Muddy-Paw Door Mat

For the first few steps inside the door, where the walk actually ends.

Mud does not stay on the porch. It comes in on the first three or four steps, packed between the pads, after the mat outside has done what it can. This one goes inside, where those steps land.

The surface is chenille: thick, looped microfibre strands standing up from the base. Water wicks up into the loops the way it does into a towel, and grit drops into the gaps between them instead of sitting on top. A dog that walks across it comes off the other side drier than it went on. It will not clean a paw the way a wash does — for that there is the Electric Paw Cleaner — but it catches what the walk brings home.

The back is a rubberised grip, so it stays put on tile and wood. Lay it on a dry floor; on a wet one it will slide.

Choosing a size

30×20in fits a standard doorway and one dog. 36×24in gives a larger dog, or two, room to take a few steps across it rather than one.

Care

Shake it out outdoors between washes. Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle, on its own the first time. Hang it to dry or tumble on low. Skip fabric softener: it coats the fibres, and they stop taking up water.

What it will not do

It will not stay dry sitting in standing water, and on a very muddy day it will want a wash sooner. It is a mat, not a barrier.

Chenille microfibre · rubberised non-slip backing · machine washable · 30×20in or 36×24in