A sticky mat is a stack of thin adhesive polyethylene sheets laid at a doorway. Shoes and trolley wheels press onto the tacky top sheet, which lifts dust and fine debris before it travels into an office or heathcare space. When the sheet is dirty, you peel it off. AdMerch's sticky mats have 30 numbered sheets per pad.
Here's a job we'd plan around. A medical clinic is refitting one consult room while the rest of the practice stays open. The trades are cutting plasterboard and sanding joints all week, and the only way in and out is the corridor patients use to reach reception.
Without a mat, that dust walks out on every boot and on the wheels of every trolley of offcuts. By midweek the corridor vinyl has a grey path down the middle, and the cleaners are mopping it twice a day.
Put a 660 x 1150mm mat at the door of the work zone, where tradies and trolleys come out, because the extra length gives wheels more time on the adhesive. Then lay a 600 x 900mm mat where the corridor meets reception as a second catch.
Peel the work zone mat at every break and check the second one at the end of the day. You'll find all three sizes, as single pads or cartons of 10, in our sticky mats range.
What Is a Sticky Mat and How Does It Work?
A sticky mat, also called a tacky or adhesive walk-off mat, is a pad of peel-away adhesive sheets that sits flat on the floor at an entry point. Each footstep or wheel pass leaves dust on the tacky surface. Richmond's pads are blue polyethylene, 30 sheets deep, with a 3.5N adhesive.
Each sheet is 0.04mm thick, so the full pad is only 1.2mm high. There's no raised edge for a boot to catch or a wheel to bump over.
The sheets are numbered 1 to 30. Anyone walking past can see how far through the pad you are, so reordering is a glance rather than a guess.
Worth knowing: the mat doesn't replace cleaning. A wheel caked in wet slurry will load up the top sheet in a few passes. Treat the mat as the last catch before the clean area.
Where Do Sticky Mats Make the Biggest Difference?
Sticky mats work best where a dirty zone meets a clean one. Typical spots are renovations in occupied buildings, lab and clean room entries, server rooms, hospitals and food processing areas. AdMerch's range suits clean, hard floors including concrete, sealed timber, tiles and vinyl.
On a fit-out, put the mat at the edge of the work zone, not the front door of the building. Catch the dust where it starts and every corridor, lift and carpet after that point stays cleaner.
In labs and data centres, the mat is one step in an entry routine that sits alongside the site's existing footwear and cleaning procedures.
This catches people out: the self-adhesive backing grips the floor, not the dust on it. Sweep and wipe the spot before you lay a new pad.
Which Sticky Mat Size and Pack Should You Order?
AdMerch stocks Richmond sticky mats in three sizes: 600 x 900mm for standard doorways, 660 x 1150mm for trolley routes and 900 x 900mm for wide or double doors. Each size comes as a single 30-sheet pad or a carton of 10 pads, which is 300 sheets.
| Size | Single pad | Carton of 10 | Good choice for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600 x 900mm | SMR001 | SMR002 | Single doorways, mostly foot traffic |
| 660 x 1150mm | SMR003 | SMR004 | Trolley and cart routes |
| 900 x 900mm | SMR005 | SMR006 | Wide entries, double doors |
Length matters more than people expect. A wheel only collects dust while it's rolling across the adhesive, so the extra 250mm on the 660 x 1150mm mat gives every wheel and boot more contact.
There's no frame to buy. The backing holds the pad straight to the floor, and a replacement is simply a new pad. Browse the full sticky mats range for single pads and cartons.
Here's how the maths works on a fit-out. Say the crew is on site five days a week and you peel one sheet each afternoon. One pad lasts 30 working days, about six weeks.
Three doorways on a 12-week job need six pads. A carton of 10 covers that and leaves four spare for days when you peel twice.
What Should You Use Alongside a Sticky Mat?
A sticky mat only catches what's on boots and wheels, so pair it with gear that controls the rest of the route. Barriers keep traffic on the matted path and cable covers stop leads becoming a trip hazard. Mop buckets and wet floor signs handle the dust that still gets out.
A mat only works if people walk across it. Trades will cut the corner if there's a gap beside it, so use safety barriers to funnel traffic over the mat. Fit-outs also mean leads across corridors, and cable covers keep them flat where people step off.
For the end-of-day clean, a mop bucket or cleaning trolley does the rest, with a wet floor sign out while the floor dries.
What Should You Check Before Ordering?
- Measure the doorway. The mat should cover the full width people and trolleys use.
- Check the floor. It needs to be clean and hard: concrete, sealed timber, tiles or vinyl.
- Count the wheels. Regular trolley traffic points to the 660 x 1150mm size.
- Work out your peel rate. Sheets per day times working days, divided by 30, gives pads per doorway.
When Should You Talk to AdMerch Instead?
Talk to AdMerch first if the entry is wider than 900mm with heavy trolley traffic, or if the floor is carpet, rough or wet. The same goes for certified clean room protocols. A sticky mat captures loose particles, but it can't replace a site's gowning, cleaning or contamination control procedures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which sticky mat size should you start with?
For most single doorways, start with the 600 x 900mm pad. Choose the 660 x 1150mm size where trolleys or carts pass through, because the extra length gives wheels more contact with the adhesive. Choose 900 x 900mm for double doors or wide entries where foot traffic doesn't follow one line.
Do sticky mats need a frame?
No. Richmond sticky mats sold by AdMerch have a self-adhesive backing that holds the pad directly to a clean, hard floor, so there's no frame or holder to buy. When the last of the 30 sheets is used, you lift the old pad and lay a new one in the same spot.
How often should you peel a sheet?
Peel a sheet when the surface is visibly dirty or stops feeling tacky. A quiet internal door might go a full day, while a busy construction exit may need a fresh sheet every few hours. The numbered sheets on AdMerch's Richmond mats show how quickly a pad is being used.
When should you replace a sticky mat pad?
Replace the pad when sheet 30, the last layer, is dirty, or sooner if the backing lifts at the edges or the pad is torn. A lifting edge is a trip hazard. AdMerch recommends ordering the next pad when you reach sheet 20, so a busy doorway is never left without a clean mat.
Can trolleys roll over a sticky mat?
Yes. The full 30-sheet pad is 1.2mm thick, so trolleys and carts roll across without a lip to bump over. For regular trolley traffic, the 660 x 1150mm size gives wheels the longest run of adhesive in the AdMerch range.
Can you lay a sticky mat on carpet?
Sticky mats aren't recommended on carpet. The self-adhesive backing on AdMerch's Richmond sticky mats is designed for clean, hard floors such as concrete, sealed timber, tiles and vinyl. On carpet the backing can't grip evenly, so the pad may shift or lift. If one side of the doorway is carpeted, lay the mat on the hard floor just before it.
