Many facility managers are now in a “spring cleaning” state of mind, implementing comprehensive programs to quite literally sweep away the remains from one of the most difficult winters on records. One of the most important places to start — and one often overlooked — is entry mats.

“Managers should always view matting as a soil retention system,” says Dennis Knapp, national sales manager for Crown Mats and Matting. “When working effectively, an entry matting system helps keep indoor facilities clean and healthy. This is why they are a crucial component in green cleaning.”

However, to maintain matting’s performance and function, Knapp advised facility managers to do the following:

Clean under all entry mats. During the course of the winter, soil, debris, and moisture may build up under the mat. Remove all mats and clean the underneath floor area.  Use a neutral floor cleaner to help protect finished floors and do not reinstall mats until the area is thoroughly cleaned and dry.

Check door entries. With the mats removed, check door entries to see if any structural damage has occurred during the course of the winter. Grime, salt from ice-melters, tracked-in snow, and prolonged moisture can damage door frames and surrounding areas; thoroughly clean and repair these areas.

Clean mats. If the mats have been purchased, spring is a perfect time to deep clean entry mats using carpet extraction. Since the job of the mat is to capture and trap soils, carpet extraction is the most ideal way to remove embedded soils, ensuring the mat continues to perform effectively.

Installation strategy. Before reinstalling mats, analyze how well the current matting installation strategy has worked. In some cases, longer mats or different types of mats may need to be installed. As to soil retention, a good rule of thumb is 15 to 18 feet of matting is needed for capturing 80 percent of all soils and moisture.

Mat selection. If new mats are needed, select “high performance” mats. These mats, which are normally purchased, typically have a much longer lifespan, longer warranty, and better capability to provide effective soil retention.