Recommended floor mats for protecting hardwood floors?

May 1, 2024 9:10 PM

Want to protect hardwood floors in kitchen, bathroom, and under high chair and need recommendations.

I now have really nice hardwood floors throughout my house including the kitchen, the bathroom, and dining room. I am worried about accidently water damage to the floors and would like to purchase some protective floor mats to protect near the sink in the kitchen, near a sink in a bathroom, and underneath a child's high chair.

Attributes that I am looking for include

- Waterproof
- Easy to clean
- Won't damage hardware floors underneath
- Long lasting and won't decay
- Supportive and easy on the feet (for kitchen mats)

Does anyone have floor mats that the love?

posted by cycleback to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Get down to one of the big box hardware stores and they'll have dozens of choices of cheap and sturdy rubber mats with carpet textures on top, in a range of sizes. They're often on sale as a loss leader at the front of the store.
posted by spitbull at 3:12 AM on May 2

We have used the Skip Hop reversible playmat under our daughter's high chair for a year. It wipes up easily, including water which doesn't permeate. When she drinks from an open cup it's like a mini staggered waterfall hitting her foot rest and then the mat, but so easy to mop up.

We put the activity side face down and the herringbone pattern face up. That layer has slightly separated from whatever it is attached to internally due to the chair movements, so it visually has some puckering. The activity layer below these areas hasn't been affected at all. (We figured some day when she's less messy she can play with that as an actual playmat!). She sits on the long side of the table and the length of the mat runs that way as well, with the width almost centered along the edge of the table, giving us about three feet protected under and behind her chair and two feet protected under the table. Occasionally crumbs or a rolled blueberry escape the coverage zone, but that's been it so far.
posted by icaicaer at 4:23 AM on May 2

I love Gathre mats especially under the high chair and in the living room. They look great, are able to be wiped and water resistant ad come in an array of colors and patterns. Great for houses with kids.
posted by ichimunki at 4:23 AM on May 2

Have you considered a commercial poly on the wood? We have gorgeous wood floors and little kids. Our contractor, after resurfacing when we bought the house, put a layer of a commercial poly. Has been robust and protective and way easier than worrying about water on the kitchen floor.
posted by atomicstone at 5:49 AM on May 2

For waterproof, I recommend LLBean's Waterhog mats. I've used one under my dog's waterbowl for about 4 years now, and water never gets to the floor under it (it has a rubber backing). It doesn't move, and it still looks as good as it did when I bought it.

But, the patterns on top are pretty rigid, so not soft and cozy on bare feet. For something in front of a sink, I'd do something like this pattern.
posted by hydra77 at 7:23 AM on May 2

My concern in a dining room would be chairs scratching the wood, and I recommend a nice rug under the table, large enough for chairs being pulled out/ pushed in. High chair? A piece of acrylic, like what I have under my desk, which can be cut to size.
posted by theora55 at 10:44 AM on May 2

Spicher and Co. make vinyl “area rugs” in all sorts of patterns and sizes.
posted by jimfl at 5:28 PM on May 3