By Stephen Ashkin

This article is Part 2 of this 2 part series on entryway matting systems.  In Part 1, we discussed some of the impacts that a high quality, properly sized and placed mats, which included some get facts and figures that I think will surprise you and help you justify the investment.  If you didn’t read Part 1 or want to take a few minutes to review the first article before continuing on, click here.

In this article we will discuss proper matting placement (hopefully we will stimulate some ideas where to place mats that ordinarily you might miss), how to select a “high quality” mat and of course I can’t miss the opportunity to discuss cleaning requirements for entryways.

As we all know too well, far too many buildings only use entryway matting systems at the main public entrance.  These mats can be decorative and effective, and I’m glad they’re using them.  But while visitors may typically enter only through the main doors, occupants often use other doors.  Thus it might be very valuable for you to do a quick audit (walk the perimeter of the building) and evaluate which other doors could benefit from entrance matting systems.  Or of this sounds like a good idea, ask your local janitorial supply distributor to do this for you.

Two quick notes if you do this: first, take a camera and take pictures.  Remember that old adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words”.  And second, do your audit during a busy part of the day when foot traffic is highest.  This will vary depending on the building type.

Opportunities for Additional Mats
One of the most overlooked opportunities to use entryway matting systems is inside a building where occupants enter through a parking garage – especially when the parking garage is underground.  These entrances often have high levels of soils which are tracked directly into the building and would benefits from a high quality and appropriately sized mat.

Another opportunity is to look for opportunities to use high quality and appropriately sized entryway matting systems outside the doors (the study mentioned last month in Part 1 of this series removed almost 100 percent of dirt, sand and moisture with 15 feet of indoor matting and 15 feet of matting placed outside).  And yes, I recognize that in many locations placing entryway mats outside the front door is not practical, but do me a favor and think about it anyway.  You might find some locations where it would work just fine and truly make a difference.

These mats are especially valuable in geographies with lots of rain and snow, or where the landscapers have used lots of flowering and berry producing plants.  But outdoor mats are different from indoor mats and are typically designed to scrape mud and gross soils from shoes.  These mats also must be designed in a way to allow water, snow, etc., to either pass through the mat or be “channeled” in a way that keeps the surface of the mat relatively dry.  Far too many mats once they become wet or get loaded with soils, serve no value and can actually contribute to the soils being tracked into the building.

As you likely have noticed, I have frequently used the term “high quality” along with “appropriately sized” in my description of entryway matting systems.  While we have discussed the appropriate size of a mat, it is a bit more challenging to define a “high quality” mat.  But I think it is fair to say that not all mats are created equal and some do in fact work better than others.

One of the things I would like to encourage you to consider when buying mats is to make sure that they are heavy enough that they will stay in place and not move, which can result in a slip/fall accident.  Also, some light weight mats may roll-up at the edges and corners, which again can lead to slips and falls.

What the Future Holds
When I look at the carpet industry, I see some possible clues to where the entryway matting business may be headed.  Keep your eyes out for these and perhaps you can be the first one to bring these innovations to your building.

Some of those innovations include products made with recycled content.  Products made with innovative new fibers made from cornstarch called polylactic acid (PLA) which is something that Kaiser Permanente is promoting.  While others are looking for alternatives to mats made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC).  Companies will begin “take-back” programs where you’ll return the mats to the manufacturer where they will make them into new mats – as opposed to sending them to landfills.  And as awareness and demand for green mats and carpets grow, so too will the innovations.  Hopefully you can be one of the pioneers of these new, yet unthought-of, innovations.

Success Is Really About You
Finally, let’s be realistic – every distributor sales rep has access to at least one line of entrance matting systems and many have multiple lines from which you can buy. 

Thus, the key to success is not assuming that mats are commodities and simply look for the lowest price.  It is to you advantage to buy from a sales person who can truly help you understand what it takes to develop a comprehensive entryway matting system.  And to do this there are a few things to keep in mind.

In addition to knowing their product, ask if they can do an audit of your entrances.  Ask them to provide some ideas that will help you justify the investment in more, bigger, longer and/or higher quality mats.  And ask if they will provide a cleaning strategy for the entrance, the matting systems, and the exterior of the building.  It takes all three to really be effective.

Good luck managing and operating a Green Building.  This truly is a win-win for all involved.

Steve