mixture as required.

Next, you can proceed further and use a high-quality hardwood cleaner product like the WD-40, Goof-Off Marks and Stain Remover, or the Hardwood Floor Mop.

With these simple and easy steps, you can clean and wipe off the surface scuffs and marks on your hardwood floor.

How to Remove Rug Pad Residue or Adhesive Marks?

Recognizing a residue or adhesive marks is much easier than the surface scuffs. The residue or adhesive looks like the black rubber chunks on the floor and is sticky too.

You can identify them by simply touching them. Once confirmed, follow the below-mentioned steps to remove the residue without causing any damage to your floor.

• First, spray enough quantity of WD-40 on the floor to fight off the tough adhesive material or rubber and leave it for 5-10 minutes.
• Next, Use a Plastic scraper to remove the chunks or grimy material stuck on the floor.
• Next, use the Hardwood Floor Cleaner to clean the floor after removing the rubber or adhesive substance.
• Next, fill up your Hardwood Floor Cleaning Mop with the cleaning agent and use it along the affected floor area. Keep cleaning until you get a fresher and shinier look on the floor.

However, before doing the procedure, do the above steps on a small area to find out if it causes any damage or fading on the floor.

If nothing happens, you can proceed with the cleaning procedure. The purpose of this caution is to avoid worse scenarios due to just one simple mistake.

Which Rug Pads Are Safe for Hardwood Floors?

While this question may arise in minds of most the people who are looking to keep their floor rugs safe, we will try to guide them about and recommend the best options in the market.

One thing to focus on while buying the rug pads is the backing of it. The rug pad you may be going to buy may have good quality material upfront. But you should focus on the backing of it before buying.

For instance, we would say the rug pads with 100% felt backing are the ones you should go for.

They will not leave any mark or residue on your floor and will not damage your floor in any way.

Another positive thing about the felt-backed rug pads is that they are cheap and affordable due to the low cost of the felt material.

So that would save you money too. For your ease, here are some of the best rug pads out there you can go for:

• Mohawk Home Non-Slip Rug Pads
• nuLOOM Non-Slip Grip Rug Pads
• Veken Non-Slip Gripper Rug Pads

The best and most noticeable thing about these rug pads is that they are high quality and affordable.

You don’t need to break the bank to buy these. They are easy on the pocket and provide great safety for your floor rugs as well as your hardwood floor.

Caution: Be aware that rug pads are not recommended for the Vinyl Floors. Do not ever use them on Vinyl Flooring or else you will end up with worse results.

Final Thoughts

Now that you have a better understating of how to remove rug pad marks from hardwood floors, We hope this piece of content may have helped you in going for the right procedure of cleaning the marks or residue from the floor.

First, identify the type of mark or residue, and then proceed further with the respective cleaning procedure.

Cleaning the marks or residue off the floor is easy.

Isn’t it? If you are satisfied with our content and if it assisted you in cleaning your hardwood floor the right way, do not forget to share your experience and recommendations in the comments section below. Thanks!