Choosing The Right Entrance Mats
As facilities continue to open and the seasons begin change, your facility need to be ready to tackle all the dirt and debris that comes its way. A properly designed matting system is the most effective and economical way to control dirt coming into your facility. Not only does matting help keep facility floors cleaner, it can help improve air quality, save cleaning time and reduce the risks of slips and falls in your facility. Read this article to help choose the right entrance matting in your facility.
Why entrance matting?
Over 80% of the dirt found in a building tracks in through the doors. Matting helps trap dirt before it enters the facility, saving cleaning time. Also, matting prevents dirt particles from being kicked up and circulated throughout the facility.
Choose the right type of matting
An effective entrance system is composed of three styles of matting. Each style is designed to capture a different type of debris, ensuring the matting program prevents the maximum amount of dirt from entering the facility. Each of these matting styles stop a certain type of unwanted debris but an effective system should address all three.
- Scraper mats remove and trap coarse debris such as gravel and ice-melt.
- Wiper/Scraper mats capture sand, moisture, and snow.
- Wiper mats remove fine dust and moisture.
How much matting do I need?
More steps = more matting! The cleaning effectiveness of a mat correlates directly to the traffic level. Few people stop and actively wipe their feet. Mats need to be long enough for people to walk off dirt and moisture and robust enough to hold the volume of debris generated by foot traffic between cleanings. Industry experts note that if a matting system is properly maintained, 80% of the soil tracked onto that mat will be walked off in the first five steps.
It’s recommended that even a low-traffic entrance needs at least 12 – 15 feet of proper matting. Higher traffic entrances attract even more soil and require longer walk-off mats. Most entrance products have ratings for absorbency or traffic capacity to help guide this decision.
Note: If the first few feet of a mat become saturated this section of the mat loses its effectiveness. Adding a few extra feet to the length of a mat will help reduce additional floor maintenance and prevent slip and fall risks.
Get winter-ready with Edgewood!
Edgewood has matting for any entrance and understands the complexities of managing matting for multiple locations. A multi-site matting program can help reduce maintenance costs. Check out Edgewood’s Multi Site Program here*.
* If you require a more accessible version of this guide, please contact us and we’d be happy to help.