How to Stop Dirt at Building Entryways and Save Maintenance Costs Long-Term

Did you know… ?

• just 1,000 people entering the building every working day for a month can track in up to 24 pounds of dirt?
• it can cost more than $500 to remove one pound of dirt after it’s been tracked into a building?

Keeping floors clean is a big, expensive job.

But you can cut it down to size with floor mats. Choose the right floor matting, place it correctly for maximum effectiveness and reap these benefits:

• Reduce cleaning and maintenance costs throughout the building.
• Improve the appearance of your floors.
• Extend the life of carpets and floor finishes.
• Improve indoor air quality.

By choosing the right type of floor matting for your specific needs, you can:

• Minimize soil and water being tracked into the building.
• Store soil and water for removal.
• Provide a safe, slip-resistant surface to prevent accidents.

Use floor mats that are long enough to do the job.

The Carpet and Rug Institute recommends at least 12 to 15 feet of entryway matting (both outdoors and inside the door). At least six feet of matting outdoors and 10 to 15 feet of matting inside the doorway can remove up to 85% of the dirt from shoes.

It makes sense that the shorter the floor mat, the more dirt remains on shoes and gets tracked inside. So here are a few facts to help you select the right length of matting*:

• Only 37% of the dirt from people’s shoes is removed by 5 feet of matting.
• 52% of the dirt is removed by 10 feet of matting.
• 71% of the dirt is removed by 15 feet of matting.
• 86% of the dirt is removed by 20 feet of matting.
• And virtually 100% of the dirt can be removed by 30 feet of matting.

*Source: 3M Nomad Matting

Scraper function

The outdoor portion of the mat will aggressively scrape and remove dirt, debris and snow from shoe bottoms — some as much as 50% before visitors even enter the building. Most visitors will enter the building from the parking lot, where they may be walking through gasoline, oil, brake fluid and antifreeze. The outside scraper, as well as the second stage of matting, needs to be able to scrape off those chemicals as well.

Cleaning and absorbing function

As the visitor walks into the lobby, the indoor portion of the mat will clean and absorb dirt and moisture. The longer the mat, the more thoroughly it will clean.

Easy cleaning

Some types of matting are easier to clean than others. Choosing the right matting to begin with will save on cleaning costs later on.

Cleaning floor matting

If you already have floor mats in place, there’s no need to buy new ones. Advanced cleaning techniques can keep them in good condition to keep dirt out of your building long-term.

 

We’ll talk more about that in our next blog. Stay tuned!