Entrance Matting Buyer's Guide

Proper Entrance Matting Will Enhance Your Facility's Appearance, Reduce Floor Maintenance Costs & Greatly Prevent Dirt & Water From Ruining Your Indoors

A cleaner indoors makes your customers & workers happier...and healthier. With dirt & water literally polluting your facility, no one likes to see dirty floors and breath in bad air. Moreover, the rising costs associated with damaged floors and expensive cleaners can really add up, sticking out like a sore thumb on that expense report.

We like to think that good entrance matting is a sound investment that every business should be really proud of...but we're a bit biased, admittedly :)

So, allow us to help you choose the perfect matting for your needs, within your budget. There are 3 questions that will help you select the right entrance matting. Get started by answering these 3 questions below:

1) How Much Traffic Will Your Mat Need to Handle? (see detailed explanation below)

2) Do You Need Wiping, Scraping or both? (see detailed explanation below)

3) What Level of Performance Are You Looking For? (see full details below)

How Much Traffic Will Your Mat Need to Handle?

It all depends on the number of wonderful males & females rushing into your awesome workplace everyday...

Heavy Traffic: more than 1500 people daily (ex: universities, airports, hospitals, schools, department stores, etc)

Medium to Heavy Traffic: 200-1500 people daily (ex: restaurants, hotels, corner stores, museums, movie theatres, etc)

Medium Traffic: 125-200 people daily (ex: office buildings, churches, motels, post office, stores, etc)

Light Traffic: less than 125 people daily (ex: small business, 2nd entrance, boutique, spa, etc)

Hot Tip: by choosing a 'traffic rating' that is 1 level higher than your environment, you reduce the cleaning frequency and increase the life of your mat, which provides a greater ROI long-term. Higher traffic mats also have a higher 'crush resitance' rating, meaning that they'll resist becoming flat & useless.

Got your traffic rating in mind? Great, now you can move on to the 2nd question below...

Do You Need Wiping, Scraping or Both?

Entrance mats are either great at scraping off dirt & debris, OR wiping & absorbing moisture. There are also dual purpose mats that do a decent job at both scraping & wiping. Here's some more enlightening info:

Scraper Mat (Outside)
This is usually a durable rubber mat with 'fingertips' or scraping surface that captures debris and dirt, and holds it in the mat. Think of it as the '1st line of defense' against dirt.

• Use outside or between 2 entrance doors
• Has fingertips or aggressive scraping surface that grabs dirt and debris from bottom of shoes
• Easy to maintain since scrapers don't absorb moisture

Wiper/Scraper Mat (Interior)
A combination wiper/scraper mat is something you can put between 2 entrance doors, or indoors to provide light scraping as well as moderate moisture absorbing.

• Best used between 2 entrance doors (can also be used indoors)
• Traps light dirt, especially smaller particles
• Retains some water that may need to be extracted later

Wiper Mat (Interior)
A wiper mat is an indoor mat thats focused on absorbing as much water and moisture as possible, to reduce the risk of falls and accidents inside your facility.

• Only for indoor usage
• Retains and holds water (needs to be extracted if soaked)
• Reduces risk of accidents due to wet hallways and floors

Ok so you should have your 'traffic rating' in mind, and whether you need a Wiper/Scraper...

Now its time to answer the 3rd & final question below.

What Level of Performance Are Your Looking for?

If you want to prevent 85% of dirt entering your buidling, then think of your entrance mats as an indoor & outdoor 'system'.

The real definition of proper entrance matting is a '3 mat system'. You can also get a '2 mat' pair or just a single mat, as explained below:

Trio System: The Gold-Winning '3 mat system' that wages an all-out war against dirt & moisture...for best results & least maintenance.

The Duo System: The Silver-Medalist '2 mat duo' that gets you good results, but requires more maintenance.

Only One Mat: The Average-Player that gets the job done, but you can expect more maintenance and less life.

Hot Tip: If you want to prevent up to 85% of dirt entering your building, then a '3 mat system' containing a Scraper, Scraper/Wiper, and Wiper, for a combined 15 linear feet can help keep your facility much cleaner.

Alright, now we're ready to make actual recommendations on products that suit your needs. Lets get started...

Exact Product Recommendations

Heavy Traffic Recommendations

Scraper: Commercial Clean Machine / Heavy-Duty Multi Guard (see all heavy traffic scrapers)

Scraper/Wiper: Marathon / Dura-Dot (see all heavy traffic scraper/wipers)

Wiper: Dust Star / Grounds Keeper (see all heavy traffic wipers)

Medium-Heavy Traffic Recommendations

Scraper: Commercial Clean Machine / Heavy-Duty Multi Guard (see all medium-heavy traffic scrapers)

Scraper/Wiper: Tire-Track / EcoPlus (see all medium-heavy traffic scraper/wipers)

Wiper: Grounds Keeper / Eco-Step (see all medium-heavy traffic wipers)

Medium Traffic Recommendations

Scraper: Upfront Scraper Mat / Forerunner (see all medium traffic scrapers)

Scraper/Wiper: Super-Soaker / NeedlePin (see all medium traffic scraper/wipers)

Wiper: Grounds Keeper / Eco-Step (see all medium traffic wipers)

Light Traffic Recommendations

Scraper: Crown-Tred / Spaghetti Mat (see all light traffic scrapers)

Scraper/Wiper: Needle-Rib / Chevron (see all light traffic scraper/wipers)

Wiper: Rely-On Olefin (see all light traffic wipers)