A beautiful rug can be the perfect complement to a hardwood floor. However your rug can create a hazard for slipping and falling when placed on a bare floor. For this reason, most rug owners will place a separate backing under their rug to increase friction between the floor and rug. Beware when using synthetic rubber and latex underlayments. These synthetic material can react with the hardwood discoloring and degrading your floor. Over time the area covered with the rug will then age differently than the uncovered floors.
Therefore, you should only purchase natural rubber or latex backers. However, you must take caution because many manufacturers do not always tell the truth about their materials.
Contact Olympic for advice on which underlayments are best for you.