In the old kitchen I kept a piece of that ribbed plastic stuff that is often used for shelf liners. It may be a Rubbermaid product. It worked quite well, but I don't feel I need it in the new sink cabinet. I just don't have stuff in there that makes a mess. I still do keep a piece on the shelf where I keep the olive oil and molasses as those items in particular seem to get sticky.

Thanks, suzannesl. I want to keep my new :-) sink cabinet nice and dry always. I'm wondering if a rubber mat will start smelling after a while.

My Rutt cabinets came with a Hafele under sink mat installed. Hafele sells them separately too. The mat is great. It is a dimpled stainless steel.

We used a leftover piece of laminate that the builder cut to fit. It's so nice to not worry about drips down there. In other places, we also use the ribbed plastic stuff, which has the awesome name of Plast-O-Mat.

I bought some long, black, rubber mats - they may have even been floor runners - and cut them to fit on the shelves under my sink. But they are ribbed and I didn't think about how residue from the bottom of cleaning bottles, like dirt but it isn't, and also accidentally tipped powdered cleanser like BKFriend and such gets down inside the grooves. Not a great PITA but it does take some working to get it clean up out of them.

Also I remember when I first put it down the whole kitchen had a strong chemical smell! it must have been the rubber or whatever material the runners were made of. It took several weeks to go away. It was awful. Sure made the shelves look spiffy tho and still keeping the wood dry.

The underneath of my sinks don't get wet or damp and if they did I would assume something needed to be fixed plumbing wise. However I have been involved in remodels where the underneath of the sink is literally rotten...anyway, Doug Mockett makes this thing:

Here is a link that might be useful: There's this, too.

Rev-a-Shelf makes a drip tray. I bought one but could not use it as our sink and plumbing were already installed. I ended up returning it. We are using regular shelf liner instead.

Here is a link that might be useful: Undersink Drip Tray

Wow, thank you , everyone!! Such helpful responses....you guys are so kind.
I liked the Rev-a-Shelf drip tray a lot ( thanks for the pic, gpraceman); the Mockett mat looked very good too, almost futuristic, lol. Wonder what the ballpark price is..will have to ask them. Thanks for all the links.
Plast-o-mat? Awesome name, indeed :-). Got to look that one up as well as the Hafele ; and next time I go to HD, I'll make sure I sneak a peek at williamsem's suggested product :-).
I love having so many ( informed) choices! :-) :-)

You can get the Rev-a-Shelf one in almond from Amazon for $37.59 for shipping (I paid $51). They do make different sizes of these, so you do need to make sure to get the right one for your sink base.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rev-A-Shelf Kitchen Base Drip Tray

In the past, we've used self-stick vinyl tiles under our sinks. Won't prevent problems in case of a flood, but takes care of any slightly damp cleaning bottles or other messes under the sinks.

Thanks for the links to the under-sink trays. I hadn't seen those before. We'll check them out.

Thanks, gpraceman!
Some of the reviews say it's very difficult to cut/trim; I guess I should order it *now* before sink is installed.

AnnaC54: neat idea, using self-stick vinyl tiles. Thanks!

I bought plastic shelf liner at BB&B and cut it to fit around the pipes. It wasn't wide enough, so I overlapped two pieces. And was I glad I did! Three weeks after the kitchen was inaugurated, I found that the drain pipe had loosened and there was a puddle on the plastic. The cab was much less wet than it would have been - the shelf liner just leaked a little around the opening at the pipe, which would have been hard to stop.

@boone_2009 - I never got as far as trying to cut or trim it. It isn't a soft plastic, so it isn't as easy to cut as other materials.

I've always just cut a piece of leftover vinyl flooring to fit. My mom had some leftovers of a roll in her basement and did that for my very first house. I don't even remember where I got it for subsequent homes, but we added a laundry room with vinyl floors in the remodel and I had just enough of a piece left to fit some under the sink.

We put the rev-a-shelf mat like the photo above under our sink. My husband cut it with a small saw although the instructions say to use a utility knife to score the cut lines and then break it off so I don't know if that would be easier. I expected it to be like a dish drainer mat but it isn't, it's a harder plastic. The ribbed plastic makes it easier for small items to tip a little and the ridge around the edge makes the storage area smaller but I can live with it. We put ours in after the sink and plumbing were installed (including garbage disposal) but we don't have the center post like the above picture shows. Funny thing is, the plastic is a little glossy so there have been times when I think the mat is wet and I have a leak which has not been the case. I like it enough to consider putting the same thing under our new bathroom vanities, just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Install instructions

Ribbed clear shelf liner from BBB...but I later spotted the same thing at Ikea for a lot less.

Like, Karen, we used laminate. Didn't use laminate anywhere in the house, so went to Menards and bought one of the small pieces. DH put it down under all 7 sinks in the house. Cheap and worry free. And if you're worried about "looks", it looks good, too. Certainly not flood proof, but then nothing really is.

Ginny20: Whew! What a relief! :-)
gpraceman: I figured you wouldn't have, since you said you already had the plumbing and sink installed :-).
controlfreakecs: you must be the first "control freak" who so freely admits it ;-). I never thought of vinyl in all these years, wouldja believe it?
meek95: thank you so much for the details re RAS and thank you for the install link!
joaniepoanie: I was in Ikea 2 days ago - in the Kitchen dept., no less, and didn't look for shelf liners. I was there to have a look at the cutlery dividers. Growing old!!
joyce_6333: Laminate is certainly easier to clean than wood.

I really like the Duck brand at Lowes. They have a heavy duty thick shelf liner in a 20 inch depth that I used in my last house and need to use in my new house. The taupe color looked great and the liner is just the right thickness. It is a finely textured vinyl and very easy to clean. I used it under my pots and pans and liked how putting the pots and pans a way seemed quieter.

Thanks for the tip, Karenseb :-).

Regarding the Hafele mat, is the mat flat despite the dimples? or do the dimples cause items to tilt?
thanks

Yes, the mat is flat. Nothing will tip.

Lots of choices - thanks for sharing!