I put the Instagram viral Amazon rug grippers to the test – and now my rug finally stays in place on my lino kitchen floor

Who doesn’t love a rug? I sure do. They’re a great way to bring colour, pattern and texture into any room and make it feel cosier. The kitchen included. But the fact that I can’t get my kitchen rug to stop sliding about on my kitchen lino floor and have to adjust its position every now and then is annoying to say the least. Well, I couldn’t get it to stay in place, I should say. That irritation is a thing of the past thanks to the Amazon rug grippers that Instagram has introduced me to.

Priced at £5.94 for a pack of 12, these babies are a bargain. But of course, this is not exclusively a kitchen rug idea. These rug grippers can be used on any rug and laminate, wooden, lino or any other hard flooring. Sadly, this is not how you can stop a rug from moving on a carpet as these sticky grippers are not compatible with a carpeted surface.

What you might be thinking right about now is that there are anti-slip mats and pads designed for rugs to stay in place. But let me just say that my rug had one of these and while it helped a little, it didn’t stop it completely from moving. Not to mention, the really good quality pads can be pricey. Definitely more pricey than £5.94.

Call me ditsy, but when I first ordered this product I imagined it would work something like a small, flat weight that would attach to the bottom of the rug and stop it from moving about. I clearly didn’t read the description properly because I couldn’t have been more wrong. So this is how it actually works.

How the Amazon rug grippers work

Firstly, you can choose whether you want to go for a set of 12 for £5.94 as I did or for a pack of 24 for £9.99. This largely depends on the size of your rug - I’m hoping you’re following the 18-inch rug rule when it comes to the right size of your rug, by the way - and as mine is a relatively small and short runner, 12 was perfect for my needs.

The rug grippers arrive in a small and simple plastic bag with no manual. But in all honesty, it’s pretty straight forward. Both sides of each strip are adhesive but protected with a removable film. And it is clearly marked which side is to be attached to the bottom of the rug and which side will be stuck to the floor.

And one of the important features to note is that the rug grippers are actually reusable! So whether you’re moving house, getting a new rug or moving it to another room, you can simply wipe each of the strips clean and reapply them once dry.

How to apply the rug grippers

First thing’s first, you need to be working with clean surfaces. So vacuum the floor with your best vacuum cleaner and mop it if needed. And if the bottom side of your rug isn’t completely clean, give it a clean too. Once you’ve done that and the surfaces have dried, you can start applying the gripping strips.

As I already said, both sides of each strip are protected with a film. First, you need to remove the film protecting the side that grips onto the rug and apply it to the corners and edges of the rug.

I’m not going to lie to you, one part of the application wasn’t as smooth as I would have hoped for. But perhaps my technique was partly to blame. What I decided to do was apply all of the strips, then lift the rug (with the help of my boyfriend) and slowly flip it and place it on the floor, patting on the areas with the strips so they attach to the floor.

This, however, resulted in some of the grippers falling off which I then had to awkwardly reapply. So a better strategy might be to work in sections instead.

But overall, I have no regrets. Ever since then, my rug hasn’t budged an inch and I couldn’t be happier. I have also tried to lift it off the ground which I surprisingly managed to do with ease and with no sticky residue left behind. It’s a thumbs up from me!