Floor Mats

[apples and bananas]

I'm having some struggles with my coloured foam floor mats. Everytime I have a new kids start they are obsessed with lifting up the mats and taking apart the floor. Any one have this problem and have a solution?

And... how do you clean your mats?

[KingstonMom]

I dont have any solution, but I had these when my oldest was a baby cause we only had hardwood, after trying to constantly clean spit up and avoiding walking on them, and my son always ripping them apart, I got rid of them and got a big area rug with a spill proof thick underpad for floor play for the little ones.
Cleaning them was the worst, I would just spray and wipe them down with an anti-bacterial all-purpose cleaner.
Pain in the ass those things are. I'd be curious to hear other's solutions

[Inspired by Reggio]

Ya ~ I have one of these in the playroom as well ... mine is an 'alphabet' one as well verses the just large squares so I am faced with the added pieces remaining in place ... I just teach the newbies this is 'not a puzzle but a safety mat' and redirect them to a puzzle they can take apart instead to meet that need to take something apart ~ after 2-3 reminders they always get it.

I vacuum it and surface clean it with my steam mop for normal weekly cleaning and than seasonally I take the thing apart and clean in the laundry room sink both sides and than 'under it' in the playroom ... if someone 'pees/pukes' on it than I take it apart and clean it in the sink as well.

[Bookworm]

I have these as the floor in one of my playrooms. The kids kept taking it apart as they would start at an edge near the wall, no matter how many times I redirected them they kept doing it. The only way I got them to stop was by getting my husband to finally put up some trim around the base of the walls so that they couldn't get their wee fingers against the wall to lift them up.
I think you are just goign to have to keep redirecting them, or find something else to use in their place.
Oh, and for cleaning them, I just sweep them and if someone gets something sticky on them, I wash them with a wet rag and some dish soap.

[jec]

I have them too and I just redirect them too. I've had to replace quite a few with one little one who was ALWAYS ripping off the 'teeth' that connected them ( I'm anal that way and needed to replace them )
I wash them down every other night with vinegar and water and sit them up against the wall to dry. That way I can clean all the crumbs from snack and our busy day underneath the pads.
They are the best though...saved some little ones from what could have been horrible bumps to the bean!

[mimi]

My cats chewed them, ate them and then spit them out. Moved on to Ikea kids rugs which are great with their non slip bottom.

[Destiny926]

my husband actually taped the whole backside together with gorilla tape. I sweep and steam mop daily. tape does come off if they pee/puke on it to properly clean. once they realized they couldn't take it apart they treat it like a rug

[sweetness852010]

i had them too! i only had a few of them and they rip them up off the floor and my dogs would pee on them. I couldnt handle it. we are changing the playroom into the basement and im going to be putting them back on the floor wall to wall with kids carpets in the main areas of play. im hoping it goes a a little better. to clean them i would clean them by bleach and water( the ones the dog peed on) and regular everyday cleaning i use vinger/water or green works.

[Play and Learn]

I just have 4 of them together currently, and without the borders. The reason the borders are off is not because of the daycare kids, but because I use them for my dance classes! lol

For cleaning I use Lysol wipes. But I don't have a whole room full of them!

[FreshPrincess]

I spray vinegar and water on both sides and wipe with a microfiber cloth.
the children always take them apart here too. One piece is missing one of the 'teeth'. lol. They have days where they take them apart, and days when they don't even realize they are there.
Currently, I still have them up against the wall in the toy room since last week when I last cleaned them. I am only going to put them back down for the babies. lol