When it comes to keeping your business clean, keeping entryways spotless is your first line of defense.  It is estimated that 80% of the soil, dust, and contaminates within a building come in on the shoes of visitors and occupants.  Keeping that dirt out will improve the cleanliness of your building, reduce the wear and tear on your floors and save you money in cleaning and maintenance.

Here are some things to consider when it comes to the matting in your building:

• A mat should be at least 10 feet long in the primary direction of travel to catch as much dirt, soil and debris as possible.

• Choose mats that are appropriate for your building.  Rubber mats placed outside can trap dirt before it even comes in the door.  Inside mats should be heavier and designed to collect fine particles and moisture left in people’s shoes.

• Be aware of the width of the mat needed for your building.  If foot traffic tends to spread out at your entrance, then your mats need to be wide enough to catch that foot traffic and the soil and dirt that comes with it.

• The surface underneath your mats needs to be considered when choosing matting.  On carpets, mats should have a gripper that keeps them from slipping and bunching up.  On hard surface floors, smooth backed mats work well.

• Mats should be used year-round.

• Mats need to be cleaned routinely, with a vacuum, broom, or with water, depending on the type of mat.  Indoor mats should be vacuumed at least once a day, and maybe more, depending on traffic.

• The surface underneath the mat needs to be cleaned frequently as well to prevent mat slippage.

• Regularly rotating mats will extend their life, which helps you to save money on the mats.

• At some point, even well-maintained mats will need to be replaced.  When a mat starts to show signs of deep wear, it is time to replace it.

*Thanks to CleanLink for providing much of the information provided in this post.