We often get asked about the maintenance required for large commercial entrance mats – how much, how often, what’s required, etc. And the easy answer is…there is no easy answer!
Imagine that your entrance matting is like putting a bucket under the hole in a leaky roof in a rainstorm: the more it rains, the sooner it fills up. The frequency in which maintenance is necessary is dependent on how much service that mat (or bucket!) is providing. There are many factors to consider when estimating the amount of maintenance your mat requires, such as:
- The amount of daily or weekly foot traffic your mat services;
- Whether this mat is directly outdoor-facing (straight from outside), is or indoor-facing (after a vestibule, etc.);
- Any specific or unusual circumstances outside, like construction or landscaping projects that could contribute extra dirt to the workload;
- What kind of environment surrounds your building (e.g. an entrance that leads in from a paved parking lot has different needs from one that leads in from the beach!)
As a rule of thumb: nobody ever over-cleans and over-maintains their matting. Vacuum daily, spot-clean as necessary, and hot-water extract monthly (in the winter and early spring) or quarterly (summer and fall) depending on traffic loads. If your matting isn’t doing the job you need it to, increase your maintenance regime! Especially rainy / snowy / stormy days may need extra maintenance to help them keep up with the job at hand. Using a wet-dry vacuum on days like this to speed up the drying-out process of your matting helps to “turbo-boost” your matting’s performance and keep it working hard for you.