I'm looking for a nonskid carpet pad to use for an area rug on top of a hardwood floor. I'm a leery of the rubbery mesh ones that are offered for this, because there is a large area on the wood in front of one of the doors with that exact pattern on it -- I think someone used a pad like that and it stuck to the wood floor and damaged the floor (I've seen scatter rugs with nonskid backing get stuck to the floor, especially if they've been in place a long time). The pads I've seen stress that they will keep the rug from slipping but omit any reference to not damaging the floor.
I bought a pad that is sort of like thick felt impregnated with rubber specifically because it was guaranteed not to damage wood floors (the fact that this pad's description mentioned the possibility of floor damage added to my concern about using other types of pads). Unfortunately, it doesn't stick to either the floor or the rug as well as I'd like. I'm using it under a runner, and I find myself always having to twitch the runner back onto the pad and slide pad and rug back into position. It keeps the rug in place better than no pad, but it's not ideal.
Does anyone know what type of compound (rubber, latex, vinyl, etc.) can be used for a pad on top of hardwood without running the risk of having it damage the floor if not moved regularly?
Hope I've made this clear and not simply confusing! Thanks in advance for any advice.
Jo Ann