Your entrance mats are one of the most important parts of your building, as they can shape the experience of visitors, regular and infrequent alike, keep your building healthier and preserve the safety of people stepping in.
Choosing the right entrance mat is key to ensuring your office building remains acceptable under the auspices of the Approved Documents that make up the UK’s building regulations.
The right mats help to maintain comfort, reduce unsightly dirt and debris, and help to minimise potential slip and trip hazards, but the wrong mats or mats that have degraded to the point that they are no longer fit for purpose can themselves become hazards.
When do you need to replace your entrance matting systems? Here are some of the telltale signs.
Are The Floors In Your Building Damper When It Rains?
Wet weather can sometimes lead to water being tracked in, but very little of it should enter beyond your front door. Your entrance mats should make it very easy for people entering your building to drain excess water off their shoes through the use of heavy-duty designs.
If you are noticing a lot of water dampening your carpets or creating slip hazards on hard flooring, it may be a sign that your matting has either stopped being able to absorb moisture or was not fit for purpose in the first place.
Are Your Floors Dirtier Or Require More Cleaning?
Similarly, if you are noticing muddy footprints, piles of dirt and debris, or you receive reports that your maintenance team is struggling to keep on top of cleaning your floors, the cause might be your entrance matting.
Your mat should be aggressive in its tread design, long and wide enough for the purpose and integrated into your entrance to allow for dirt to be easily collected and cleaned at the door rather than working its way inside.
The issue is not just about aesthetics; dirt can contribute to sick building syndrome and can cause long-term damage to your carpets over time.
Is Your Entrance Mat Long Enough?
In some cases, the mat is correct in terms of design but incorrect in terms of dimensions.
Typically, you need your entrance mat to accommodate the full rotation of a trolley wheel or two relatively full strides in order to comprehensively remove as much dirt as possible without a conscious effort to do so.
This is typically around six feet (1.8m) in length, but if your mat is shorter than this, it may be worth either laying out additional matting or replacing it entirely.
Is Your Entrance Mat Hard To Clean?
Entrance matting should be robust, hard-wearing, long-lasting and easy to clean. You should be able to maintain your matting through a relatively simple cleaning process. A once-over with a vacuum cleaner and a simple monthly cleaning routine should keep it looking its best.
However, if you notice that it is taking much longer or has become more arduous to fully clean your matting, it could be a sign that it needs replacing entirely.
If the mat is difficult to clean, it fills with dirt more easily, which causes debris to stay on the surface and causes your building to become messier as a result.