interstate floor and rug

[Mobey]

We are working on the new owner leaning curve so thanks for your advice and experience. The owners manual says do not put rugs with rubber backing on the floor as it will harm the floor. Is this true? What happens? Thanks.

[Pahaska]

I have always put rubber backed rugs down between the twin beds, both in Airstream trailers and in my two Interstates. I use rubber backed runners because I can trim them to match the aisle without having the edges ravel. I can't see ant difference in the floor under the rugs.

[Tronadora]

I'm reasonably confident their reasoning is that once moisture gets trapped under there, it can't evaporate and therefore works at waterstaining the flooring.

We always have rubberized runners in place without issue. However, the entrance is covered by the AS welcome mat which has many times trapped moisture from the dog water dish spillage and the coffee brown floor turns a milky white. Often, this does not get noticed for days. Yikes! I let it air dry for several hours and it restores its original color reliably.

I shudder to think what would happen if a spill stayed trapped for weeks and weeks.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by Mobey

The owners manual says do not put rugs with rubber backing on the floor as it will harm the floor. Is this true? What happens? Thanks.

MOBEY - depends on what AS or you define as "harm the floor". Case in point - place any rubber backed mat on a fiberglass or cultured marble shower floor or seating surface - over time, dependent on uv exposure, temperature, humidity, acidity, and alkalinity of the toiletries you use, the fiberglass or marble could stain permanently or could stain or fade at a different rate than the exposed surface. It is more problematic on lighter surface. But having said that, like JOHN said/does, I place rubber-backed mat on certain areas of the van floor because the protection far outweighs the risk of discoloration/staining. And because I have the dark floor, it does not concern me much. BUT if you have a light Tommy Bahama floor, I would be careful & test first.

Still, fair warning from AS - having rubber backed mats can trap moisture from spills if not properly cleaned/dried. So I always remove mat if water spills, dry the floor, and dry the mat outside in full sun. Lastly, contrary to general belief, rubber is not waterproof. Rubber does absorb water. I am sure this is what prompts AS to issue such warnings.