The problems with aluminium mats
Why aluminium mats aren’t always the best choice, and what might be better
Aluminium mats have long been a favourite among architects. They offer a sleek, metallic finish and a reputation for heavy-duty performance. On paper, they look like a great solution. In practice, that’s not always the case.
They do serve a purpose in certain applications, but many commercial spaces face ongoing issues after installation. The drawbacks are more common than you might expect. If safety, sound, moisture control, or sustainability are priorities, other materials perform better.
Why Aluminium Mats Took Off
There’s no denying they made an impression early on. Aluminium mats were some of the first to use bi-level scraping surfaces—great for removing debris from shoes and hiding it below the surface. Architects liked the combination of performance and presentation.
Once other materials began offering similar scraping features without the disadvantages, the gap narrowed quickly. These days, aluminium mats still get specified, but in many cases, they don’t hold up to scrutiny once in use.
Slip and Trip Hazards
Aluminium isn’t known for its grip. When laid loosely over flooring, the risk increases. Unlike rubber-backed mats, aluminium lacks friction at the base and has a slippery surface on top. The entire mat can shift or curl when stepped on, increasing trip hazards—particularly in high-traffic entries.
Installing the mat into a recess reduces movement, but doesn’t resolve the surface slipperiness. The shine that makes aluminium attractive is the same reason it performs poorly under wet footwear.
When mats kick up or shift under pressure, the problem becomes more than just aesthetic. It puts pedestrians at risk. Offices, shops, and schools often learn this the hard way.
To reduce unwanted movement in any mat type, refer to our guide on how to stop floor mats from moving.
Noise Disruption
Sound is rarely factored into mat selection—but it should be.
Aluminium on hard surfaces can generate loud clanging, especially in echo-prone areas like foyers with high ceilings. A single step can produce a sound that bounces across the room. In commercial spaces, the distraction adds up.
In a quiet office or customer-facing space, noise can affect focus, professionalism, and comfort. Even foot traffic in a hallway can start to feel amplified. The more rigid the mat and the harder the surface beneath it, the louder the impact becomes.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
| Setting | Risk of Noise Issues |
| Schools | High |
| Office receptions | High |
| Warehouses | Moderate |
| Outdoor entrances | Low |
To manage noise, some building managers retrofit rubber backings to their aluminium mats or install them into recessed wells. These solutions lower the volume but don’t remove the base issue. A material change is often the better fix.
Lack of Absorbency
Moisture control is a big deal in high-footfall entrances, especially during wet weather. Aluminium mats do nothing to contain water. They allow it to sit on the surface, increasing the slip risk and leading to floor damage further inside the building.
Building managers often list this as their top complaint.
Absorbent carpet-surfaced mats are better suited to handle tracked-in water. They soak up moisture directly from footwear and hold it on the mat surface, which prevents it from spreading into surrounding floor areas.
For indoor entries, especially in climates with frequent rainfall or condensation, swap out your aluminium mat for something that’s made to handle water. View our absorbent carpet-surfaced mats collection for better alternatives.
Where dry weather dominates, the issue may not be as urgent. But for any site that experiences rain, humidity, or large foot traffic, absorbency should be a requirement, not an afterthought.
Environmental Concerns
The perception of aluminium as recyclable leads many to assume it’s an environmentally sound choice. In the context of matting, that’s misleading.
Aluminium production has a heavy carbon footprint and toxic byproducts. It harms aquatic life and impacts the food chain. While some forms of aluminium are recyclable, the complex design of many entrance mats makes them difficult to process once worn out.
If you’re planning on upgrading mats frequently or fitting them across multiple locations, the environmental toll becomes harder to justify.
Alternative materials like coir, recycled rubber, or certain plastics are often more practical and less harmful to produce and dispose of.
Where Aluminium Mats Fall Short
Not every building faces the same conditions, but some environments are particularly mismatched for aluminium mats. When safety, absorbency, or acoustic comfort are high on the priority list, this type of matting often underperforms.
Buildings where aluminium mats are likely to cause problems:
- Schools – Frequent spills and wet shoes increase slip risk.
- Museums and public spaces – Noise levels and safety must be tightly controlled.
- Retail stores – High foot traffic, water tracking, and visual standards all matter.
- Office entries – First impressions count, and so does a quiet, clean workspace.
- Warehouses and factories – Aluminium adds unnecessary risk on slick or dust-covered floors.
- Residential buildings in wet regions – These require absorbent mats that perform consistently year-round.
In short, spaces that require stability underfoot, water absorption, or quiet entry solutions should skip aluminium altogether.
Better Alternatives to Aluminium Mats
Rather than choosing based on visual appeal alone, start with the problem you need to solve. Then select a mat that directly addresses it. Here are several alternatives that outperform aluminium in different environments:
1. Carpet-Surfaced Mats for Interior Entries
If moisture control is the priority, indoor entrances benefit most from absorbent matting. Carpet-surfaced mats trap water, reduce slips, and stop puddles from forming on tiles or timber flooring.
They’re ideal for:
- Commercial entryways
- Apartment buildings
- School hallways
- Retail doorways
Absorbent mats keep interiors dry, cut down on cleaning, and protect flooring from long-term wear.
✅ Browse our Absorbent carpet-surfaced mats
2. Rubber Mats with Drainage Holes for Outdoor Use
Where rainfall or puddling is a concern, solid surfaces won’t cut it. Rubber mats with drainage allow water to pass through, while their textured surface provides traction and debris scraping.
Use them:
- Outside doorways
- In wet production areas
- At delivery bays
- Near exposed entrances
Raised rubber treads and drain-through designs keep shoes and feet dry, even in heavy rain.
3. Coir Mats for a Natural, Durable Option
Coir is a renewable material made from coconut husks. It’s coarse, naturally textured, and great for scraping dirt from shoes. Coir mats have an earthy, natural appearance that works well in boutique shops, eco-buildings, and residential entries.
They are biodegradable and make use of waste materials, providing a more environmentally sound solution than aluminium.
4. Hybrid: Aluminium with Carpet Infill
In cases where you still want the aluminium frame but need absorbency, a hybrid solution exists. Our aluminium mat with a carpet infill combines form and function.
It retains the architectural style of aluminium but adds moisture control via the integrated carpet. These are suitable for offices or buildings looking for a balance between presentation and performance.
Final Thoughts
Aluminium mats were once the standout solution. But as material technology evolved, so did the options. Today, better alternatives exist for safety, absorbency, environmental impact, and acoustic comfort.
Each matting material serves a purpose—but that purpose needs to align with your space’s specific needs. Skipping the wrong material can mean fewer accidents, better comfort, and longer-lasting results.
Need Help Choosing?
Still deciding what’s best for your space? Our team is available to guide you through the options and help you match the right mat to your entry conditions.
Start a chat with one of our matxperts using the tool below. We’re happy to help.
Need Help Choosing?
Choosing the right mat comes down to your space, your foot traffic, and your specific safety or maintenance goals. If you're unsure which material fits best, the team at Matshop can point you in the right direction.
Use the chat tool below to speak with one of our matxperts — we're here to help you make a confident choice.
Why aluminium mats aren't always the best choice, and what might be better
Aluminium mats have long been the first choice for architects. They look classy and they sparkle in the light, what more could you want for your new building? Unfortunately, there is more you could want – and aluminium mats are not the best option for everyone.
It was initially their bi-level construction that caught the building industry’s eye. Bi-level surfaces scrape shoes very effectively and hold the removed dirt and debris in the lower levels.
Now, that design can be found in other materials, aluminium mats might not be the best option anymore. Mainly because they can cause a lot of problems. Safety, practicality and environmental concerns are just a few of their disadvantages.
We are dedicated to bringing you the most relevant information – including when our products might not suit you best. So, here are the problems with aluminium mats.
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Safety
The main reason we use mats is to make our floors safer, so safety concerns are the main reason we do not recommend aluminium mats to everyone. There are a few ways that aluminium is less safe than other materials, but most significant is its lack of non slip.
If you are planning on laying an entrance mat loose on the floor, it needs to have some sort of non slip backing. Rubber is the ideal material for this because it naturally creates friction with the ground.
Aluminium mats can be fitted into a recess to remove part of their slip hazard potential, but their surface is still slippery, so this is not ideal either. Aluminium mats also tend to kick up when stepped on, making them not just a slip hazard, but a trip hazard as well.
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Environment
The material you probably think of as being bad for the environment is plastic. You might be shocked to find out that aluminium is as bad, if not worse, for the planet than plastic. The impact of making aluminium depends on the product, and we can only speak for mats.
Aluminium is toxic for aquatic life, as it reduces animals’ ability to regulate electrolytes, which can be fatal. This also affects the mammals and birds that eat them. Aluminium also cannot be recycled nearly as easily as some companies would have you think.
For environmental reasons, we only recommend aluminium mats for buildings that are likely to stay the same for a while. In some cases, we would even suggest that plastic is a more sustainable option.
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Noise
One problem that people don’t usually consider is that aluminium mats can be noisy. Depending on the floor underneath, aluminium can make a horrible clanging sound. Pair this with a high ceiling and you have a very distracting noise reverberating around the room.
If you are looking for mats to fit in an office, commercial entrance or customer-facing area, noisy mats might not be the best option for you. There are ways you can reduce the noise, though, if you do still have your heart set on some aluminium entrance mats.
Adding a rubber backing to an aluminium mat can prevent loud clanging and make the mat safer to walk on. You could also pin down your mat in other ways – check out our article on preventing mats from moving around for more ideas.
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Non-absorbent
A lack of absorbency is technically also a safety feature, but it is the number one grievance that building managers have with aluminium mats. Water entering the building and causing damage and a slip hazard is a huge problem – especially here in Australia – so entrance mats need to combat that.
Absorbent carpet-surfaced mats are ideal for inside entrances, as they remove water from the soles of shoes and hold it on their surface. For that reason, we almost always recommend absorbent entrance mats.
Aluminium mats might still suit you if your building is in a very dry area. If water is rare, you can always invest in a roll out absorbent mat to bring out if rain is forecasted. We also stock one aluminium mat with a carpet infillto give you the best of both worlds.
Who should avoid aluminium mats
If you want to use mats to keep your floors dry, or you’re looking for a non slip safety solution, aluminium is not your best option. Specific buildings that we would advise against using aluminium mats include:
- Schools
- Museums and public buildings
- Shops
- Offices
- Warehouses and factories
- Residential buildings in wet areas
What to use instead of aluminium
Instead of choosing aluminium for its look, decide what your specific requirements are. For inside entrances in wet areas, choose a mat with an absorbent surface. Absorbing water from the soles of shoes keeps floors dry and people safe while walking.
For outside entrances in wet areas, an absorbent surface will not be enough. While carpet-surfaced entrance mats are great for small volumes of water (such as is on the soles of shoes), they will not hold infinite quantities.
Rubber mats with holes allow water to drain through, preventing the water from pooling on the surface while raising people above it to prevent slips. A combination of both rubber outside mats and absorbent inside mats make the safest entrances and keep floors inside cleanest.
For a natural look that is sustainable and stylish, coir entrance mats are the best option. Coir is a by-product of the coconut industry, so using it to create mats prevents it from ending up in a landfill.
Whatever your material, you want to make sure your entrance mats have great scraping abilities. Coir, carpet and rubber can all be made to effectively scrape the soles of shoes – which means less cleaning, fewer accidents and less unsightly floors.
The problems with aluminium mats
Aluminium mats are loved by architects because of their high shine and dirt-removal properties. They aren’t always the best option, though, so consider whether another material can do the job better.
For a personalised recommendation or help with any of our products, feel free to reach out to the matxperts using the chat function below!
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