I just moved into a new apartment with newish carpeting. I use a rolling chair with my desk, and I want to protect the carpet.
Do plastic chair mats work well for this? If so, which one should I get?
I am looking at reviews and most of them are saying that the mats only last a year or two before breaking.
We have three office chairs in use in the carpeted areas of the house and we have chair mats for all of them. They definitely protect the carpet and they definitely wear out after a year or two.
I generally have pretty good luck with the ones from Sam’s Club that come rolled up. They’re flexible enough so that they don’t crack immediately, but stiff enough that the chair still rolls easily. They’re also easier to get into my car than the big flat ones the office supply stores sell.
My only real suggestion is that bigger is better than smaller. You roll your chair around more than you think.
That sounds about right. My SO works at home and has a chair mat. They get replaced about every year. I’d say they work pretty well. Nothing worse than having very worn carpeting in the middle of a room. That type of wear sticks out noticeably when the room is bare.
So they do help, and I should expect about a year out of them. I guess the reviewers had unrealistic expectations. Thanks for the info.
My problem hasn’t been with the chairmat cracking but instead with the little depressions that are created where your chair sits in front of the desk. They are annoying. I’m considering replacing the flexible plastic chairmat with one of the wooden ones now available. They are more expensive though: $130-200. On the other hand, I could buy multiple plastic chairmats for that much money.
IME, they may protect your carpet from the chair, but the little spikes on the underside do just as much damage over a wider area.
You can get them without the spikes, though they may drift a bit as you roll around. I have one that I use on a Pergo floor.
I’d like one for ease of motion, but I don’t use one and also have no noticeable carpet wear and I’m at my desk for 10 to 12 hours a day for nearly 5 years now. Maybe I just don’t move around much.
Mats last forever. You have to get one with the correct peg depth to match the carpet, too shallow and it mats the carpet and gets troughs and bumps. Too long and the points break off and you get groove tracks.
I was just coming in here to say that chair mats are for easier rolling as much as for protecting the carpet; and that thicker is better when buying a chair mat. The thin mats are almost as difficult as carpet to roll on.
It also depends on what type of carpet you have. Berbers (loops), especially ones that have tight loops and aren’t thick will stand up better to rolling chairs than most kinds of plush, especially thicker ones. (plush is “regular” carpet)
If you have a thick plush, definitely invest in a thicker and larger chair mat.
I think the quality may have gone downhill - our first chair mat lasted for 10 years or more before we had to replace it; the latest one, we maybe got 3 years out of it.
I would definitely get one. It distributes the weight of the wheels over more of the carpet thereby protecting the carpet, and also it makes the chair roll more easily. Get the largest one you can find that fits in the space, to give yourself more room to roll around - it’s hideously annoying to have one wheel roll off and have to pick the chair up.
DIY chair mat, cheap and immortal:
Parts
3/4"-thick MDF cut to size (the truly beautiful part, because you can make it any size you need)
cheapeast low-pile (probably indoor-outdoor) carpet remnant Lowe’s or Home Depot has that day, big enough to cover MDF with 6-8" extra each direction
staples (if you have a staple gun) or Gorilla glue or contact cement
carpet cutter, box cutter, or scissors you don’t really care about
Instructions
Lay the carpet remnant out face down.
Center the MDF on the carpet.
Trim out the corners of the carpet to prevent doubling up, creating four “wings.”
If using contact cement, spread thin layer on carpet and mating surface of MDF. Let dry to tacky. Flip wings up onto mating surface, press firmly.
If using Gorilla glue, apply to MDF, flip wings up, press firmly until glue sets.
If using staples, flip wings up, staple in place.
(I used staples on mine.)
I haven’t had the backing spikes tear up carpet, but when I have to move a mat for some reason, they’re dangerous to my hands. Wear leather gloves.
Remember, too, to use the right casters for your floor. Hard plastic casters are for carpet only! For hard floors, replace them with rubber casters.