Types of Rug Backing

A rug backing is the kind of material stuck to the back of a rug to facilitate aeration and easy movement of moisture and gas through the rug. Rugs generally would need to breathe hence the kind of material that is used as a rug backing is very important. A poor choice of a rug backing may mean that the rug succumbs to mold, mildew, extreme wear, and some types of backing can even ruin the flooring.

Today, most of the machine-made rugs available have a heat-set backing which is applied on the rug using a high intensity heat process. This backing facilitates good aeration thus making this kind of rug backing the best choice. Nearly all machine-made wood rugs today would have a heat-set backing. Ironically, animal hides are never the best rug backing choice.

This is because even though some expensive animal hide rugs could have been prepared very well, majority of them aren’t. This therefore only means that the animal hide does not breathe very well and other animal hides may need extra backings in order to prevent the animal hide from curling. It is because of this that affordable animal hides are not durable despite the fact that they are a natural choice.

Throw rugs and bathroom area rugs which are completely covered with latex are mostly the worst types of rugs that can be bought. This is because the rugs have no room for aeration and can really damage all types of flooring. Hardwood floors will with time warp and then sink while laminate flooring will more often assume a yellowish coloration when a rug with a latex backing is used. Concrete floors too can show visible signs of damage due to latex. This is because latex attracts and retains moisture which seeps in the floor beneath the rug.

With that said, before buying any kind of rug, it pays to find out the type of rug backing attached onto the rug. Sadly, most consumers will only be interested in the type of rug and not the rug backing, which is of equal importance.