I had one of the waterhog mats at my sink and bought this one for the dog. It is easy to clean and doesn't skid around the floor. Plus matches the other rugs.
I always dreamed of getting one of these personalized mats if we ever got a dog, and finally, 18 months ago we rescued a wonderful pooch! I have a mid sized dog who really slops up the water and makes a fantastic mess, so we splurged and bought this.
It *really* absorbs the water. We originally used a huge, folded beach towel. That worked, but the towel was sopping wet and needed to be washed daily. This thing just absorbs the water, and it is never and issue. Our dog has been using it daily for almost 18 months and it is fabulous. I don't know where the water goes, but it is not a slippery mess and we have never had an issue with smell or mold.
The docked star is due to appearance. The personalization is decent, but I can see how some might have less than decent results. I can see a thin raised line between each letter of my dog's name. If the stamps were any further apart it would be quite noticeable. This alone isn't too bad on mine. However this thing is awful to clean. I purchased the blue mat and have a liver and white dog. The fur and kibble really stick to this mat and make it look unkempt. I tried vacuuming it, even daily, but the debris really sticks to the mat. I do not have a power washer, but imagine that would work well. I had tried soap and water, scrubbing with a stiff brush, and foam upholstery cleaner. All helped, but not enough that made much of an improvement. After about I year I decided to try washing it in my machine on the gentle cycle, and drip dry. I know this is not recommended and some have commented that the mat did not hold up to this. For me, this worked wonderfully and made my mat like new! I continue to vacuum it several times a week and toss it in the wash about twice a month. I have no issues with fraying. I do feel another color might have been better for my dog's fur, so you might want to keep that in mind when ordering.
Overall, I highly recommend this mat. It does what I need, keeping the water and kibble mess contained. I think weekly power washing would be great if you have one, or take the risk and machine wash on gentle. Or get a hairless dog!
