Keep Clean with sticky mats (AKA Tacky Mats)

Stop Contamination at the Door!

Tacky mats, sticky mats, or adhesive mats, are specially designed mats which are used to keep work areas with controlled environments as clean as possible. Controlled environments are commonly found in aerospace manufacturing technology companies, pharmaceuticals, laboratories and food processing plants. Many manufacturers require clean and controlled environments to operate. Keeping those clean rooms clean can be a challenge. A dirty cleanroom can greatly impact these businesses and cause production or research to grind to a halt. To prevent such mishaps, simply consider using contaminant control such as tacky mats (AKA Adhesive Mats).

Tacky mats are designed with special adhesive sheets which help remove contaminants, dirt, dust and particles (which are initially carried at the bottom of shoes or cart wheels) and have an adhesive bottom material which secure the mats in place.

How to Use Tacky Mats

Setting-Up Tacky Mats

Setting up these tacky mats is pretty easy but care should be taken.. Adhesive Mats should be placed on clean and hard surface just before or just after the ingress/ egress point for each cleanliness or control change, ensuring that its position can accommodate maximum steps for each location.

Size and Color

It’s best to consider sizes that are as wide  or wider than the doorway. That way, the tacky mats can capture all debris before entering the controlled environment. The ideal length of sticky mats is that it should be long enough to accommodate two steps, considering  each foot is situated at different locations.

As for the color, we can assume that the lighter the tacky mats are, the better it is to spot whether the mats are ready to be changed and identifying how much dirt has been accumulated.

Nevertheless, using adhesive mats with darker shades is not really a big issue as long as the mats is keeping the  controlled environment clean and contaminant-free.

Tacky mats are available as blue adhesive mats, white adhesive mats, and grey adhesive mats in sizes 18″- 36″ wide and up to 5’ long.

Peeling Tacky Mats

To remove a layer, simply peel it back. Be careful not to haphazardly rip off layers. If you can, roll the layer into a ball as you peel. This helps keep contaminates from going into the air.

Stick with Tacky Mats

These are just some basic, yet vital tips before you consider using tacky mats. You’ve invested a lot in building your cleanroom, avoiding allowing contaminants in can save you an expensive clean-up of the controlled environment.