Why Do Scales Weigh Less On Carpet

An explanation of why some scales might make you weigh.

Why do scales weigh less on carpet.

So i know its been shown that scales often show you weigh more when you put them on a carpet compared to a hard surface but regardless of that when i recently moved house my scales went into my carpetted room as my housemate hates scales. And now we know why. If the scale is moved and you do not calibrate it you are likely to see fluctuations in your weight. Moving any digital scale can potentially affect accuracy and dependability.

A board could work but it has to allow the scale to rest evenly. David mackay a physicist at the university of cambridge heard about the strange effect after a chance. If you lean off to one side one corner can compress the carpet more than the others and throw the scale off. Even if you put a board between the scale and the carpet the carpet will compress and prevent an accurate reading.

To remedy this you ll either need to take your scale somewhere with a flat surface or you ll need to create a hard surface to set your scale on. The scale needs a non compressible surface under it. You really do weigh more if you put your scales on the carpet. Also when certain eatsmart models are placed on the floor with the lcd light already on the scale will display the weight of the platform 4 6lb to 5 6lb.

Even when you put a board or solid surface on top of the carpet the underlying give that the carpet provides causes the weight scales to provide you with an inaccurate reading how scales work particularly frustrating if your bathroom has carpeted floors. Since 1879 measurements have been made using le grand kilo a mass of long lasting alloy of platinum and iridium on which all metric weight calculations and all scales are still based. This is mainly due to the imbalance that carpets cause because the scale needs a non compressible surface underneath. If you put the scales on carpet you could find yourself weighing a lot less or a lot more depending on the scales and carpet in question.

I didn t weigh my self for a while then what with the stress of moving and when i did i saw i d put on 5kg. If you weigh 80kg there will be 80kg on the scales 80kgs on the carpet and 80kgs on the floorboards ignoring the weight of scales and carpet.