Entryway Mats: Your First Line of Defense

It's that time of year again, where winter snows equal feet tracking in the usual dirt and debris along with a lot of residue from various ice-melting compounds like salt. Of course, while it becomes very obvious during these months thanks to that white residue, the truth is that most of the dirt and other contaminants in your building get tracked in from foot traffic.

A shiny new tile floor in a school, just waiting for all those slush-covered boots to come walking across it. 

One of the goals of green cleaning is to reduce the usage of cleaning products in a facility. I know, it might seem strange for a company that makes cleaning products to recommend you use less cleaning product, but it really is part of the point of green cleaning. Of course, we want you to use environmentally preferred cleaning products when you can. For instance, our Green Certified Neutral Floor Cleaner is fantastic at cleaning up ice melt residue. But, it's even better to lessen the mess in the first place.  

That's where entryway mats are so critical.  

Entryway Mat Placement, Size, and Cleaning 

A mat of the recommended size, correctly placed. 

• Entryway mats are recommended to be at least six feet long, but a length of ten to twenty feet is ideal. 
• Mats should be changed out frequently and cleaned. 
• Increase the frequency of cleaning mats during bad weather conditions or an increase in foot traffic for your facility. 
• Reducing the spread of dirt and bacteria tracked in via mats allows your cleaning staff to put more time into other tasks. 
• Be sure to clean under your mats frequently to reduce moisture build-up. 

The stills above are from our video series, "Green Cleaning Best Practices," available as part of our Training Portal. Explore The Training Portal