Hunt for the elusive bath mat.

August 3, 2019 9:54 AM

My shower steps out into a square, tiled landing of around 35" x 35". While we have a 34" x 21" bath mat that technically allows for safe entry and exit out of the shower, it's an open shower - meaning that wherever the mat is positioned, the rest of the tile gets wet and sloppy. I'd prefer to have a mat that covers as much of that space as possible. However, it doesn't seem like anyone makes any square bathmats in the 32"x32" to 34"x34" range, and custom mats cost hundreds of dollars. Help?
posted by eschatfische to Home & Garden (14 answers total)

I haven't used these before, but carpet tiles might be a solution to your problem because for the small size you'd need, they'd be fairly inexpensive and they're supposedly washable. Perhaps get a few sets and rotate them to make sure they dry properly between use.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 10:26 AM on August 3, 2019

I'd be tempted to try and make a custom one out of multiple TOFTBO mats, which are pretty cheap, but it depends how fancy you want it to look.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:33 AM on August 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

$70 is more than I'd enjoy paying but it solves your problem. Should leave enough left over that maybe you'd get use out of it elsewhere in your home.
posted by fingersandtoes at 11:16 AM on August 3, 2019

Would a wooden duckboard work instead? They're so great and come in different sizes and can be used in multiples.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:17 PM on August 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I had a friend who cut regular bath rugs to size and it worked fine for him (he would make circles, etc. to go with his decor). Unlike fabric, the rubber backing should hold together just fine without fraying.
posted by obliquity of the ecliptic at 1:14 PM on August 3, 2019 [2 favorites]

If you're open to teak, Teakworks4u will custom-make a mat to fit your measurements. I bought a custom stool from them and am very happy with it. Expensive, but will last a long time.
posted by hydra77 at 1:59 PM on August 3, 2019

How about filling in the whole area with wooden deck flooring? Wayfair has a box of 10 tiles on sale for $30, 9 of them would give you a square slightly larger than your space, but you could pry/cut the last board off one tile or something.
posted by cabingirl at 3:20 PM on August 3, 2019

I have a "wet room" and use a teak mat and avoid stepping everywhere else. I'm having trouble picturing the design of your shower- can you share a picture? Does it not have a door or a sloped floor that keeps water inside the shower area? Why is everything getting wet? I think of bathmats as just for wet feet, not water spilling out of the shower. I would be a little worried about mats slipping or getting moldy if there's a lot of extra water. But it's true that you could put Ikea mats side by side and trim off the extra material.
posted by pinochiette at 5:44 PM on August 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

"custom mats cost hundreds of dollars. Help?"

This makes me wonder if we don't understand the term "bath mat" to mean the same thing, but I would just put a towel down on the floor. You can cut a beach towel to size and do a rolled hem if you want. Am I missing something?
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 6:05 PM on August 3, 2019

Further to meaty shoe puppet's suggestion, my first impulse would be to fold a 36"x72" bath towel in half. Bonus: faster drying time.
posted by kate4914 at 6:16 PM on August 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

Assuming we're talking floppy towel-like or rubber-backed washable bathmats here, I'd just get another mat the same as your existing one and overlap them.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:47 AM on August 4, 2019

Response by poster: To clarify, the difference between a towel and a bath mat or bath rug is that the mats have a rubber non-slip backing on them to keep them in place for safety while stepping out of the bath or shower. I've tried towels and they slip easily on the type of tile in the bathroom. (There are issues with a teak mat, too, in terms of height and letting water through the slats - you'll just have to trust me on that one.)

In the end, if I have to, I'll follow obliquity of the ecliptic's lead and just cut a larger mat. I was hoping for something a little nicer looking than a self-cut mat but still in the $10-$30 range.
posted by eschatfische at 5:51 AM on August 4, 2019

Yeah, we also had trouble keeping the towel in place on the floor. We were able to solve that with "no slip shelf liner".

It's a mesh of foamy plastic material with a high coefficient of friction. You cut the desired length off the roll and lay it under the mat.

Not to be confused with water proof shelf liner, which is a solid sheet and not particularly grippy.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 8:14 AM on August 4, 2019

You can get rug pads similar to the shelf liner specifically made for making rugs not slip.
posted by Mitheral at 3:57 PM on August 4, 2019