At first blush, you wouldn’t think an entrance mat at your building’s lobby and a cutting board on your kitchen countertop would have anything in common. But set aside their physical properties, and let’s look at functionality for a moment.
Which one is the item that:
- you use to protect an expensive-to-replace surface against damage from normal, everyday use,
- is a sacrificial surface that takes the brunt of wear and tear,
- and is far easier to replace than the valuable surface it’s protecting underneath?
If you answered “both!”, you’re right! A high-quality mat at your commercial building’s entrance protects your expensive floors the same way a good cutting board in your kitchen protects your expensive countertops…and a cheap, low-quality mat does a poor job the same way some folded-up paper towel does in lieu of a proper cutting board.
The point of entrance matting – especially in commercial buildings – is to act as that sacrificial wear surface to take the brunt of the wear and tear from regular, everyday use. It’s much easier and cheaper to replace entrance matting as it wears out than it is to repair or replace your installed flooring. And proper commercial-grade entrance matting will last for years when properly maintained! A top-quality entrance mat (like Grizzly FX) is rated to last 5 years in high-traffic retail environments, but with diligent maintenance some owners get 10+ years of service from their Grizzly FX mats.
High-performance entrance matting will use a combination of nylon and polypropylene fibres to scrape away dirt and absorb water from incoming foot traffic, trapping it within the mat itself where it can’t harm your installed flooring surfaces. It’s important to look closely at the composition of your entrance matting – scraper mats that only use polypropylene fibres won’t absorb any snow or rain water, and dryer mats that only use nylon won’t clean and scrape any dirt and sand from shoes. Lower-quality single-fibre mats give a false economy because their marginally-lower price doesn’t reflect their majorly-shorter service lifespan.
Using high-performance matting at your building’s main traffic points also helps you balance out the overall wear rate on your installed flooring, so that high-traffic areas don’t wear out faster than low-traffic ones. By placing mats in these areas, you’re shielding those parts of your floor from wearing out prematurely and needing expensive repairs, refinishing, or even replacement before the rest of your floor has reached the end of its service life.
Proper entrance matting can reduce your long-term operating costs, protect your floors, and look great doing it! Contact us today to find out how we can help lighten the burden on your floors and your operating budget.