How to remove carpet pad marks from a floor

One of the most common problems associated with using those thinner, waffle-like rug pads is that they can damage the floor by marking your design into the floor. I’ve heard many people tell me that they needed to refinish their floors due to damage to the floor caused by the cheap carpet pad used under their rug(s). Before you call a flooring company, there may be a solution you can try at home to remove marks from your floor mat.

I recently heard from a customer who had this problem with marks on his floor. He used WD-40, the popular lubricant. What he said to do is cover the marked area with the WD-40 and then rub it down with a rag. I have outlined below the steps to take to try and remove carpet pad marks or stains from a hardwood or any hard floor.

1. Saturate the stained area of ​​the floor with WD-40. Be sure to let the WD-40 sit and soak into the stain for a few minutes.

2. Use a rag to start rubbing the area. Depending on the strength of the carpet stain, you may have to scrub quite hard and for quite a while. Check the rag frequently to see if it needs to be changed.

3. Once it appears that all of the stain is removed or all of the stain that can come out is removed, take a dry rag and wipe the excess WD-40 off the floor.

4. As a final clean of your floor, clean it with Murphy’s Oil Soap, an excellent floor cleaner that will add both a shine to your floor and a fresh scent to remove any WD-40 residue or odor.

The customer who tried this and advised me on the process had a lot of success with this. There’s no guarantee that every damaged floor will have the same result, but it doesn’t hurt to try this out before investing in a more expensive solution.

When the floor is the way you want it and it’s time for a new mat, be sure to prevent any future damage by purchasing a solid felt mat or a felt and rubber mat. The rubber does not mark floors and is safe for all hard floors. It’s the waffle-like rubber pads that can mark your floor because they’re usually sprayed with an adhesive that transfers to the floor.

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