Inexpensive Oil Absorbent Mat

[Garage Flooring]

There have been two or three posts this month asking about something for just under the car to absorb what is coming off the car and or protect the epoxy from the tires.

Pictures were posted of a pretty cool idea which was a tire stop and runner all in one and some discussion about making mats for just under the tires.

After a lot of research, etc we found companies like Brookstone and others handling a product called Further research showed that the product was made in the USA and while not perfect it is a decent product.

Its basically a felt like carpeting with a spill proof and backing that also keeps it from sliding around. It is being marketed as garage flooring and that's a little bit of a stretch.

Its a machine washable fabric that does its job very well but it is not something that you would compare to a BLT garage floor mat, garage floor tile or garage floor coating.

After getting samples and reviewing reviews we have decided to stock the product.

 

[jsraaf]

So how do you think this would fare as a containment mat, to catch snow & slush falling off a vehicle in the winter, which can melt & accumulate around the garage doors where the floor is pitched for drainage? Would you see this could be a sort of alternative to the Carpad or ParkSmart, but something you could roll up & store more easily if you wanted to? Or is all this a bit of a stretch for the product?

 

[Falcon67]

I would not want anything that large

This is $15
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BXOFY8/?tag=atomicindus08-20


NewPig.com also has a lot of stuff, but you tend to pay "retail".

 

[Garage Flooring]

So how do you think this would fare as a containment mat, to catch snow & slush falling off a vehicle in the winter, which can melt & accumulate around the garage doors where the floor is pitched for drainage? Would you see this could be a sort of alternative to the Carpad or ParkSmart, but something you could roll up & store more easily if you wanted to? Or is all this a bit of a stretch for the product?

Sorry for the late reply. I was out of town for the weekend.

I would say that this is a different niche than ParkSmart. It is not going to contain gallons of water and in most cases containment mats really do not have to.

According to the manufacturer's specs it absorbs 5 times its body weight which would equate out to about 8.5 gallons of water being complete saturation --and who wants to walk on that...

This is more for the guy or gal who has an oil drip, wants to protect their epoxy, or for someone that brings some rain water, but not 10" of snow into their garage.

 

[Grigg]

An "Inexpensive Oil Absorbent Mat" is called "cardboard" in my shop and works well for anything I have that drips. Fresh ones are also called "low profile creepers"
If you have something that pours oil use a pan or tub and then fix the leak.

Grigg

 

[Garage Flooring]

An "Inexpensive Oil Absorbent Mat" is called "cardboard" in my shop and works well for anything I have that drips. Fresh ones are also called "low profile creepers"
If you have something that pours oil use a pan or tub and then fix the leak.

Grigg

The second part I agree with you on. The first part... Its not about what you or I would do in our home. Its about a solution to customers issues. We get calls every day from people looking to protect their epoxy, but not wanting to spend a lot --and there have been a lot of forum posts which is actually what prompted this.

Other people want something dry to walk on in a wet garage. What keeps us in business is we listen to peoples problems and try and help them fix it. This product was a fix to two or three forum posts.

I am sure you will get a laugh out of this, but we sell all sorts of really cool garage cabinets. From inexpensive MDF to Stainless steel. If you walk into my garage you will see old white kitchen cabinets. They work great for me but they are not what many of my customers want

 

[Falcon67]

I stopped by O'Reillys on the way home and picked up a 2x3 drip sheet with some sort of backing and a roll of drip absorbing "towels" in a roll that tear off in what looks like 18" squares. About $17 for the pair. The 2x3 was good for the Mustang as it has drips from the oil pan and from the trans, so it made a big spot. I love epoxy - some rags and some glass cleaner was all it took to clean up the mess. I'll work on the leaks but hey, it's a Ford - when a Ford stops dripping it's time to check the fluid levels.

The floor runners at Drymate might be more in line with how I use that stuff. As for "machine wash" - to save $40, I'd probably squirt it with dish soap, hose and scrub it with the nylon sweep, then hang it on the back fence and rinse it off good.

8.5 gallons would be about 73 lbs of water when fully saturated.

 

[Garage Flooring]

I stopped by O'Reillys on the way home and picked up a 2x3 drip sheet with some sort of backing and a roll of drip absorbing "towels" in a roll that tear off in what looks like 18" squares. About $17 for the pair. The 2x3 was good for the Mustang as it has drips from the oil pan and from the trans, so it made a big spot. I love epoxy - some rags and some glass cleaner was all it took to clean up the mess. I'll work on the leaks but hey, it's a Ford - when a Ford stops dripping it's time to check the fluid levels.

The floor runners at Drymate might be more in line with how I use that stuff. As for "machine wash" - to save $40, I'd probably squirt it with dish soap, hose and scrub it with the nylon sweep, then hang it on the back fence and rinse it off good.

8.5 gallons would be about 73 lbs of water when fully saturated.

If they are blue with 'dimples' i know exactly the product you mean. We used to get something similar from AutoCare Products some time ago.