Save Money and Improve Air Quality, Invest in Matting!


For every pound of dirt that gets tracked into a building, experts say it costs approximately $500 to remove it.  Matting traps and prevents unwanted dirt, debris and contaminants from entering a building and doing damage.  Floor and carpet maintenance can be dramatically lowered with the implementation of an effective entryway matting system. Indoor air quality will improve when pollutants are trapped at the entrance instead of being spread throughout the building.
The optimum entrance matting system is broken down into three distinct parts.   The first matting type is a scraper mat.  Scraper mats are used just outside of the main entryway and scrape debris off of shoes as well as begin the removal of moisture.
Following scraper mats are wiper/scraper mats, which clean shoe bottoms just inside the doorway and remove soil as well as any remaining moisture. Some buildings have built in scraper/wiper mats.  These mats are designed to clean shoes and absorb moisture. 
Wiper mats are placed inside the facility; they remove any remaining contaminants from shoe bottoms so that the first steps on a hard floor surface fare clean, dry and safe.   These mats are typically softer and frequently will have the building name or logo embedded.
The upfront cost of purchasing a three-part matting system can be costly depending on the number of entrances a facility has. However, an effective matting system that covers at least 10 feet in length from the entranceway will save a facility on costly restorative cleaning work as well as extend the lifespan of the floors and carpets.  This length is in line with LEED EBOM requirements as well.
Once your matting program is established, then routine cleaning will help prolong the life of your mats and will remove the dirt and debris from building up in the mats making them less effective.
For indoor matting, vacuuming should be done at least once a day. However, depending on the amount of foot traffic entering the facility, additional vacuuming may be required.   For thicker indoor wiper mats a deeper extraction cleaning may be required occasionally to bring a dirty mat back to life.
This Green Tip was submitted by Cass Contreras, Secretary of the BOMA OEB Environment Committee.