For years, a traditional garage containment mat had a pretty simple job: keep snow, ice, road salt and water from spreading across the garage floor. Raised edges on all four sides created a large tray that you could park your vehicle on.
It worked. In fact, we sold millions of dollars worth of TruContain containment mats built exactly that way.
So why change the design?
Because we found a better way.
Rethinking the Traditional Garage Containment Mat
Traditional garage containment mats use raised edges to hold water on top of the mat. Drive a snow-covered vehicle into the garage, the snow melts, and the water stays inside the containment area instead of running across your garage floor.
The downside is that the water is still there.
You may have to step through it when getting in and out of your vehicle. If temperatures inside the garage drop low enough, standing water can freeze. The raised edges can also take time to relax after shipping and can be something you notice every time you step over them.
We started asking a different question:
What if instead of simply holding more water, the mat did a better job managing it?
That is the idea behind the new TruContain design.
Garage Containment Mats: Keep the Water In Without the High Edges
Instead of raised containment edges on all four sides, the new TruContain mats use absorbent materials to capture and disperse water across the surface of the mat.
The result is a garage containment mat that lays flatter faster and is easier to walk across.
More importantly, you aren’t stepping into a pool of standing water every time you get out of the car.
Depending on the TruContain mat you choose, water is either dispersed through the ribbed surface or absorbed into the carpeted material. From there, normal airflow inside the garage allows moisture to evaporate.
Instead of concentrating water into puddles, we’re giving it somewhere to go.
Yes, It Holds Less Standing Water
There is a tradeoff, and we don’t want to pretend otherwise.
A traditional containment mat with raised edges can physically hold more standing water. If your only measurement of a containment mat is how many gallons of water you can pour onto it before it overflows, the old design wins.
But after years of selling containment mats and testing the new designs, we don’t think that’s the best measurement for the average homeowner.
Most people aren’t trying to create a swimming pool underneath their vehicle.
They want to protect their garage floor from snow, slush, road salt and dirty water while keeping the garage clean and safe to walk through.
For that job, we believe less standing water is actually an advantage.
A Drier, Safer Garage Floor
Think about what happens when you bring a snow-covered vehicle into your garage.
Snow and ice fall from the wheel wells and undercarriage. The heater in your garage — or simply warmer temperatures — causes everything to melt.
With a traditional containment mat, that water collects on top.
With the new TruContain design, the goal is to spread that moisture out or absorb it so it can begin evaporating instead of forming large puddles.
That means less standing water to walk through, less opportunity for large areas of water to freeze, and less mess when you’re getting in and out of your vehicle.
You still get the protection you bought a garage containment mat for in the first place. We’re simply managing the water differently.
Why Did TruContain Take the Edge Off?
We didn’t change TruContain because traditional containment mats don’t work. We know they work. We sold millions of dollars worth of them.
We changed because years of experience taught us there was room to make them better.
For the average homeowner, we believe a containment mat should do more than hold the largest possible amount of water. It should protect the garage floor without creating another problem you have to deal with.
The new TruContain mats lay flatter faster, are easier to walk across and manage melting snow and water without relying on high containment edges.
Sometimes improving a product isn’t about adding something.
Sometimes you just need to take the edge off.
