What Is a Shelf Liner?
Shelves are reliable spaces to store and place items, but they’re not perfect. For one, they aren’t always sturdy, as wooden or plastic bases aren’t enough to prevent items from sliding or falling. Secondly, shelves can get dirty over time, and removing the dirt from every one of them individually can be a real chore. Finally, shelves just don’t look all that great when empty, especially if they lack color or a design.
Shelf liners change all that. Sort of like placemats for shelves, they offer a foundation to place your items. They also give a bit of support for especially fragile items and even decorate the space a bit.
Types of Shelf Liners
Adhesive shelf liner
An adhesive shelf liner is a type of shelf liner that’s made out of an adhesive back. The adhesive sticks onto the surface of the shelf, keeping it in place. In practice, this can be a lot more difficult to install than many people think, as improperly installing the liner can be prone to accidents such as the appearance of folds or ridges.
When done right, however, the adhesive shelf liner is very reliable. It won’t move at all once in place, and for better or worse, it’s also hard to remove. This means that you’re committing to installing the shelf liner once you put it on your shelf.
Non-adhesive shelf liner
Non-adhesive shelf liners don’t rely on adhesive to stay in place. Rather, they use a non-slip back that holds the liner in position, relying on friction rather than adhesive to stay where it is. This means you can still remove the shelf liner and put it back should you ever feel the need to clean the shelf.
Of course, for how reliable these liners may be, they also have their setbacks. No matter how much friction it uses, this kind of shelf liner can still be lifted vertically, instantly dislodging most of the items above it. This can be potentially dangerous if you have fragile items on the liner.
Benefits of Shelf Liner
Adds decoration to your shelf
Shelves can look quite bland even with items and decorations placed on top of them. This can be due to a variety of factors, but unless you paint the shelf or do something drastic, it will still look fairly bland. With a shelf liner, however, you can instantly add a bit of flair to the shelf.
Think of the liner as a sort of wallpaper in this instance. You don’t need to paint the shelf itself, which can be difficult in the first place, and you can always remove a non-adhesive shelf liner if you want to change designs or patterns.
Makes cleaning your shelf easier
Cleaning your shelf can be an annoying process when you’ve spilled cereal or some other food on it. You have to sweep it up with a small brush and dustpan to hold everything in place, and this can take quite a while. Alternatively, if you have a non-adhesive shelf liner, you can simply remove the liner and the debris along with it. Then just give the liner a few taps by the trash can, let the bits fall into the garbage, and you’re done after a few quick wipes.
Gives wired shelves a more solid surface
Wired shelves can be a real pain to store items on if they’re not very large. Some items may tip or fall due to the spaces between the grates, and some smaller items will just pass through entirely. Using a durable shelf liner can help fix things because they cover up the spaces between the wires and give items a foundation to rest on.
