WET AREA MATTING BUYING TIPS


Things to consider choosing water draining floor mats or interlocking draining tiles

View full selection of water draining mats and interlocking tiles HERE.

  • CUSTOM SHAPES
    • We cut only rectangular shapes. However, almost all VINTEK mats can be trimmed on-site with a utility knife or even scissors ( VinWave MINI, Tile 103). Do NOT use utility knives with break-away blades, as these blades may break resulting in injury.


  • SHOWER STALLS
    • Any draining mat or tile will work in custom built shower stalls where the wall meets the shower floor at 90 degrees. Purchase a mat to cover the entire area, leaving as little gap as possible between the walls and edges of the mat. The walls and corners will keep it in place. Be careful when using draining mats in pre-manufactured shower tubs. These tubs have rounded edges and corners which curve up and which may cause the mat or tile to slide up along that edge.


  • STABILITY
    • Naturally, the larger a wet area mat is, the heavier it will be. Heavier mats are more stable because of their sheer weight. A 3 feet x 10 feet mat will weigh between 25-30 pounds. For this reason, use one larger piece rather than several small pieces whenever possible.


  • COMFORT VS SAFETY
    • Comfort and safety are on opposite sides of the equation. The more aggressive the texture is on the surface of a wet area mat or interlocking tile, the more traction it will provide. However, more texture translates to less comfort. If you are purchasing the mat for your sauna, spa or home – consider leaning towards comfort. If this is a public health club or you have children running around your pool every weekend – go for safety. Remember, ANY VinTek mat is still safer than an uncovered tile floor covered in water.

  • MAINTENANCE
    • VinTek drainage mats and interlocking tiles are made of vinyl or PVC which will inhibit the growth of fungi, algae and other living organisms. However, debris may get caught on the mats over time and allow for these organisms to grow, which is why it is important to occasionally clean the mats. Any household detergent used for cleaning should be safe to use on these mats. If in doubt – test on an edge of the mat and watch for discoloration. If the chemical causes damage or discoloration, simply slice an inch off the mat and save the rest.

  • MATS GETTING HOT IN THE SUN
    • Anything that is exposed to direct sunlight will get hot, and unfortunately drainage mats are no exception. The denser and/or darker the material, the hotter it will get. This explains why concrete gets much hotter than a wooden deck under the sun, and black asphalt can even get hot enough to cook an egg. Because our mats have gaps or holes between the treads, standing on them will not feel as hot since your foot is only contacting a portion of the hot surface. A hot drainage mat is still better than a hot and slippery tile floor. For sunny locations, we suggest mats with hollow tread construction and lighter color.

  • USING VINTEK MATS AND TILES OUTSIDE
    • If you are in a hot climate zone and you get a lot of hot sunny days – select pool matting that is approved to be used in direct sunlight. UV is very destructive and some wet area mats will fade and deteriorate faster than others. If the mats will not be exposed to direct sunlight – any VinTek mat will do. Climate zones that get snow – avoid dense, smooth surfaces like VinTube or VinWave MINI. These mats are very comfortable on bare feet but may get very slippery if covered by snow. Instead, go for VinWAVE, VinAIR , GrateTile or similar.

  • COVERING EXTRA-LARGE/EXTRA-WIDE AREAS
    • Depending on the product, our wet area mats come in rolls that are 3x33; 3x40; 3x60, 4x33; 4x60 (measurements in feet). Maximum size of your wet area mat would be limited to the size of full roll. Keep in mind that moving a very large piece may be difficult due to the weight. Rolls are bout 90-150 pounds, some are close to 200 lbs. If you must have mats wider than 4 feet – consider VinGRATE. We offer clips that are designed to attach sections of VinGRATE side-by-side. With other mats you could use cable ties to tie together multiple sections. Interlocking draining tiles are usually the best solution in situations like this. You also can use different color tiles to create attractive patterns or direct traffic.

  • WHEELCHAIR / CART TRAFFIC
    • When a wheelchair or cart wheel rolls onto a mat it may create a small “wave”. As the wheelchair rolls over the mat, the wheels would maintain contact with the surface of the mat and keep pushing that wave through the entire length of the mat. The effect is negligible but if you have quite a bit of wheelchair or cart traffic, these mats may “migrate” one or more inches per day. To mitigate this, we suggest considering heavier solid wet area mats like VinGrate, VinWave. Attaching optional beveled edges onto the ends of the mats would also help. You may also consider VinTile interlocking tiles. We offer beveled edging and corners for these tiles, and they are rigid enough to prevent the movement of the tiled area.

    View full selection of water draining mats and interlocking tiles HERE.