After you choose a carpet for your home, your next purchase should be carpet padding. A carpet pad will provide a soft cushion and absorb most of the impact from foot traffic. This cuts down on noise as well as wear and tear on your new carpet. Without carpet padding, your carpet would be forced to bear the abuse of foot traffic all alone, and it would wear out very quickly. The right carpet pad extends the life of your carpet.

Carpet Padding Types

Homeowners have several different carpet padding types to choose from. They include:

• Fiber carpet padding: An eco-friendly, dense carpet pad that’s best used if you need to minimize your carpet’s movement. Fiber pads are often used under area rugs or Berber carpets. They’re generally not recommended for high-traffic areas.
• Foam carpet padding: A light, airy carpet pad made from urethane foam. The air in this kind of carpet padding makes it unsuitable for high-traffic areas, since it can’t support the carpet as well as other types of padding.
• Frothed foam carpet padding: Made from dense urethane, this type of carpet pad is durable and can be used under any kind of carpet. Not surprisingly, it’s one of the most expensive options for carpet padding.
• Rebond carpet padding: Made from scraps of foam used in making furniture, rebond is the most popular padding sold by carpet retailers. This type of carpet pad is relatively inexpensive, and available in a wide variety of density and thickness.
• Slab rubber carpet padding: This padding is extremely durable and well-suited to high-traffic areas like hallways.
• Waffle rubber carpet padding: Like foam carpet padding, waffle rubber is made of mostly air and breaks down quickly under high volumes of foot traffic.

Before buying carpet padding, ask the retailer which carpet padding types are recommended for your carpet. Check the instructions from the carpet pad manufacturer as well. In some cases, installing the wrong carpet padding can actually void your carpet’s warranty. Carpet padding price generally varies depending on your area, the type of carpet pad and its density.

Carpet Padding Thickness and Density

Generally, an 8-pound 3/8-inch carpet pad is recommended for Berber carpets. For most cut pile or loop carpets, 8-pound 1/2 inch carpet padding should be enough. Except for in unique cases, do not choose carpet padding types that are thicker than 1/2 inch. Although it may seem like a thicker carpet pad would be more comfortable, this could cause problems with your carpet’s installation.