How To Keep Floor Mats From Sliding On a Vinyl Floor

Floor mats are a great way to help ensure that your car’s interior stays in good condition. However, when your car mats don’t stay in place, it can create a real hazard. Not only are you getting your floor dirty, but a sliding mat can also create an unintentional driving hazard. To ensure that your floor mats stay in place, you should try out the tips below.

Use Non-Slip Strips

We’ve all seen those large pieces of tape that have a rough exterior. They’re applied to things like wheelchair ramps and steps to give users a grip on the surface so that they don’t unintentionally slip. You can use this same concept for your car mats. Simply purchase a non-slip strip. Most of these are sold in rolls like tape. While you may be tempted to apply the adhesive side of the strip to the viny floor to prevent slippage, that’s not the best option.

Rather, you should apply the adhesive side of the non-slip strip to the bottom of your car mat. This will leave the harsh surface of the strip facing the vinyl floor. By installing the strip this way, you can ensure that you’ll never damage the vinyl of your car’s floor with the adhesive from the tape. Rather, each time you get new floor mats, the old non-slip strip will be disposed of with the mats. Then, you can apply a new strip to the new car mats.

Use A Non-Slip Undermat

Somewhat similar to the non-slip strips, you can use a non-slip mat. These are called non-slip underlayment mats. To be completely effective, you’ll need to cut a mat to the exact size of your car’s mat. These non-slip mats work by holding down the mat by your bodyweight.

You can find non-slip underlayment mats at many of your local hardware and auto parts stores. These mats tend to be cheaper than purchasing rolls of the non-slip strip. The benefit of this undermat over traditional non-slip strips is that it’s easily removable from your car. And, you can likely reuse the same undermat when you upgrade to new car mats in the future.

Use Velcro

Most of us are familiar with velcro straps on shoes. They work by the application of two strips of velcro. On one side of each strip is an adhesive backing. On the other side, there is either a soft material or a rough material. The soft material adheres temporarily to the rough material. The benefit of velcro is that it can be undone and redone a multitude of times.

When applying velcro, it’s a good idea to use multiple strips for each vehicle mat. A great trick is to keep the velcro stuck together during application. Position the velcro in a strategic pattern underneath where the car mat is going to lie on the vinyl floor. Once the velcro adheres to the vinyl floor, take off the protective coating from the top adhesive side. Carefully lay the mat down in the position that you want. Push hard to ensure that the velcro adheres to the mat. Then, you can easily pull the car mat from the vinyl floor with ease as you temporarily break the velcro seal.

Use Double-Sided Tape

If you’re just looking for a temporary fix to hold your car mats in place, double-sided tape can work in a pinch. This is one of those auto accessories that you should always keep in your glovebox. Simply adhere the backside of the tape to the vinyl floor and proceed to place your mat on the tape. This fix can work to hold your mats in place in a timely manner.

However, it’s important to realize that double-sided tape is not the best solution when trying to permanently hold your mats onto your vinyl floor. The tape will wear with your constant movement on the mat. Also, this will make it difficult to clean your mats regularly. You’ll have to constantly remove the double-sided tape and reapply. This can leave behind an unwanted sticky film on your vinyl floor.

Dealing with sliding car mats is not something that any vehicle owner enjoys. By employing one of the tips that we outlined for you above, you’ll be well on your way to ensuring that your car mats stay in place.