Pro tip: check your knee kicker pad before every job, not after
Been installing for 14 years and always figured a worn pad was just something to live with until it fell off. Then last month a homeowner in Mesa pointed at a wrinkle by her hallway and said it looked like it was there before I even started. Turned out my kicker pad had been slipping for 6 months and I was stretching short on every room without knowing it. Now I swap pads every 30 days like clockwork, so what's your limit before you toss one?
Man, 30 days sounds like overkill to me. A pad that's a little worn still grabs fine, you just gotta push harder. Feels like you found one bad pad and now you're tossing good ones for no reason.