As the British weather takes a turn for the worse, visitors start to bring in more dirt, mud and water onto your floors. In fact, 85% of soil that enters the building has been brought in on the feet of visitors and staff alike.
The increasing levels of dirt throughout your building during the cold and wet months of the year can have a staggering impact on your cleaning costs. It has been estimated by The International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) that it can cost £350 to find and remove half a kilo of soil from your building, the majority of this cost being labour.
What is the solution?
Entrance mats are designed to be the first defence to stop dirt and moisture at the door. A top quality entrance mat, designed for high foot traffic areas, can prevent 90% of dirt from entering the building. The mats will protect your floors from damage and wear, as well as saving your organisation a fortune on the associated cleaning and maintenance costs.
4 things an entrance mat should do in order to reduce your cleaning costs.
- Stop soil and water at the door
In order for an entrance mat to be effective, it needs to provide a combination of scraping and wiping to prevent soil and water from entering the building.
- Store soil and water for removal
The mat should provide a place for water and soil to be stored. Dirt and moisture should fall to a lower level of the mat which it cannot be tracked off and walked through the building.
- Minimise tracking of soil and water
The mat should have Bi-level construction to ensure that soil and moisture is not reattached to shoes.
- Provide a safe surface
The mat should be rubber-backed to ensure that it is slip resistant and safe for you visitors.
What is the most effective entrance matting system?
With a simple 3 mat entry system, you can stop dirt from entering your building altogether.
1) Exterior entrance mat: scrapes dirt and moisture off footwear before they enter the building.
2) Interior entrance mat: removes and stores excess dirt not removed by the exterior mat.
3) Interior finishing mat: mops up any leftover dust or moisture
Investing in a 3 mat entry system can save you thousands in cleaning costs. Top quality entrance mats will perform for 5 years of heavy use and are extremely beneficial in the wet months (most of the year in our case).
To view a video of what an effective entrance mat should do click here.
