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Are you guilty of using those ugly cardboard mats in your garage or driveway to catch oil drips and fluids? If so, there are superior oil absorbent mats for your garage that are available today. Not only do they look nicer, they work much better too.
While garage floor mats can serve a variety of purposes, these mats have specially designed oil absorbing materials that work well at catching oil drips and leaks from older vehicles, motorcycles, golf carts, and yard equipment. They are also great to catch spills during oil changes. Plus, many can be cleaned to be reused again.
As a result, we have listed what we feel are the best oil absorbent mats for your garage or workshop.
In addition, we also discuss some surprising, but honest facts you won’t find anywhere else about the best oil mats for a driveway. This is a popular topic among those that are trying to keep their driveways oil stain free.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect current changes and recommendations.
Drymate oil spill mat
Our first choice for the best performing garage oil mat and one that gets great reviews, is the DryMate Oil Spill Mat.
The DryMate oil mat is made in the U.S.A. using ECO friendly materials that are Phthalate and BPA free. The durable and absorbent polyester fiber is resistant to automotive chemicals and will contain a remarkable amount of liquid.
Available in two different sizes to fit under your vehicle, it is constructed using a non-slip water-proof backing that will prevent oils, gasoline, anti-freeze, and other liquids from seeping through the mat. As a result, the mat will prevent stains to your garage floor or concrete.
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An important benefit is that they are reusable and easy to clean. This means that you won’t have to discard the mat if it starts to get full. Just scrub the mat with warm, soapy water and then rinse it free.
In addition, this type of mat works well when working under your car to catch spills from oil changes and other messy projects. We’ve actually had good luck with reusing this one under a messy lawn tractor that drips gear oil and some grease. When the mat starts to smell from the gear oil, we lightly scrub it down with a bucket of warm water and strong solution of Dawn dish soap.
Something to consider is that these mats are not heavy and would not be a good candidate to leave in the driveway. If you live in an area that gets occasional wind, they will not stay put in most cases. These work best in a garage where they would be out of the wind.
Lastly, oil absorbing mats are not heavy duty mats that you can drive on and expect to last for years. The price point reflect this. These are designed to be disposable at some point.
Dossetop Oil Spill Mat
If you need an oil mat in a larger or more custom size, then the DosseTop Oil Spill Mat would be a good choice.
Constructed with the same materials as the DryMate mat, the DosseTop Oil Spill Mat is available in up to 8 different sizes to fit your oil absorption needs.
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This mat is Phthalate and BPA free as well. In addition, it also has a non-slip water-proof backing and is reusable with proper cleaning.
There has been the occasional complaint of these mats disintegrating and leaving a sticky residue from the non-slip backing on the garage floor. However, these complaints are few and may be due to overly caustic oils being left on the mats for long periods of time.
Pig mat
Our Honorable Mention goes to the extremely versatile Pig Mat product line. Our favorite of these is the 15”x50’ shop roll. These are extremely handy oil absorbing shop towels/mats on a roll.
They are made of 8 layers of thermal bonded 100% polypropylene that is highly absorbent and very strong. They will absorb anything from oil and gas to battery acid. You can even soak them in water or washer fluid and then air dry for reuse.
I have a roll of these in my garage and use them all the time. They come in handy for oil and fluid changes under the cars, as well as making for a nice mat to sit parts on when cleaning with solvents such as carb or brake cleaner. After working on a car project, I usually place my hand tools on these for cleaning.
Because they come with perforations every 10”, you can peel off larger sizes if necessary. You can find the Pig Mat Shop Roll here.
New Pig Grippy Mats
One particular product that is getting much attention is the New Pig Mat Grippy Mat. This is an oil absorbent material with a sticky adhesive-like backing.
The adhesive backing secures the mat to the floor, however, it can easily be peeled up when needed. You can walk on it, sweep it, and vacuum it without the mat moving.
The New Pig Grippy Mat is available in rolls of various widths to custom cut or you can purchase them as pre-cut pads. They also work well as tray liners for tool boxes and other containers. Plus, they even do a great job as an oil absorbent protective pad on a workbench.
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One note is that these new adhesive backed mats can be driven on if necessary. However, they will bunch up if you turn your wheels while the vehicle is in motion.
In addition, they are not designed for, nor recommended for outdoors. They will absorb too much moisture from rain, dew, and other atmospheric conditions.
Best Oil Absorbing Mat for a Driveway
We stated earlier that we would have some honest facts about this type of mat. So, what is the best oil absorbing mat for a driveway? There isn’t one!
The fact is, anything that absorbs oil is also going to absorb water. And mats that are outside are going to encounter that. Rain and dew is an example. This can leave the mat in a constant state of drying out depending on your location. Plus, a soaked mat is not going to absorb oil.
In addition, oil absorbing mats are very light in weight and can get blown around by the wind. They will not stay in place unless you place something heavy on them like a brick or two.
If you need something to protect your driveway from leaking oil, then we would recommend a galvanized oil pan like these here instead. Though they aren’t the best looking thing on your driveway, these pans are heavy enough to stay in place.
If you don’t like the look of a galvanized oil pan (and we don’t blame you), then there is the option of using a flexible PVC vinyl mat.
These weight 10 lbs each and are heavy enough to stay in place. They also have a non-skid texture on the back.
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Keep in mind that this type of mat is not absorbent. It repels liquids. However, it will allow oil and grease to collect until it begins to flow off of the mat. It would require that you wipe them down occasionally depending on how much oil is being deposited.
Final Thoughts
One thing to be aware of when purchasing an oil absorbent mat for the garage is that these are intended for use under a vehicle and not as a conventional car mat. They are light in weight and designed to be disposable at some point due to the nature of the caustic fluids that they can collect.
If you like the idea of a larger mat like these that can be driven on, then you should consider the Drymate Fabric garage floor mat instead.
So, if you want to get rid of that cardboard oil slick in your garage, replace it with a mat that will soak up oil leaks and look better for doing it. Your garage floor will thank you as well as your spouse.
yep save lot of time and money using new pig mats
Hi. have a exterior white concrete driveway. I’m looking for an approximately 3×5 white mat that will resist the elements\oil and blend in with the concrete. Any ideas?
Hi Adam. We are not aware of any manufacturer that makes a white mat for such a purpose. White is generally the last color people want since it shows the dirt, oil, and grime the easiest. You could purchase a galvanized automotive oil drip pan such as this one here and paint it white if you like. Another option would be to seal the concrete to help resist staining and make cleanups easier.
New Pig actually does make an oil absorbent tarp designed for outdoor use that comes as 10’x10′ piece or 5’x80′ roll. It captures oil and lets water run through and off the tarp bottom. Made for heavy equipment, e.g., loaders, tractors, so should hold up to home garage use and for your outside driveway though you would have to figure out how to pin it down. It has one edge made to attach two or more lengths cut from the roll.
We have 4 old VW’s that drip oil daily. Will these work for this kind of daily use. The cardboard we use seems to last for a long while but looks awful.
Hi Wendy. Yes, these type of oil mats will work for that. The nice thing about them is that you can scrub them down with a degreaser when they get too oily.