Squeaks, Crunches and Crinkles: Diagnosing Foam Carpet Padding Noises

Installing foam carpet padding may require professional assistance.

Adding foam padding beneath a carpet gives the surface extra cushioning and can assist with sound insulation in a room. Yet even when it is installed correctly, the padding might produce noises that are comparable in volume to those it reduces. Noise coming from the padding may originate from a flaw in the material itself, or it could indicate a more significant issue with your flooring.

Hard Particles Embedded in Foam

Some foam carpet padding, such as rebond pads, is made by combining different foam particles. Hard bits can end up scattered unpredictably throughout this type of padding. Overheating during the foam manufacturing process creates these hard particles. LGM and Associates, a floor-covering consultation firm, notes that hard pieces inside rebond pads can cause squeaking when someone walks on the carpet. Crunching sounds can also occur when several hard pieces grind against one another. To fix the problem, you need to take out the noisy padding and install foam padding that has no production defects.

Age-Related Floor Structure Issues

In an older house, the noise heard from the floor while walking might not come from foam padding at all. Floorboards in a room can become slightly loose, allowing the subfloor to shift against the wooden joists underneath. The result is squeaking floorboards. Foam carpet padding can make this worse, since it adds weight to the floorboards and increases the force with which they press against the joists.

Membranes on Foam Padding

A waterproof membrane encasing foam carpet padding may create a crinkling or wrinkling sound as the casing moves when people walk across the carpet. This is not caused by any structural defect or abnormality in the foam carpet padding. Poor installation of the padding can leave the casing membrane uneven, which produces the crinkling noise. To stop the sound, you must pull up the top layer of carpet and smooth the membrane so that the covering lies flush against the foam padding.

Foam Rubber That Lacks Strength

Foam rubber padding may be too weak for areas of a home that see a lot of foot traffic. The International Standards & Training Alliance states that foam rubber, including waffle rubber, loses density over time to a degree that makes it unsuitable for parts of the home with heavy foot traffic. As the foam degrades, the noise comes from flattened rubber rebounding against the underside of the carpet. If the foam padding is not replaced with a sturdier, more resilient option, the bottom of your carpet can be damaged.