Latex backing on area rug smells and is turning powdery. What to do?
Question:I bought it from pottery barn four years ago. I want to get rid of the latex backing odor and also I would like it to stop shedding a powdery dust on my wood floor. Any suggestions? It is not in a high traffic area.
Answers:
Here is how to save it, but know that latex backed rugs are another example of forced replacement with a design flaw that the manufacturer's don't want you to know. Latex backing on rugs, whatever the fiber content of the rugs are simply designed to fail over time and be replaced. That is because the latex cannot be subjected to any moisture, what so EVER. It is designed to break down into that powdery substance which is the component parts of the backing. Even living in a high humidity environment will begin to deteriorate that backing over time because it is not manufacturered to perform in those conditions.
Want to beat forced obsolescence? Turn your run upside down outside. Let the sun beat on it during the heat of the day. (Latex can't stand heat either.) Take a wire brush to the backing and remove all of the loose latex you can. Vacuum up the rest. Do it again and keep doing it until you see very little of the latex left on the back of the rug. Be VERY careful not to disturb the fiber that may either be tied nor looped under the latex.
Once you have removed the majority of the latex backing, here is what you do to preserve the rug into perpetuity. And you have choices here, too.
You can leave it the way it is, protecting your floor with a rug guard sold by fine area rug dealers custom cut to just about 2 inches shy of the rug you have. This works, IF, you are not putting the rug on a slick surface like tile, stone or hardwood. It is sort of like an area rug "padding" if you will, but it will grind the heck out of hardword, scratch fake engineered wood and dull lamanite. Okay for tile, but it will "slide" the area rug because the bottom of it isn't meant to grip. You can have the rug bound by a professional who will put a backing on to the area rug which I still don't necessarily like depending on the surface upon which you lay the rug because the same exact damage can occur. What I do recommend to client is a do-it-yourself experience. Use a thin carpet pad that covers the majority of the area in square footage of the rug with a non-slip netting that you can get at the home improvement store. Carpet tape the edges of the rug to the flooring underneath. This not only secures the rug, contains any exterraneous powder, but protects the flooring from damage.
Contrary to popular opinion, you probably didn't buy a cheap rug. It is the manufacturer's in mass merchandising that create wonderful area rugs, with great fiber content who have to cut costs and ensure future business that put you in this situation. You have choices, buy new is what they would like you to do. But, being in business for 30 years, I'd like to see you extend the life of the product you purchased. The fiber content of the rug can handle that better than the backing was ever designed to.
the latex has deteriorated over time...time for a new rug
you should have a cat spray it. it will cover up the odor and make a nice yellow color rug.
It is just cheap latex dissolving. Not much to do for it.
The latex is starting to break down. You may be able to find a spray-on latex in a craft store or a place like Home Depot to re-apply the backing. If you can't, then unfortunately your rug is probably history.
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