Abstract: There is disclosed herein a floor covering comprising a primary backing having a fibrous face and an underside; optionally a cured precoat layer on the underside of the primary backing; and a microwave cured thermoplastic backing layer fixed to the primary backing. There is also provided a method of making a floor covering comprising tufting or implanting a fibrous material or yarn into a primary backing; optionally precoating the underside of the primary backing layer by applying a precoating composition followed by curing the precoating; applying a thermoplastic backing layer to the optionally precoated primary backing layer; and microwave curing the thermoplastic backing layer. An apparatus for curing a thermoplastic backing layer of a carpet is also described.