Durable Corporation

A Spaghetti Mat is an open, coiled-vinyl scraper — the looped surface looks like a tangle of spaghetti, and that tangle is what pulls mud and grit off shoes at the door. It is a light-traffic outdoor scraper that drains and dries fast, made to keep debris outside the building instead of tracked across the floor inside.

What a Spaghetti Mat Does Before the Dirt Gets Inside

An outdoor entrance is where most of a building's dirt arrives. A scraper mat's job is to take that dirt off shoes before it crosses the threshold — and that matters, because ISSA field data shows about twelve times more dirt enters a building during wet weather. The coiled loops scrape from every direction and let the loosened grit and water fall through to the surface below, so it stays off the floor inside.

Why Coiled Vinyl, and Why This One

The mat is built from looped PVC — vinyl coiled into an open, springy surface about three-eighths of an inch thick. The loops run in no single direction, so they scrape a shoe no matter which way someone steps. The vinyl resists mildew and fading, and the open structure dries quickly instead of staying soggy after rain.

It comes two ways. A backed version has a foam backing that helps it sit still on a hard floor; an unbacked version skips the backing so water runs straight through, which suits a recessed well or any spot where drainage matters. Both are slip-resistant, and either can be finished with an applied vinyl edge.

Where It Belongs, and Where It Doesn't

A Spaghetti Mat fits lighter-traffic entrances — office buildings, small retail stores, banks, post offices, churches, and motels — and it is at its best outdoors, where draining and scraping count more than a finished look. It works in a surface spot or dropped into a recessed well, and it sits in our range of exterior entrance mats for the door that needs a workhorse scraper.

What it is not is a heavy-traffic mat or a drying mat. It is rated for light to medium use, so a high-volume entrance will wear it faster than it should — step up to a heavier scraper there. And it scrapes far better than it wipes, so it will not dry wet shoes on its own. Pair it with an absorbent mat inside for that.

Three Things to Check Before You Spec It

First, be honest about the traffic. The Spaghetti Mat is a light-to-medium-traffic scraper, and that is where it earns its keep. At a busy main entrance with constant footfall, a heavier-built scraper will hold up longer, so save this one for secondary doors, service entries, and lower-volume buildings.

Second, choose backed or unbacked, and size it. Pick the backed version to keep the mat planted on a hard floor, or the unbacked version where water needs to drain straight through, such as a recessed well. Standard sizes are three by five and four by six feet, with rolls up to four feet wide cut to length.

Third, plan what pairs with it. Because it scrapes but does not absorb, set an absorbent mat just inside the door so the Spaghetti Mat knocks off the mud and water outside and the second mat dries what is left. That two-stage setup is what keeps the floor inside clean and dry.

Why Mats Inc.

We have specified entrance matting since 1964, and the right scraper depends on the door it guards. We will help you weigh backed against unbacked, match the size to the opening, and decide whether a light-traffic scraper is the right call or the entrance needs something heavier. Tell us the traffic and the setting, and we will spec it to fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Spaghetti Mat made of?

Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO

It is built from looped PVC — vinyl coiled into an open, springy surface about three-eighths of an inch thick. The loops run in no single direction, so the mat scrapes a shoe whichever way someone steps onto it. It comes in a backed version, with a foam backing that helps it stay put on a hard floor, and an unbacked version that lets water run straight through. The vinyl resists mildew and fading, so it holds up to weather outdoors.

How much traffic can it handle, and how long will it last?

Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO

It is a light-to-medium-traffic scraper, so it is happiest at secondary doors, smaller retail spaces, offices, and similar buildings rather than a high-volume main entrance. The backed version weighs about 0.69 pounds per square foot and the unbacked about 0.53, enough to stay in place without being a chore to lift and clean. Because the vinyl resists mildew and fading, it keeps its look outdoors. In a busier doorway, plan to step up to a heavier scraper that will last longer under constant footfall.

Does it drain, and should I get the backed or unbacked version?

Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO

Both scrape well; the difference is what happens to the water. The unbacked version is open underneath, so water and grit fall straight through — that is the one for a recessed well or any spot where drainage matters. The backed version has a foam backing that keeps it planted on a hard, flat floor where you do not want it sliding. If the mat is going outdoors where rain needs somewhere to go, unbacked is usually the call; on a dry interior floor, backed.

What colors does it come in, and will it look right out front?

Answered by Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing

It comes in brown, gray, and black in the backed version, and brown or gray unbacked. The look is honest and utilitarian — a practical scraper rather than a decorative mat — so it suits service entries, side doors, and lower-key building fronts. For a polished main entrance where the mat is part of the first impression, a more finished entrance mat usually fits the look better, with the Spaghetti Mat doing the rough work elsewhere.

Can I get it in a custom size?

Answered by Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing

Yes, within its width. Standard mats come in three-by-five and four-by-six feet, and it is also sold in rolls up to four feet wide that we cut to the length you need — so a long or non-standard run is straightforward as long as it stays within that four-foot width. If you want the cut edges finished, just tell us which sides, and we will add an applied vinyl edge there.

Can you add our logo to it?

Answered by Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing

Not this mat — the Spaghetti Mat is a plain functional scraper, with no logo or custom-color option. Its job is taking dirt and water off shoes, not carrying a brand. If you want your logo at the door, that belongs on a logo construction made for it, which we can point you to. Many buyers use both: a logo mat where people see it, and a scraper like this one where the real cleaning happens.

By Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO, Mats Inc.

What Tire Link Mats Do Before Heavy Traffic Grinds a Walkway Down

Tire link mats are the brute-force answer to the hardest-working floors: recycled tire rubber links woven on galvanized steel wire into an open mesh that water and debris fall straight through. The walking surface stays clear while the mess collects below shoe level — and the links themselves are built to take the heaviest traffic for years.

High-traffic wet zones defeat ordinary matting quickly. Grit grinds surfaces down, water sits where boots land, and the mat that looked sturdy in month one is curling and bald by winter's end. This is a different class of tool — rubber that already survived life as a tire, doing a second tour on your busiest walkway.

Why Recycled Tire Links on Steel Wire, and Why This One

The construction is nearly a century old for a reason: the design was first patented in 1923, and it endures because nothing about it is delicate. Links cut from bias-ply tire rubber are woven on galvanized steel wires, producing a 5/8-inch-thick mat with no coating to wear off and no foam to crush flat.

The open mesh is the working feature. Rain, slush, mud, and grit pass through the weave instead of pooling on top, so traction lives on a clear surface even in weather that soaks everything else. When it's time to clean, the mat simply rolls up — sweep or hose what gathered beneath, roll it back out, done.

There's also a genuine sustainability story built in: the mat consists of approximately 90 percent recycled content, and every 12 square feet puts one whole recycled tire back to work. Two weave patterns are available — herringbone and straight — and edges can be finished with beveled or squared nosing.

Where It Belongs, and What It Is Not

Tire link mats belong where traffic is relentless and conditions are wet: building entrances and service doors, outdoor walkways and steps, dock and yard transitions, and the muddy, slushy approaches that see boots by the hundreds. The harder the duty, the more this construction makes sense.

What it is not: a cushioned standing mat. Its job is surviving traffic and shedding water, not easing a fixed shift at a workstation — that comfort work belongs to the options in our anti-fatigue mats and runners lineup. Give the tire links the doorway and the walkway, and let a purpose-built cushion handle the standing post.

Three Things to Check Before You Spec It

First, pick the weave for the setting. The herringbone pattern lays the links in an angled, woven look that reads a touch more finished; the straight weave keeps rows aligned for a plainer, utilitarian face. Both share identical construction and thickness — the choice is visual and traffic will never know the difference.

Second, plan sizes and edges together. Standard mats run from compact doorway sizes up to 3 feet by 12 feet, with custom sizing available. Dimensions are approximate unless nosing is specified, so order beveled or squared nosing where exact fit or a finished transition edge matters. Runs over 12 feet should be sectionalized for easier handling, and oversized mats carry special handling.

Third, build the simple cleaning habit. Everything the mesh swallows is waiting underneath, so the routine is: roll the mat up, clear what collected, roll it back. It's a two-minute job that keeps the drainage path open — and it's the only maintenance this construction really asks for.

Why Mats Inc.

Some products earn their place with technology; this one earned it with a hundred years of doorways. We've been sending tire link matting into the wettest, busiest entries our customers own since 1964, because it simply refuses to quit there. We verify what's behind every product we carry, and this mat is backed by a 1-year limited Mats Inc. warranty.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes tire links tougher than a regular rubber mat?

Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO

The rubber's first job was being a tire. Links cut from bias-ply tire rubber carry the toughness that material was engineered for — abrasion, weather, load — and the galvanized steel wire weave holds them together without glue, stitching, or a backing that can delaminate. The design was patented back in 1923 and has outlived generations of newer matting for a simple reason: there's no weak layer to fail first.

How long does it really last under constant traffic?

Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO

This construction is rated to withstand the heaviest traffic for several years — and that's the punishing kind of duty, not office hallways. Thick rubber links wear the way a tire tread does, gradually and evenly, rather than the way coated mats fail, all at once when the surface gives. On a doorway that eats ordinary mats every season, the arithmetic of a mat measured in years changes the whole maintenance picture.

How does the open weave keep the surface safer when it's wet?

Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO

Water can't make a surface slick if it isn't on the surface. The mesh openings let rain, slush, and grit drop through immediately, so boots meet rubber links instead of a film of water sitting on top of a solid mat. Debris works the same way — tracked-in gravel and mud fall below shoe level rather than rolling underfoot. The surface is non-directional too, so there's no wrong way to lay it for traction.

Will it look right at our entrance, or too industrial?

Answered by Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing

It wears its toughness openly, and in the right setting that's exactly the message. At a plant door, a service entrance, a campus building that sees weather, or a farm and yard transition, the woven rubber reads as purposeful — especially in the herringbone pattern, which gives the surface an orderly, almost textile look. For a polished lobby where softness and color set the tone, pair it outside the door and let interior matting take over past the threshold.

How do I get the size and edges right?

Answered by Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing

Start with the traffic path, then decide the edges. Standard sizes run from compact doorway mats up to 3 by 12 feet, with custom sizing available for wider or longer runs. Two details matter at order time: dimensions are approximate unless you specify nosing, so choose beveled or squared nosing where the fit is exact or the edge meets open floor — and plan runs over 12 feet as sections, which makes lifting and cleaning a one-person job instead of a project.

What does the recycled content actually amount to?

Answered by Jinna Hopson, Vice President of Marketing

Something you can count. The mat is roughly 90 percent recycled content, and every 12 square feet contains one full recycled tire — so a 3 by 8 foot doorway mat is two tires that stayed out of a landfill and went back to work. For organizations tracking sustainability commitments, it's a rare line item where the greener choice is also the most durable one on the list, and the math is simple enough to put in the report.

By Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO, Mats Inc.