The Key To Protecting Floors Is Proper Matting

This article was originally published in Contracting Profits.

The single most important preventative measure a BSC can employ in a facility to keep floors in tip-top shape during the harsh winter months is a high-performance matting system.

Matting systems help stop contaminants at the door by trapping soil, including ice melt, sand and moisture, before it can be tracked in. The wells in these systems capture and hold soil and water for easy and convenient removal later on.

Matting should be present in a good floor care system long before the wind blows and the snow falls.

It's important to upgrade matting, replacing worn mats or those with curled edges and putting in extra matting in locations known to receive a lot of rain or snow during the winter. Manufacturers typically recommend that matting cover a span of about three paces, both outside and inside the entrance, for a total of 15 feet of matting.

A heavier, scraper and moisture-removing type mat allows moisture to run off and soil to settle in for the outside of the building, and a finer type of matting that collects moisture and smaller particles of soil for the inside.

A common mistake is putting an olefin-type mat in the entryway, which is great for drying feet but doesn’t do much to scrape off sand or ice melt or to collect water coming in. BSCs should also switch out mats periodically during the day.

Check back next week to learn how to maintain floors by increasing cleaning frequency.