Oil Absorbent Pads – What are they?

Oil absorbent pads are a common fixture in garages, machine shops and manufacturing facilities. All of these businesses use rags, but it is essential to have absorbent pads on hand. Any time there is anything from a small spill of oil to a multi-gallon spill, absorbent pads are great for a quick clean up. Many people refer to them as Pigmats, but that is just a brand of absorbent pads from New Pig. Bigelow Products carries our own brand of pads that work better than the New Pig pads and cost less because they don't come with that commercial name.

Absorbent pads typically come in two different versions with multiple variations of those two versions. The first are the oil-only absorbent pads that as you probably can guess absorb only oil. That means if there is a spill in a body of water, the pads will float on top and absorb the oil, while rejecting the water. These pads are differentiated by being white.

The other version are usually grey and they are universal absorbent pads that will soak up oil, water, coolants and other water-based chemicals. These pads are very useful for most manufacturing environments because machinery can leak any type of liquids, including water and these pads will remove all of it and keep the environment clean.

All types of pads come in bundles of either 100 or 200 pads, usually about 15"x17" individual pads. Many are perforated to reduce waste by allowing the ability to use smaller pieces for smaller spills. They also come on rolls for those who prefer them that way. There are multiple different weights and each absorbs more or less liquids, depending on the weight. All pads have at least one layer of fabric, consisting of meltblown polypropylene. As they pads get heavier, more layers are added of either spunbond fabric or fine fiber polypropylene, or both. The spunbond is a lint-free layer that works great for wiping just like a rag. The fine fiber layer are used to add strength in case the pads are placed in a high traffic area, where a lot of employees are walking all over them.

Feel free to take a look at the absorbent pads that we carry in the Spill Control category of our website and as always email us or call with any questions you may have or if you would like to request some samples.