What are the Different Types of Carpet Underlay?

Now that we’ve established what carpet underlay actually is; (if you still don’t know, go back and read my first post on carpet underlay), we can get into those nitty gritty details – what is carpet underlay made of?

There isn’t one cut and dried answer to this question because there are a number of different types of carpet padding each with their own special use.

I’m sure you would have noticed the differences between your carpet at home and that at your office or workplace? Domestic underlay is a lot different from commercial underlay; they are made from completely different materials which have different benefits for their separate uses.

Let’s look at our domestic grade carpet underlay first.

Domestic carpet underlay is technically called PU Rebond underlay or waffle underlay. It is made up of manufacturer waste from factories in the furniture industry. It is basically the foam which is used to stuff couches and car seats. The foam is then chipped down into little pieces then moulded together into a sheet of foam.

The best thing about this type of underlay is the fact it is so light and easy to handle. You can get it in different thicknesses so depending on how much you want to spend and what kind of insulations you need you can choose the most appropriate size.

Commercial carpet underlay is called crumb rubber underlay. While not solely used in commercial environments it is not normally used in homes unless you have a wheelchair. The crumb underlay is perfect for hard wearing environments as it is much harder and can resist compression much better than the waffle underlay.

Crumb underlay is made from ground up car tyres. Like the PU underlay the tyres once ground are formed into a sheet of underlay. They also come in varying thicknesses for you to choose from to get the best product suitable for your needs.

Felt Underlay is the third type of underlay which you can get. This is hardly used these days because it doesn’t offer much insulation at all. It is also a serious dust trap, so if used it shouldn’t really be in a home, especially if you have a tendency to suffer allergies.

The one good thing felt underlay is good for is for sound insulation. So if you’re looking for underlay for that purpose only then felt is the way to go.