Rubber car mats never have it easy, despite looking tough and solid. After all, you probably carry and spread all kinds of filth on your shoes, especially during the fall and winter months when it’s colder and damp outside.
There are even extreme cases when you step on road salt that you later bring into your vehicle. Your ordinary carpeted car mats will have to deal with all of these. That’s why it’s no big surprise to see worn-out mats on most cars. To make things worse, you need to replace these worn-out mats as soon as you can.
Once your car mats become too worn out, all the harsh elements of winter will end up penetrating the floor of your vehicle. Most importantly, these worn-out mats never look great at all, making your car look like you just neglect it and let it be.
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Importance of Car Mats for Different Seasons
It makes perfect sense to use rubber mats in your car during winter and stick with the usual carpeted mats once the summer months kick in.
All the moisture and mud filling up the roads will stick to your shoes and get tracked into your car. You don’t even have to be a genius to guess where all of these will end up, and that’s none other than your mats. The filth and moisture will all get absorbed into your mats.
Although a bit of filth and moisture won’t necessarily damage your mats, bad weather and a longer period will soon leave you with no choice but to switch to rubber mats from your carpeted ones.
Rubber mats are so much better, especially if you throw snow into the equation together with the road salts used. The road salt can get stuck on your shoes, tracking them with you back into the car. Unfortunately, this isn’t something that regular car mats can handle well.
Why Upgrade to Rubber Car Mats During Winter?
If you’re like most car owners, chances are you don’t even pay attention to your textile car mats that often apart from the usual vacuuming now and then. However, using a fresh set of rubber car mats offers a wide range of benefits, even more so if you live in a snowy or wet area.
While it might take you some time to get used to rubber car floor mats, particularly if you are used to the mats that match your car’s carpet, these are easier to maintain and clean. Believe it or not, these mats can even increase your vehicle’s value down the road.
The following are some of the reasons why you might want to switch to rubber mats for your car:
Longer-lasting and More Durable
Probably one of the biggest benefits of rubber mats is the fact that these won’t hold on to dirt or stain like your usual carpeted mats. Aside from that, it’s also less likely for these mats to tear or peel off even after several years of heavy usage.
Easy Cleaning and Maintenance
If you accidentally track mud or spill your morning coffee on your rubber car mat, all you have to do is remove them and use water to hose them down. This makes rubber mats ideal for drivers during wet climates as well as those who travel with their small kids or pets.
More Pleasing to the Eye
Traditional fabric car mats often degrade after some time, looking worse and worse as they accumulate more dirt, dust, mud, moisture, and foot traffic. Since rubber floor mats are easier to clean and more durable, they can help keep the interior of your car looking pristine, tidy, and clean for longer.
Increase Your Car’s Value
Here’s one important catch: numerous factors can either decrease or increase the resale value of your vehicle. However, the moment you sell your car or trade it in, worn-out floor carpeting or rusty floor plans may end up hurting your pockets despite going the great lengths to look after your vehicle. This is why rubber mats are a savvy investment that is guaranteed to preserve your car’s resale value in the long run.
Ward Off Rust
Living in an area prone to snow and rain can make your car sustain serious damage if you use the wrong floor mats. Standard mats will only allow moisture to seep into your car carpeting and then further down to the floor pans, resulting in ugly rusting after some time. But with the help of rubber mats, you can be sure that these will never happen at all.
Carpet Protection
The main purpose of floor mats is to protect the carpet under them. Rubber floor mats tend to do a better job at this compared to their carpet counterparts. After some time, grime, stains, and dirt can soak into the carpet below, damaging it. If you want to preserve your carpeting more than anything else, rubber mats are exactly what you need.
How to Clean Rubber Car Mats
If you need to deal with more extreme cases of filth such as road salts, moisture, or mud, you can count on rubber mats to handle them easily. Most importantly, it wouldn’t take you that much to clean them in the first place. These rubber mats are super handy because you only need a garden hose or even a moist cloth to clean them.
Universal vs. Custom Rubber Mats
You can always choose to install universal rubber car mats in your vehicle, such as those available in discount shops. But the thing here is that this might not always be a smart option.
Custom-made rubber mats made specifically for your car are a better choice for many reasons.
These made-to-measure options are nothing like the universal ones. You can just imagine what will happen if your mats aren’t a perfect fit for your car floor. All that filth, road salts, and moisture will end up damaging your car floor.
When it’s finally time for you to buy a mat, make sure that you go for rubber car mats and see for yourself the difference they can make!
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