Why does matting matter so much for carpet?
Because most of the soil in a building walks in. Interface's Carpet Tile Maintenance Guidelines list walk-off mats first among preventative maintenance: they "help keep soil from entering the building". The Carpet and Rug Institute's advice says the same in five words: "Stop dirt at the door." Every step of grit a mat stops is grit that never reaches the carpet, and grit is what cuts the pile.
What kind of mat goes where?
| Where | Job | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Outside the door | "Designed to scrape dirt and debris off shoes" | As much as the step allows |
| Inside the door | "Remove smaller soil particles and help absorb moisture" | "A minimum of six feet" |
| Inside, extended | Catch the rest before the carpet | 15 feet removes about 80% of soil and moisture |
| Other busy spots | Elevators, water coolers, food stations, stair thresholds | To suit the space |
Interface lists those "other interior areas" itself: "elevators, around water coolers and food station areas, and at stair thresholds".
Why does winter make it worse?
Because the soil is wet and salty. Slush on boots carries road salt and grit straight past a short mat and onto the carpet, where it dries into white crust and grey traffic lanes. The City of Hamilton applies salt brine to its roads before storms, so from the first forecast of snow, every entrance in the region is fighting it. A longer interior mat in winter is cheap compared with cleaning the carpet behind it; see winter salt stains on carpet.
How should the mats themselves be cleaned?
Like the busiest carpet in the building. Interface says "walk-off matting should be maintained the same way as interior carpet by using the frequency guidelines for 'Very Heavy'", which in its chart means vacuuming once or twice daily in traffic areas and restorative cleaning six to 24 times a year. A full mat stops nothing; it just becomes the first dirty patch of floor. Klein's can clean mats with the carpet at each visit; see commercial carpet cleaning.
What if there is no room for fifteen feet?
Then do the six feet properly and make the rest of the program work harder. Vacuum the first stretch of carpet past the mat daily, move the heavy zone's deep cleaning up a step on the schedule in how often to clean office carpet, and change or clean the mats more often in winter. That trade-off is our advice; the six and fifteen feet are Interface's.
Get a commercial carpet quote
Tell us the type of space, the rough square footage of carpet, and when the building is empty. We reply within one business day and can look at a larger floor before quoting.