Are You Using the Right Matting?
It only takes a single day to track a full 24 pounds of dirt from the outdoors into your office building during the winter months. Proper floor cleaning will go a long way in reducing the amount of dirt that gets into your offices, but this will only go so far. You will also need to use appropriate floor matting to keep the dirt out as effectively.
But are you using the right matting?
Following are some tips from the experts to ensure you are using the proper winter matting.
Get Off to the Right Start
The most important thing to do is to ensure that your matting actually meets the door they serve. If there is a space between them, there is room for the wind and moisture to get through and begin making your floors dirty real fast.
Find the Right Type of Mat for Your Building
You will find a wide range of options that are suitable to your building:
Scraper/Recessed Well Matting – This is a good option for high traffic areas as it cleans well and immunizes the chance of falls. The wells provide stability while the raised edges keep dirt off shoes.
Scraper/Wiper Matting – Made from durable materials, these floor mats make even better cleaners that the recessed counterparts.
Wiper Matting – this is the ultimate barrier against dirt being tracked into your building during the winter.
A proper matting system will include one or more of these mat styles to ensure shoes are kept clean.
Consider the Weight of Your Mats
The lighter the mat, the more susceptible it will be to the slightest forces making it fold and crease. This can diminish its capacity to clean and protect from dirt.
Get the heavier variety of matting that is more likely to hold its position well and provides a better service because of it.
Choose Longer Mats for Your Building’s Entrance ways
Use longer strips of matting for entrance ways to keep dirt out. The rule of thumb here is 15-feet of matting between your front entrance and the outside.
Keep Your Mats (and Floors) Clean!
To make sure that your choice of matting works out well the entire winter, you will need to ensure that they are clean and fresh. This will involve the right measure of cleaning procedures.
Begin by vacuuming regularly, this can be either wet or dry vacuuming depending on the floor you have.
Be sure you clean out the matting as needed and provide spot cleaning to the parts that need it. If you do wash your mats be sure they are given plenty of time to dry completely. Be sure that nylon mats are given extra time to dry as they take longer.
Sometimes you will need to perform a deeper cleaning. But you will always want to use soft non-solvent cleaners on your mats.
Be sure to clean the floor around and under your mat to ensure that it holds its position well and doesn’t move when people walk across it.
The correct amount of cleaning will depend on the amount of traffic that your matting sees regularly. Some locations may be fine with a small amount of cleaning each week while others will need more than one set of matting to keep a constant clean exchange at the ready.
For all your commercial cleaning needs, contact us today!
