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animal fibers

Wool bath mat, what are your thoughts?

Thekla McDaniels

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posted 3 weeks ago

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I was thinking of wet felting a thick wool mat to use as a bath mat. Say a minimum of half an inch thick.

Has anyone done this? Or woven or knitted a wool mat?

It seems like it would be nice to step on.

But would it dry adequately, and how would moisture affect the fiber, or have I just not thought through?

Is this one more thing that would probably be fine in an arid climate that would not work in a humid climate?

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Carla Burke

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posted 3 weeks ago

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Wool sheds water, readily - toss it on a rack or the side of the bathtub for a couple hours, and it would be good to go. My main concern would be finding a way to make it non-skid. I've been wanting to do the same, for a long time. But, My joints are often unstable, and I struggle at times, with vertigo, so making it non-skid would be very important, for me.

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Christopher Weeks

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posted 2 weeks ago

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I like the way my cotton bathmats pull water off the bottom of my feet. Would wool do that?

I wouldn't love doing this, but some lines of silicone caulk on the bottom would make it non-skid, but then you'd have a bottom and a top. [ETA: Thinking on this more, I might add the silicone strips to the floor where the bathmat goes instead. It can be flipped, applied once it works with any bathmat and even when the bathmat is in the laundry.]

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Thekla McDaniels

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Ok then! Thanks for the input. First I will make one and then try it out, giving special attention to slippage risk, and whether it pulls the water off my feet as cotton does…. My first mat shrank a lot. My cat uses it for his special fire side bed. It’s wonderful to stand on because of its springiness.

Carla, that sounds scary. Do you have a solid grab bar? When I became aware of falls risks on my stairway, I started using the hand rail every time. Now I don’t even think about it. It’s always handle before step, hand before foot.

I know they make rubber mesh to put under rugs and dishes… but I have never tried it.

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Jay Angler

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Carla Burke wrote: My main concern would be finding a way to make it non-skid.

In my bathroom, I just made it quite large (cotton, loom woven, rag style) It goes all the way from the vanity, to the other wall. To "slip" it has to actually buckle. That would still be possible, but the thicker and firmer the rug is, the less chance of it buckling.

All that said, we only have a shower stall, not a tub, and at this point, we don't have house members with severe health problems or balance problems.

I have used some of that non-slip rubber mesh in the past and I found it less useful than I thought it would be, as if it gets dusty it seems to stop working.

I would go for several, properly installed grab bars over the mesh any day. And as Thekla says, use them!

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Carla Burke

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Cotton will absorb water faster than wool, but it also takes far longer (especially if it's thick) to dry. Wool resists mold & mildew, cotton attracts it. I LOVE Christopher's non-skid strips on the floor idea! That would also help prevent slips & falls, when there's no rug on it.

There aren't any hand rails for the bath tub - and no place I've figured out to put them. So, I only get into it if John is home and available. Both showers have anti-slip floors. I do have to be careful, so the rug thing is a very real THING for me. Making sure it's thick and soft - and fairly large - would also make for a softer landing, in the event that I do fall.

Thekla McDaniels

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Great thinking, Jay. The bigger and thicker, the heavier, it will be, and with all that mass, the more difficult to dislodge. And warmer in winter. I will just need to be able to lift it, and have a place to drape it to dry and air as needed.

And thinking back to that beautiful staircase I had built and trained the bannister habit, I remember I was able to purchase non slip “tape” at the local building supply place. It came in a roll, different widths, had a sandy feel to the surface. I would recommend that over silicone caulking.

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Steph Walker

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Location: Salem, OR Zone 8b

posted 2 weeks ago

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I like this idea! For the non-slip part I'd try and sew a few pieces of flat rubber to the bottom. You could poke holes in the discs and sew them on like buttons or how traditional leather sewing pieces are attached.

Thekla McDaniels

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Thanks Steph! I like it

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Ellen Lewis

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posted 2 weeks ago

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I have a woolen bathmat (not home made). It does not absorb water as well as cotton. I like it anyway. I've never had any issues with it drying.
It's warm underfoot. To the extent that thicker might not be warmer.
I have been happy with one of those holey rubber mats below the slippery rug in my entryway. I'm sure it would work fine under a bath mat without permanent silicone on either your floor or your mat, and the air holes might even help with drying.
This kinda thing: webpage

Carla Burke

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posted 2 weeks ago

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I wonder if a wool/ linen or wool cotton blend might be the happy place...

Thekla McDaniels

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posted 2 weeks ago

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We will all have to experiment with these different ideas.

I am torn between making my bath mat by rolling up a stack of carded wool in a large sheet of plastic … or buying an appropriate size and shape of stock tank and make the felt in the bottom of the tank… treading it like wine.

But for now, I’m involved in all the spring tasks and chores, and haven’t prepared any wool, so it’s a moot point.

I probably won’t go further with the project until it is cold out again.

My bathroom is always cold. Tile floor throughout, leaky window on the wind ward side. It couldn’t be further from the woodstove, and though the furnace keeps the house above freezing, I like it warm when I get out of the shower.

The large wool mat would prevent the cold tile from stealing my body heat through radiant cooling.

The good thing about felting is that it seems the quickest. Pick, fluff and tease the wool, skip spinning and knitting or warping and weaving….

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phyllis gough

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posted 1 week ago

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Have you thought about putting one of those wooden slat things that I think Scandinavians may have come up with and are very easy to knock together under any bathmat that you use to keep it from slipping and also allowing air to come from underneath? I have done this and it works but never had tried a wool mat.

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