Non-slip entrance mats and strategically-placed floor mats are a must-have for all shopping malls. They increase floor safety, are functional through cleaning and drying, and can be designed to reinforce your mall’s signature branding. Think beyond the main entrances to anywhere else a mat may be helpful, like service corridors, loading docks, and other points of entry for dirt and debris. Here are the top 5 reasons your mall needs non-slip mats:
Reason #1 Minimize Slips And Falls
North American shopping malls pay millions of dollars each year in medical expenses related to liability for slips and falls. By adding heavy duty non-slip entrance mats, your customers’ accident risk can be greatly reduced – and so can your potential liability. Where many shopping malls go wrong is in purchasing light-duty mats, mats that are too small, or the wrong type of mat. Each of your building’s entry points should be evaluated for the type of traffic it receives, the volume of traffic it carries, and what kind of weather conditions are present outside that entry point (e.g. an entrance from a covered parkade will have different requirements than a main entrance coming directly from the outdoors).
Reason #2 Reduce Cleaning Costs
While a regular cleaning schedule is essential, you can manage your frequency of cleaning by using mats with a traffic capability appropriately scaled to your entrance’s traffic load. You can reduce the extra off-schedule cleaning of your extra-high-traffic areas by adding high-quality dryer/scraper mats of sufficient width, length, and water-carrying capability. Think of your entrance matting like a bucket catching drips from a leaky ceiling: if you use a bucket that’s too small and don’t empty it quickly enough, it’s going to overflow and make a big mess. You can either empty the bucket more often (wet/dry your smaller mats more frequently), or you can use a bigger bucket (higher-capacity, larger matting)! As extra janitorial staff time can quickly eat up an operations budget, choosing larger and better entrance matting means less time spent cleaning and a better overall appearance.
Reason #3 Protect Your Floors
While shopping mall floors should always use durable commercial flooring, they’re still not indestructible. You can greatly prolong the service life of your flooring and reduce the frequency of refurbishing your floors by adding moisture-absorbent and dirt-collecting entrance mats. The less moisture, dirt, and debris tracked in, the longer you can go between resealing or polishing your flooring. Did you know that the Carpet & Rug Institute’s suggested minimum is 12-15 linear feet of entrance matting for office buildings, and 20-25 feet for retail stores like malls before reaching the floor?
Reason #4 You Want Your Mall To Look Its Best!
From a customer’s very first visit, to their every repeat trip to the mall — you need your non-slip floor mats to play a vital role in keeping your mall clean and looking its best to stand out from the competition. But customers aren’t just noticing the cleanliness of your flooring – they’re also noticing the design of your matting…it’s the first thing they see when they walk in your door, after all! High traffic shopping malls should choose matting tough enough to withstand the customer volume your mall hosts, like Grizzly FX. Did you know that Grizzly FX is rated for traffic volumes of over 1,000,000 people per year? And even though Grizzly FX is tough as nails, it still offers an attractive carpet-like appearance and is also eligible for a stylish inlaid logo! For maximum durability, select mats in which the design elements and multiple colors are inlaid and not printed. This ensures no smudging, no fading, and reduced wear and tear.
Reason #5 To Provide Direction
Not all mall entrances are main doors; some are side or service entrances for employees and vendors. Since your floors need the protection of matting at these entry points too, consider having some directional elements inlaid. This might include text directions, arrows, or the name of the door or entrance. Also consider directional mats in areas other than entryways, such as at the customer service center—to provide comfort and direction.
If you own or operate a shopping mall in Canada, then you require durable non-slip entrance mats. Reach out to Source Floor today to discuss your matting needs. Don’t forget, we ship nationwide!