PVC Vs. Polycarbonate Chair Mat

Nowadays, more and more people like using a chair mat to protect the wooden floor, carpet, etc. But, they don’t know how to choose PVC Chair Mat or Polycarbonate Chair. Or how to identify PVC and polycarbonate chair mat. Today, we will discuss it on this blog.

What is a chair mat and why do you need it?

Chair mats protect flooring from indentations, marks, and scratches. It would be best if you had less effort to roll over a chair than rolling over a carpet as it creates friction. The mats are made of plastic materials that we will know deeper in the latter part of this article.

The question is, why do you need an office chair mat? It’s not just because everyone else has one, but because it benefits you and protects your floor.

How does a chair mat benefit you? You need 80% less effort to roll your chair over the chair mat than on the carpet.

Friction is created when rolling over the carpet with your wheels and you need more effort to move your chair, which you can avoid if you have a chair mat installed.

Rolling your chair over the carpet all day creates back pain and other health problems you often notice after returning home. This is not just because of the indentation or marks. You need to be concerned about your health issues.

Save your energy and avoid pushing the chair over the carpet when you can smoothly roll over it with a chair mat installed.

What are Polycarbonate and PVC Materials?

Polycarbonates are naturally transparent impact-resistant thermoplastic. The polycarbonate is much less weight than glass and even stronger and impact-resistant than the glass. You can bend a polycarbonate or even make a curved surface out of it without cracking it.

Polycarbonate materials are engineering plastics that are genuinely used for more capable, robust materials as impact-resistant glass-like transparent surfaces. Although they are commercially produced in several colors, the light transmission of polycarbonate plastic is nearly equal to glass.

Polyvinyl Chloride, also known as PVC plastic, is the world’s most widely produced synthetic plastic. This plastic is a synthetic resin made from the polymerization of vinyl chloride. PVC plastic comes in two primary forms: rigid and flexible.

The rigid version of PVC is sometimes abbreviated as RPVC, meaning Rigid Polyvinyl Chloride. The rigid version is used to construct pipes, healthcare instruments, construction uses, automobile parts, etc.

We see PVC materials every day because it has some prevalent uses to our daily lives. PVC is used to make bottles, non-food packaging, food covering sheets, and the credit cards and bank cards we use in our daily lives. By now, I hope you have a conception of PVC material by seeing its applications.

Things to consider while buying a chair mat

Flooring Type

Before buying your chair mat, you need to know which chair mat you need based on your floor. Chair mats depend on if you have a hard floor or just a carpet. You need to have a grip between the mat and the floor to avoid moving the mat.

If you have hard floorings like hardwood, vinyl, laminate or tile, you should consider a mat with smooth backing. So it won’t damage the floor and generates a grip with the floor and avoids moving.

On the contrary, if you have carpeted floors or soft flooring, choose a mat with small cleats at the bottom to hold the mat tight in a place without damaging the carpet. Keep in mind, the thicker the carpet, the thicker the mat should be.

If your chair mat is thinner compared to the carpet, it might bow or crack. So choose your best mat based on your flooring. Know your flooring first.

Mat Thickness

The standard chair mats can be 2.5 millimeters thin. To have a better grip over carpeted floors, choose the chair mats 3 millimeters thick. But if your carpeting is considered a deep pile, the chair mats of 5 millimeters thick are highly recommended.

Dimension

Chair mats are primarily available in rectangular shapes. Some are even triangular or oval. Few chair mats are extended forward to protect the user’s feet. But you need to determine which size chair mat you require by measuring the wish of your desk and your area of movement.

For you to have some concept about the sizes, the minimum size of a chair mat is 30 x 46 inches. The standard chair mat commonly used is 36 x 48 inches. You can order large-size chair mats up to 48 x 60 inches if you need them for a large space.

Apart from the sizes, you can take the measurements of your office and custom order your required sizes.

Anti-static Mat

Friction between the chair wheels and carpeting can create static electricity. If your workplace has computers or other electronic equipment, try a non-static chair mat.

Construction Material

The construction material of your chair mat is what makes it durable and lasts long. The affordable construction material for chair mats is polycarbonate. PVC plastic chair mats protect carpets from the dimpling effects of castor wheels. However, polycarbonate is used as the construction material in mid-range chair mats.

The two materials, PVC and Polycarbonate, create a vast difference in their purpose. Everything about the chair mats depends on the construction material. Let’s know deep about the construction material and decide which construction material is best for producing chair mats.