A rug does not usually cause a problem in one moment. It changes slowly. A corner that lay flat stops lying flat, an edge rolls under, a runner creeps toward the doorway after someone vacuums, or the rubber backing breaks down and the rug sits a little higher on one side than the other. Each change is small. Together they create the uneven patch a foot finds when it is not looking.
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What goes wrong first
The first thing to go is usually the edge, not the middle. Look for a corner that lifts when you walk past it, a fringe that folds under, or a seam where two pieces meet and no longer sit flush. Next comes movement. A rug that was centered in the room is now a few inches toward the door, and a rug that once stayed put on a hard floor now slides when someone steps on it. The last sign is often a mark on the floor where the rug used to sit, which tells you how far it has traveled.
How to spot it early
Set a weekly check that takes about two minutes. Walk the path she uses from bed to chair to bathroom, and press down on each corner and edge with your hand. Look at the underside of one corner by lifting it gently, and note whether the backing is tacky, cracked, or flaking. Keep a simple note on the fridge or in your phone: which rug, what you saw, and the date you checked. The note matters more than the memory of the last check.
Changes in how she walks
Pay attention to how she moves over the floor, not only to the rug itself. If she starts stepping around a rug, slowing at a seam, or shuffling her feet across an edge she used to cross without thinking, that is worth telling her doctor or the care team. A change like that can show up before a fall does, and it is the kind of detail a clinician can use. This is an observation to share, not a conclusion you need to reach on your own.
Decide who checks, and who replaces
Name one person for the weekly check, and name a second person who knows how to tape, trim, or remove a rug if the first person cannot. Decide in advance what counts as a reason to act the same day, such as a corner that lifts enough to catch a toe. Some rugs are safer gone altogether. If a rug has no good use in the path she walks, moving it out of the route may be the simplest fix.
If no one in the family can take the weekly check, the Local help for keeping her home page is a place to start looking for a second pair of eyes. For the wider picture of how this site thinks about the house, see About this site.