How do those stone/diatomaceous earth bathroom mats evaporate water faster?

Question

Hi all, saw an ad for a stone/diatomaceous earth bathroom mat on instagram and got interested in them. They all claim they evaporate water faster rather than absorbing water like cloth mats, preventing mold. It makes sense at a glance, you step on it, and the water goes between the material and the mat feels dry, but is there something about these mats that make them actually evaporate water, or is that just a marketing gimmick and the water just stays in the mat but feels dry?

I’m just imagining a bucket of sand, if you pour water in it the water will go through the sand and pool at the bottom. Wouldn’t this happen with water on your stone mat too? it’ll just drip through and sit on the bathroom floor?

In: Physics

Answer 1

What’s this now? I’ve heard of diatomaceous earth, mostly in the context of killing fleas, not bath mats

Answer 2

Diatomaceous earth has a ton of surface area. There’s lots of places for the water to evaporate