It’s a question that apartment managers and condo owners often ask. They need entrance mats to hold dirt and water in their building. But, they have wall–to–wall carpet right to their front door. The carpet can be covered with an entrance mat.
You can put your custom logo rugs anywhere you wish, but if it’s placed on top of carpet, it will not last long. Your mat will not stick to the carpet because it has a different shape. Let’s have a closer look at your carpet’s structure to determine why the mat doesn’t stay on its own.
Why does the mat move?
If you have a close look at your wall-to–wall carpet you will find that it’s likely made in one these two styles: cut pile or loop. The carpet’s “pile” is what you feel every day. The process of weaving carpet involves looping the face fibres back and forth through a backing. The pile is determined by if these face fibers had been removed from the top of the loop, if they are still intact in their looped form.
Loop pile carpets have the same name as their names: they are intact loops of facial fibres that haven’t been sheared at tip. The top loops of the loops should be cut off. This creates an upright pile. The ends are exposed. The cut pile carpet fibres may also be twisted in order to keep them straight and not collapse when you walk on.
Cut pile carpets’ twists and loops make them more resistant to wear. However, these features make your carpet more resistant to wear. They also allow your entrance mats to move around when placed on top. If you place a mat onto top of carpet, it’s laying on top. The pile is not stable. When people walk across a mat, the carpet pile underneath compresses and then springs back upwards. This repetitive compressing down/springing upward motion is what makes your entrance mat “walk”, or move, from wall-towall carpet.
How can my mat stop moving?
It’s best to place the mat on a hard flooring surface. If this is impossible, you can choose to use adhesive fastening (or mechanical fastening) instead. Let’s discuss the pros of both.
Adhesive fastening
Adhesive fastening simply involves taping your mat to the flooring. On the back of your mat, a double-sided adhesive is applied. The mat should be placed face-up so that it is in the right position on the carpet floor. The adhesive tape films create a bond between mat’s back and carpet pile tip-tops.
Pros:
It is very easy to install carpet tape without the need for tools.
Cons:
The bond is only made with the tip-tops in your carpet pile. This means that it can usually reduce (not eliminate!) Mat movement.
Adhesive tape is not a permanent, long-term solution. Sticky tapes dry out quickly and lose their sticky properties over prolonged periods.
Sticky residue from adhesives can be left behind on carpets even after being removed. This sticky residue can attract dirt and stains.