Why Invest in Mats?

Floor mats have been around for decades, covering carpets and floors at home, at work, and even in the car. Their job, of course, is to prevent mud and dirt from soiling your carpet and to help keep your floors spic and span. Typically placed by the entranceways of homes, apartment buildings, office buildings, elevators, hotels, restaurants, and theatres, people automatically know to wipe their shoes on a mat to remove dust, mud, or snow before entering the premises. Custom-made or decorative welcome mats have also long been gracing front porches and doorways, greeting family members and guests.

Recently, however, a new generation of mats has emerged, giving mats a major makeover. In fact, with so many types of mats now flooding the market, it’s hard to know which mat to buy and how to select the right one. The first rule of thumb when buying a mat is to consider the setting where it is going to be used. Today’s mats are designed to perform specific purposes, which means a mat suited for one environment may not be appropriate for another.

Take, for example, a switchboard mat. Switchboard or dielectric mats are what is scientifically known as non-conducive, which means they don’t carry an electric current. Designed to be used near high-voltage equipment, dielectric or switchboard mats protect workers from potentially deadly electric shocks. These mats must meet industry standards for safety and undergo rigorous testing before they are approved to hit the ground.

Car mats play a vital role in extending the life of a car’s upholstery carpet by protecting it from heavy traffic, dirt, and wear and tear. Therefore it’s important to buy a mat especially made for automobiles, which are typically made of vinyl, tufted nylon, or Berber, and can be easily cleaned with a cloth and some soap and water.

When it comes to exercise mats the choices are even more confusing since each type of sport – such as yoga, gymnastics, martial arts, and Pilates – requires a specific type of mat. Thickness and softness are the two main features to consider when buying an exercise mat, as this will determine how much shock it absorbs and how much bounce it allows. And similar to many exercise mats, the function of an industrial high impact mat is to provide a cushion and absorb the impact of heavy machinery in warehouse or weight room settings.

If you stand all day on your feet at work, you are at risk for long-term back pain, blood circulation problems, thrombosis, worker’s fatigue, and a whole host of related health problems. Fortunately, nowadays you can buy anti-fatigue mats, designed specifically to absorb the impact of standing on a hard-surface floor and to encourage small muscle movements in your feet and legs even as you stand still. In fact, since anti-fatigue matting has hit the ground, it has been breaking sales records across the industry spectrum. If you are a bank teller, assembly line worker, cashier, hairdresser, hotel front-desk clerk, security guard, chef, teacher, or a game table operator, you can certainly benefit from anti-fatigue standing mats.

If you manage a swimming pool area, locker room, food service area, dishwashing room, or freezer isle, the type of mat you want to invest in is a drain mat. Drain mats feature a non-slip surface, beveled edges to prevent liquid spread, and are recommended by the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI).

One of the best names in the business today is rhino mats, which have proven to hold up better than competing mats in the market. Rhino mats are quality assured and frequently get rave reviews by customers, business owners, and employees alike.