A floor mat is said to be one of the most sought-after items when looking for house decor. After all, it brings several benefits to one's home. For one, a floor mat can improve the overall aesthetics of a room. You can also use it to improve the safety and cleanliness of your home.
But most importantly, you can place floor mats on any space in your home, especially your workspace. Of course, simply getting a floor mat won't instantly improve your home office's look.
There are steps you must take if you want to make full use of workplace floor matting. Don’t worry though for here are seven ways to effectively use floor matting on your home workspace.
Jump to:
- 1. Place A Floor Mat On The Office Entrance
- 2. Position The Mat Directly Below Your Desk Workspace
- 3. Insert An Underlay On Your Mats
- 4. Use Floor Mats On Spill-Prone Areas
- 5. Spread The Floor Mat To Minimize Slippage
- 6. Choose A Floor Mat With A Highly Detectable Color
- 7. Get A Rubber Mat To Prevent Static Electricity
- Wrapping Up
1. Place A Floor Mat On The Office Entrance
One of the primary purposes of floor matting is to ensure that a room is clean. The best way to do that is by using it as a doormat, or in other words, placing it at the entrance of your office space.
With a doormat, everyone who enters the room, including you, will have the option to shake off the dirt, soil, and other debris from the shoe’s soles before stepping on the floor. In short, it'll serve as the first line of defense in making sure the room is tidy. Take note that keeping your workspace clean is incredibly important since debris can potentially cause diseases too.
If you're looking for durable workspace floor matting to use as a doormat, you might want to look into mats made of vinyl, nylon, or polypropylene. Floor mats made from these materials often specialize in dirt collection which perfectly fits your objective.
2. Position The Mat Directly Below Your Desk Workspace
Apart from entrances, you should also consider positioning some of your floor matting directly below your workspace. You might be wondering, for what reason should you do this?
If your work requires you to sit or stand for a long time in your workspace, you should be well aware of the adverse effects it can bring to your feet and legs. So, to help with this issue, you can try using a floor mat to reduce the stress placed upon your limbs. A squishy surface should be able to provide a more comfortable experience for your limbs. Plus, it can also help stimulate muscles.
Of course, in order to do that, you must position the mat directly below your desk workspace, hence this tip. When looking for floor matting to use for this objective, look into anti-fatigue mats.
An anti-fatigue floor mat is a special type of mat that focuses on providing a balanced weight distribution across your lower extremities. It also promotes better circulation, making it perfect for workers who stay in one place throughout the day. You may also use it to treat conditions like:
- Fatigue;
- Pregnancy-related health conditions;
- Discomfort;
- Lower back pain;
- Leg pain; and
- Cardiovascular issues.
3. Insert An Underlay On Your Mats
When installing floor matting on a room, it's common to find the floor mats scattered all over the place after a while for most mats aren’t heavy enough to remain in one place.
For that reason, you might want to consider getting an underlay and inserting it under your floor mats. An underlay, also known as underlayment, is a thin layer of buffer similar to a floor mat. However, instead of nylon, vinyl, and all sorts of materials, an underlay is typically made of rubber, felt, foam, or plastic which is often sticky so as to stay in place.
An underlay may also provide other properties such as insulation against heat, moisture, and sound. On that note, if you intend to get a floor mat, consider getting an underlay as well.
4. Use Floor Mats On Spill-Prone Areas
If you're the type to drink lots of caffeine while working, there are probably several instances where you've spilled your drink on the floor. And for every time you spill liquids on the floor, you're essentially compromising your safety and creating hazards in your vicinity.
For example, when you spill water or coffee, the liquid may find its way into electrical circuits if not taken care of. This raises the possibility of electrocution. It also makes your floor wet, which increasing the risks of slips and falls. For that reason, you might want to look into drip floor mats—a special type of floor mat with holes where it can drain and store water.
If you want to get a drip floor mat, you can settle with only one. You should then place it directly below the table or area where you make and place your coffee and other beverages.
5. Spread The Floor Mat To Minimize Slippage
While focusing on areas of interest like the entrance and the spill-prone areas would certainly help when using floor mats, you should also consider spreading them throughout the room.
Of course, it would mean greater expenses to make that possible, but it's a worthwhile investment. For one, by choosing to spread floor mats throughout the room, you practically have full control over the appearance of your flooring. You can pick floor mats with a vibrant color if that's to your liking or you can get floor mats with a more neutral color.
But most importantly, you can drastically minimize the chances of slippage when you're inside your workstation, especially if you choose to go for scraper or wiper floor mats.
6. Choose A Floor Mat With A Highly Detectable Color
A poorly lit room is believed to be one of the main reasons why people slip and fall. Of course, in your case, you have full control over the lighting of your workspace. However, just to be on the same side, you might want to consider getting a floor mat with a highly detectable color. By doing so, you no longer have to confuse your floor mat with the actual floor and misstep.
7. Get A Rubber Mat To Prevent Static Electricity
Static electricity is the result when an object produces extra electrons that result in a negative charge due to moving around too much. While it usually doesn't do anything, it can cause a slight shock if you touch electronic equipment when you have a negative charge. You might've experienced it before, and yes, that was most likely static electricity in action.
Thankfully, it's not harmful to humans, but it can be to electrical devices like a laptop, for example. To be more precise, it can harm the internal components of the device.
Since you most certainly don't want that, you should take steps to minimize static buildup, and what better way to do that than by getting a rubber mat—a poor conductor of electricity.
Wrapping Up
Despite floor matting is said to be one of the most commonly used items for home decors, only a few people truly know its purpose. Most think that it's solely for decoration, but in reality, it serves a grander purpose. And for that reason, you can't use floor matting on your home workspace without due preparation. If that's what you're looking for, this article should have you covered.