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Do you often find that your chairs leave indentations in your carpet that are impossible to get rid of? How about bare patches on your carpet? This is because no matter what your chair wheels are like (standard or soft casters), carpet tends to provide too much resistance for office chairs rollers to work well. This makes it difficult for you to roll from one place to another, and carpet fibres get worn down over time.
Chair mats can provide the solution to this problem. In addition, the mats can protect uncarpeted floors made of wood or linoleum, from wearing away. There are a number of design options available that can actually improve the appearance of any office. Most will be tempted towards purchasing the cheaper plastic mats, but in some cases, this may not be the best option for your office chair and floor surface.
Choosing the right chair mat:
- Determine where your chair mat is to be used. If your chair is to be used on carpet, then plastic chair mats are a good option, bearing in mind though, that they sometimes crack under pressure and don’t last as long as other chair mats. For hard floor surfaces, a plastic mat would not be suitable.
- Determine the area the mat is going to be used by the chair, in order to be able to order the right chair mat size. It is advisable that you have enough space on the mat to at least be able to roll back to get out of your chair- use a tape measure to decide which size is best. Most chair mats are sold in a range of sizes; if you roll from your desk to another, it will be sensible to purchase the largest mat possible.
- Decide which mat to actually purchase. Clear mats may be preferable in order to blend in with the office surrounding and carpet colour, whereas a solid colour may be preferred in order to stand out. It all depends on the buyers’ different wants.
Next time you’re thinking of purchasing a chair mat, keep this advice in mind so that you can find the perfect chair mat for you!