So you're looking at rubber mulch for your playground or you already installed rubber mulch and you may be wondering if you need wear mats. If you have slides, swings, or rotating equipment on your playground a wear mat is something to consider. An additional consideration is whether you manage a commercial or residential playground. If you manage a commercial playground, you definitely should weigh the pros and cons of using them. This post explores the wear mats and will help you determine whether you need a wear mat for your playground.
First, what is a playground wear mat?
A wear mat is often also called a swing mat or a slide mat. A wear mat is a mat typically made of rubber and available in multiple sizes and shapes. Wear mats are placed in different locations of the playground such as 1) the base of your slide where children exit the slide 2) underneath swings and 3) near other equipment such as around the perimeter of a merry go round. A common size for a commercial rectangular wear mat is 3' x 5' x 2". Wear mats are placed directly over your loose fill ground surface such as rubber mulch and do not need to be affixed to the ground with additional securing mechanisms. Wear mats can also be placed directly on top of or embedded in synthetic turf. Wear mats are typically sturdy and of a heavy weight so they stay put.
Why would my playground need a wear mat?
A wear mat itself can help cushion impacts but they are really there to help maintain the depth of the underlying loose fill surface, such as rubber mulch. Wear mats also help preserve artificial turf in friction areas to prevent premature wearing of the turf. Underneath a swing, at the end of a slide, or around the base of a merry go round, loose fill material is susceptible to displacement and turf can wear down quickly. This displacement or wearing down occurs by the organic play patterns of children. For example, when a child swings on a swing and there is grass underneath the swing, the area underneath that swing will eventually turn to mud due to children unintentionally wearing down the surface underneath the swing. Likewise, when there is rubber mulch or other loose fill material under a swing, children will unintentionally displace the rubber mulch by the shear motion of their feet brushing over the material and gently moving it over time. When this happens, the depth of the rubber mulch in these areas becomes less over time. Of course, you could rake the rubber mulch back in place but this requires frequent maintenance on a regular schedule. When the depth of the rubber mulch is lessened, this can impact the effectiveness of fall height protection or minimum depth requirements by code/inspectors in certain areas of your playground.
| As recommended by the CPSC Public Playground Safety Handbook 2.4.2.2 Loose Fill Surfacing Materials |
| 2. Loose-fill surfacing requires frequent maintenance to ensure surfacing levels never drop below the minimum depth. Areas under swings and at slide exits are more susceptible to displacement; special attention must be paid to maintenance in these areas. Additionally, wear mats can be installed in these areas to reduce displacement. |
Wear Mats on Commercial vs Residential Playgrounds
If you have a home playground a wear mat can definitely help but since it will not get the traffic and utilization of a commercial playground, you may want to first monitor whether you get displacement under the swings or slides. Also pay attention to the rate of displacement - is it something that occurs frequently or is it something that slowly happens over time and a quick raking of the rubber mulch to even it out is not an inconvenience but rather a labor of love. Wear mats can add up in cost so for residential playgrounds one idea is to monitor if there is displacement and at what frequency before making the investment when setting up your new playground. For commercial playgrounds, utilization is typically much higher than residential playgrounds so wear mats are beneficial as soon as your playground opens up for use. You can take the same wait and see approach but ensure you monitor and re-level the loose fill material immediately should there be displacement in order to maintain safe use. Commercial playgrounds include school, church, park, daycare, hoa, and other similar commercial play areas.
Shop
Interested in wear mats for your playground? We carry a selection of high quality residential and commercial wear mats. Shop wear mats here.
