According to one embodiment, a nonwoven fiber mat for reinforcing a plate or electrode of a lead-acid battery includes a plurality of glass fibers and an acid resistant binder that couples the plurality of glass fibers together. The nonwoven fiber mat also includes a wetting component that is applied to the glass fibers and/or nonwoven fiber mat to increase the wettability of the nonwoven fiber mat such that the nonwoven fiber mat exhibits an average water wick height of at least 0.5 cm after exposure to water for 10 minutes conducted according to method ISO8787. The wetting component may be dissolvable in an acid solution of the lead-acid battery such that a significant portion of the nonwoven fiber mat is lost due to dissolving of the wetting component.