We have sold barrier mats for many years and as such have gained many years experience in the field. There are many misconceptions regarding barrier mats and I have taken the time to list a few here and also to give the truth behind the misconceptions.

The minimum size required for barrier mats to be effective depends very much upon the environment. In a commercial situation the minimum size of barrier mat is 90cm x 150cm (5ft x 3ft) as it is essential for each foot for walk on the mat twice. In domestic areas where you reasonable expect someone to stop and wipe their feet a 3ft x 2ft rubber mat will be sufficient.

Many rubber barrier mats claim to absorb water but not all mats are efficient at doing this. Nylon and polypropylene are synthetic yarns that cannot absorb water or rain in any reasonable quantity. A dry mat made from these yarns can physically absorb water until the mat becomes saturated. The water is then walked off the mat with more passing traffic. As the fibres in these barrier mats are non-water absorbent this happens fairly quickly on a wet day. Rain mats are normally made from a blend of viscose/polyester or cotton. These extremely water absorbent yarns can absorb up to 7 litres of water per square metre.

So if your looking for a mat that will absorb a lot of water make sure it contains at least one of viscose/polyester or cotton as one of the main components. Beware of retailers telling you that nylon or polypropylene are excellent for absorbing water. They aren’t.

There are many different qualities of barrier mat and their varying quality is not always immediately obvious. If your purchasing a barrier read the description carefully and if possible speak to a salesperson and get them to run through the differences in the various qualities of mat that they offer. If they don’t seem to know very much move on to the next shop as there are plenty of options for barrier mats online.

 


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