Mat \ˈmat\: a piece of coarse, woven, plaited, or felted fabric used especially as a floor covering or support (Merriam-webster).
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Brief History of Floor Mats
Archaeologists believe that the earliest portable floor coverings were made as far back as 25,000 years ago!
The dwellings of clans used tree bark to create a type of felt which was then made into floor mats. After all, even primitive people don't like hunters tracking in dirt and mastodon guts all over the place.
Matting In Development
Tree bark felt mats soon became the old way as early humans evolved and found new ways to improve their internal living environment. With this evolvement, humans developed the practice of weaving and used it to make clothing, baskets, and other items like matting. Weaved straw or plantlike grasses called rushes, were the first form of mat found in Mesopotamia about 6,000 years ago.
In biblical times, weaved mats were used by people with little money as sleeping pads to create a little bit of warmth from the cold earth floors of their homes. Mats of this sort were probably made of woolen yarn, which was a popular floor covering well into the Middle Ages.
In the 9th Century, Japan used Tatami mats, tatami was made of straw formed from both rice and soft rush. Tatami mats were used for aristocrats and did not become available to commoners until the 17th Century.
In the early s, a new form of matting was found in England, it was created by using waste products from traditional weaving looms, called thrums, that was then pulled through a woven base of straw or another sturdy material. This process was known as rug hooking.
As the 20th century drew near, the materials that became available to make mats expanded. In America materials such as straw, burlap, canvas, and jute were used to make mats. It wasn&#;t until the American revolution that the use of rubber and petroleum-based materials were used to make mats.
Today&#;s Matting
Imagine not having the mats you have in your doorway today. It could be raining, or snowing, or it has been so dry everything is dirt and dust outside. Your average building with as little as 150 people entering and exiting can produce over a pound of dirt tracked in every week, a three-stage matting system can reduce this by 85-95%!
Check out the Real Dirt infographic for the truth on how matting solutions keep our facilities clean and safe.
For more information on our matting solutions, contact your Crown Matting Technologies representative.
Are you interested in learning more about PVC Car Mats Wholesale? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!
A History of Floor Mats
The history of floor mats might not be very thrilling, but it is a storied and impressive tale. It&#;s hard to imagine modern dwellings and workplaces without floor mats. They are essential and indispensable in many areas of any building, but how did they become the safety staples we know today?
Entrance mats keep dirt and grime off your business&#;s floor. Restroom mats prevent slipping, and contamination from reaching the rest of the building. More specialized mats serve many modern functions. They can prevent fatigue, increase traction, make your reception areas more welcoming and attractive, even.
But what did the world look like before the modern floor mat? How did our beloved floor essentials come to be? Let&#;s take a look back at the history of floor mats!
The Early History of Floor Mats
In most available accounts, there is nothing that distinguishes the floor mat from its other close relatives &#; rugs and carpets. The carpet must have even evolved from the floor mat, although that conclusion is up for debate. Records show, however, that the earliest known account of a floor covering used in dwellings dates back to the Paleolithic period. That was roughly 25,000 years ago and the &#;floor mat&#; was as primitive as you can imagine. If you&#;re imagining a felt-like material made of bark, you&#;re going in the right direction.
Discoveries of early mats demonstrate the use of woven grass to produce floor matting. Mats found in excavations of ancient Mesopotamian settlements, dating back 6,000 years, are of such construction. With the evolution of weaving among many different cultures, different types of mats and rugs were created. These include many of the traditional mats that we know up to this day &#; like Japan&#;s tatami mats. These early and traditional mats functioned more for sleeping than the foot mats that we know them to be today, but the influence is quite evident.
The closest relative to the modern floor mat and rug was the kind invented in s England. These rugs were made through a process called rug hooking that utilized discarded yarn pieces. Rug hooking became so popular and influential that modern methods of making woven rugs, mats, and carpets still resemble mats made with rug hooking.
Rubber Mats
While the method of rug hooking floor coverings was effective, there was a lot of room for improvement. This was particularly true when it came to durability. Without a strong backing, they did not last very long.
All this changed with the advent of rubber. Rubber became part of everything. It not only revolutionized the automobile. It also ushered in a new era for floor coverings and gave birth to the modern rubber-backed floor mat.
Rubber allowed for floor coverings that were durable, waterproof, and added traction for better, safer footing. And from the basic rubber-backed floor mats came the many, many inventive, functional floor mats we now know and use today.
Get Your Modern Mats from Specialty Mat Services!
Which type of floor mat do you have at your business and which ones can you not operate without? Whatever floor mat you need, you can find it at Specialty Mat! We take mats seriously so you can reap all of the benefits.
Contact us today for more information at (800) 941-MATS.
For more information, please visit Wholesale Classic Car Mats Manufacturer.
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