How To Spot If Your Car Mats Need Replacing

Depending on the quality of your car mats you may find that they need replacing sooner than you might think. If you have bought cheap universal mats in preference of slightly more expensive tailored car mats you may have to pay the price of replacing them more regularly. Buying cheap car mats is something of a false economy.

Your floor mats will need replacing if they have bent out of shape if they begin to smell musty, if the carpet is threadbare or if there are holes. As the driver's mat is most used it is a good indication to check this one first.

Good quality mats sometimes have a double thickness heel pad on the driver's side to improve the durability of the set, but if not then the area where your heels rest against the car mat is usually the first to go.

Mats that aren't tailored to fit are prone to bending and buckling out of shape. When this happens your mats are no longer protecting the floor of your car and the deterioration of the floor mats will speed up. Worse still, if your floor mats bend underneath your pedals it could impede your control over braking and accelerating. If you notice that your mats regularly fold, don't take the risk, replace them with good quality tailored car mats from a reputable manufacturer.

Old carpet mats can sometimes give off a musty odor. This is a result of years of becoming damp and never being able to dry out properly. This is difficult to prevent. You can take them out to air if they become wet, but this is highly impractical. The musty odour is often a sign that the mats are breeding mold. The good thing is that floor mats are easy to replace. If you allow the moisture to seep into the carpet of the subfloor then that musty odour is much harder to get rid of. This is another reason why tailored car mats are better; they thoroughly protect the carpet underneath from moisture and dirt.

Whatever the reason for replacing your mats it is false economy to buy cheap. Quality tailored mats are more durable and here's an extra tip: if you buy straight from a car mat manufacturer you can get them at a reduced, Best price.