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If you have ever owned hardwood flooring then you will know how important it is to protect it. Hardwood flooring isn’t cheap, and it is prone to scratch and wear and tear in a very short time if you do not take precautions.
You might not think it, but one of the most common causes of damage to hardwood flooring is chairs.
When you move your chair around on the floor without lifting it then you run the risk of damaging it, which is why handy little devices known as chair mats exist.
Chair mats are excellent for protecting your floor from unnecessary damage, and thankfully there are lots of different options on the market.
This can be intimidating, but thankfully we’ve put together this guide to the best chair mat for hardwood floor which is packed with absolutely everything you need to know before making a purchase. So let’s get started.
In a hurry?
If you need a chair mat for your hardwood flooring and don’t have the time to consider the options, we would recommend choosing the SHAREWIN Large office chair mat for hard floors.
This mat is excellent value for money and packed with features that will help protect your flooring, including:
A frosted surface that provides an anti-slip design.
An incredibly durable PVC design that contains no toxins or harmful chemicals.
A rectangular shape that fits perfectly in most office spaces.
It is incredibly easy to clean, and any spills simply require wiping.
In our opinion, the best chair mat for hardwood floors on the market is the SHAREWIN Large Office Chair Mat. We love this chair mat because it comes with a frosted surface that provides an anti-slip design, protecting both you and your flooring.
Due to this and its incredibly durable PVC design, this makes it perfect for use on hardwood floors. This chair mat contains no harmful chemicals or odors and is also designed to be incredibly easy to clean when you encounter spillages.
With this and the fact that it comes in a rectangular shape which is perfect for a variety of office spaces, it is clear that this is one of the best options available.
Pros
Perfectly designed for hardwood flooring
Frosted surface for an anti-slip design
Incredibly easy to clean, simply wipe it down
Insanely durable PVC design
Contains no toxins, or harmful chemicals, or odors
The rectangular shape ensures that it will fit in most office spaces
We also love the AIBOB office chair mat for hardwood floor.
Again, this chair mat has an incredibly durable design and because of this, it is brilliant at preventing your hardwood floor from becoming scratched.
It includes a lip so that it can fit neatly into your desk, and also promotes ergonomic posture to reduce back and spinal pain.
It is incredibly flexible, yet fits flush to your flooring without any curling at the edges, and also incredibly stable so that you can feel safe sitting upon it.
With all of this plus the fact that it is BPA and phthalate-free, it is clear this is one of the best options available.
Pros
Incredibly durable and great at preventing scratches
Excludes BPA and phthalate from its design for safety
The stable grip allows you to move about on the mat without slipping
Very flexible without curling on any of the edges
Promotes ergonomic posture to reduce back pain
Includes a lip so that it can fit neatly beneath your desk
You could also choose to buy the Lemostaar Office Chair Mat for hard floor. This is the first chair mat that we have looked at which comes in more than one color scheme, giving you lots of options to choose from.
It has a large and durable design that is free from metals, toxins, BPA, and phthalate to ensure that it is safe to use.
It perfectly protects your hardwood flooring from harmful scratches, and also protects your muscles and bones from fatigue as it is designed to improve posture.
With all of this considered, it’s clear that this is one of the best chair mats for hardwood floors available.
Pros
Improved design with three different color options
Perfectly protects your hardwood flooring from harmful scratches
Large and durable design that will last for years to come
Designed to improve posture and reduce muscle and bone fatigue
Toxin, BPA, and phthalate-free ensuring it is safe to use
Free from metals, and solely built with polypropylene
Finally, we would recommend considering the Resilia Office Desk Chair Mat with Lip. This is another chair mat that comes with a few different color options including black, brown, and clear.
If you like to support smaller businesses, this could be a great choice as it is produced by a family-owned company based in the USA.
It has a lipped design that is ensured to fit in any workspace and is flexible enough that it will withstand wear, tear, and damage.
It is packed with safety features for both you and your flooring including non-slip grippers and is also made with recycled materials ensuring that it is an eco-friendly option.
So there is no question that this is one of the best chair mats for hardwood flooring currently available on the market.
Pros
Choose between black, brown, and clear color design
Equipped with non-slip grippers to ensure it doesn’t move about on your floor
The lipped design ensures it fits any workspace
Made of recycled materials that are 100% toxin-free
A flexible mat that won’t break, wear or tear
Produced by a family-owned, US company
Cons
The large design might be inappropriate for smaller offices
Best Chair Mat for Hardwood Floor Buying Guide
If you have hardwood flooring in your home, the last thing that you want is for your office chair to cause any damage to it.
Hardwood flooring can be expensive so you don’t want it to become ruined with scratches from your chair. Thankfully, there is an easy way to keep your flooring safe, and that is through chair mats.
The options that we have looked at above are some of the best on the market, but if you still aren’t sure we’ve put together this buyer’s guide to help.
It’s packed with all the information you could possibly need to know about chair mats to ensure you buy the type that is perfect for your flooring.
Type of Flooring
The first thing that you need to consider is the type of flooring that you need the chair mat to protect.
In this guide, we’re specifically looking at hardwood flooring, but there are lots of other types of flooring that you might want to protect from unnecessary scratches and damage.
The type of flooring that you are trying to protect will directly impact the type of mat you should buy. So, you will have to buy a different type of mat to protect your carpet than you would to protect your hardwood flooring.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the different types of materials that chair mats may be constructed of.
The material of the Mat
The next thing that you need to consider is the type of material that the chair mat is constructed of.
There are three main categories of materials you will find that chair mats are constructed of, let’s take a deeper look at these materials.
One of the most common types of material you will find chair mats made out of is vinyl or PVC. These mats are usually constructed with a thin and light design, and because of this, they tend to be the cheaper option.
Just because they are cheap, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, different types of flooring require different thicknesses and materials to protect them from the wheels of an office chair, and this type of material is great for a lot of different surfaces.
In particular, PVC or vinyl chair mats are excellent for hardwood flooring and low pile carpet.
The next type of material that we will look at is polycarbonate. This type of material is usually a lot thicker than PVC, and is also a lot sturdier, allowing the material to provide more protection to the flooring that it is covering.
However, just because this is thicker, it doesn’t mean that it is better than vinyl or PVC chair mats. This type of material is specifically used as chair mats on surfaces that require extra protection, such as thicker carpets that could easily become damaged by using a thinner chair mat.
The final type of material that you commonly encounter is tempered glass. These mats are considered to be the eco-friendly option as they are not constructed with plastic, instead, they are created with the more durable material of tempered glass.
While glass may not immediately strike you as durable, it actually is, and these types of chair mats have been known to last much longer than some of the other types of chair mats.
It is also an excellent choice if you are of a larger build as it can handle the weight without damaging the flooring below.
The shape of the Mat
You also need to consider the shape of the mat that you want to buy. Even though they have a fairly basic design, there are quite a few varieties of mats available to go below your chair.
They also come in a variety of shapes which you can choose between to select one that fits perfectly with the size and shape of your workspace.
There are three main shapes which you will encounter, so let’s take a little look at what they are.
The most common type of chair mat that you will encounter is a square or rectangular shape. These are simply the most common because they are incredibly versatile and can fit into most workspaces.
They fit well with most desks, and because of this, they are a very popular choice. You can also get chair mats which come with a lip.
This design is incredibly similar to the rectangular shape of mats, but they also come with a lip located on one side. On first impressions, this lip might seem pointless, however, they are great for protecting the floor underneath your desk for when you try to pull your chair tight to the desk.
Finally, you can get bulb-shaped chair mats. These are perhaps the rarest type that you will find, but they are perfect if you have a corner desk or an L-shaped workspace.
So you need to consider the shape of your workspace before deciding which shape of chair mat to buy.
The thickness of the Mat
Finally, you need to consider the thickness of the mat. We touched on thickness earlier on, and from what we have already said, you can probably already tell how important this is.
The thickness of the mat that you should buy will differ depending on the type of flooring that you are trying to protect.
It can be confusing to understand how the thickness will impact how protected the flooring will be. Surely, if the weight that is placed on top of the mat is the same, the thickness of the mat shouldn’t affect its protection.
But it does. Hardwood flooring and low-pile carpets do not require thick chair mats as they are sturdy enough to hold the weight without sinking.
This means that you can effortlessly move around on the mat without your chair becoming stuck.
As a thinner mat is perfectly able to protect hardwood and low-pile carpets, you should never use a mat that is thicker than necessary as this could cause unnecessary damage to the flooring.
Simultaneously, if you have a thick carpet, you should never use a thinner chair mat. This mat will not be able to hold the weight, and because of this, it will sink into the carpet which could cause irreversible damage.
So, in the case of thickness, you should never buy a thicker chair mat simply because you believe these types of mats are better. The most important thing if you want to protect your hardwood flooring is that you purchase the appropriate thickness.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get a chair mat to stay in place?
Chair mats are excellent for protecting your hardwood flooring from your office chair, however, there is one issue that you might experience with chair mats.
This issue is that they often do not stay where you want them to, and they are prone to moving about on the floor. There are lots of ways that you can get your chair mat to stay in one place, but most people choose to use double-sided tape.
However, you have to be careful when choosing double-sided tape as you will need to buy one that is safe for use on hardwood flooring.
What is the best material for chair mats?
There are lots of different materials used to produce office chair mats. But in particular, you will find that most chair mats are designed with either carpet or vinyl.
In our opinion, the best material for a chair mat is polycarbonate, and this type of material is found in most chair mats as polycarbonate can be found in carpet.
This material is excellent for gripping the floor in a method that is tighter than other types of material that can be used for chair mats.
How thick of a chair mat do I need?
If you are looking to buy a chair mat for your hardwood flooring, you will probably already be aware that these mats come in a variety of thicknesses.
In most cases, chair mats will measure between 2.5 and 3mm in thickness.
The thicker mats tend to be designed for use on carpet, so when you are looking to purchase a chair mat for your hardwood flooring you must buy one that is designed for this type of material.
