During rug installation, it’s a good idea to also consider using rug pads underneath them. They do a great job of not only making the rug feel softer, but they also have some sound absorbent properties that can make your home more comfortable. Homes that have wall to wall carpeting can particularly benefit from this. Rug pads can also increase the life of rugs, so are ideal when installing expensive rugs.

From time to time, you may find that the rug pads are more than you need. Rather than throwing them away, you can restore and repurpose your rugs for other uses including:

Making DIY Scratching Posts

If you own a cat, having a scratching post is a great way to reduce the chances of damaging the furniture. With excess rug pads, this is not difficult to do even if you are not proficient at DIY projects. All you need is a square plank of wood, some screws, a drill, a hot glue gun, scissors and a staple gun. The basic premise of making such a post is wrapping the rug pads around the post, after covering the post with some glue. Of course, this is after cutting the rug pads to size. The rug pads can then be fixed in place using screws and staples. You can use different materials to make the scratching pole more attractive to your cat as well.

Winterizing Your Home

You can use rug pads to reduce the effect of cold during winter. A good example of this is where you store your fireplace logs. These tend to get wet during the winter, making them difficult to light and produce a lot of smoke. You can use rug pads to insulate the location of the logs, so that they stay dry and warm.

The same logic can also be used for some rooms in the house, such as your basement. Since the floor of a basement tends to get very cold during winter, you can cover it using rug pads if you intend to use it regularly. All you need is some mounting tape, a ruler and scissors to cut the rug pads to size and then place them around the floor.

Cabinet and Drawer Lining

Rug pads can also be used to create linings for cabinets and drawers. This gives them an exclusive feel, and also makes it safer to store delicate items in them. A drawer in which you place jewelry, for example, would greatly benefit from rug pads since they eliminate the risk of scratching. The key to making this work is ensuring that you get the dimensions right, so that the pads don’t end up crumpling up.

These are just a few of the creative ways in which you can use extra rug pads; the possibilities are only limited by your imagination.