By Stephen Ashkin

In the May issue of ManagingGreen, Michael Arny published an article titled “The Carpet America Recovery Effort” and discussed what you (facility managers) can do to help recover/recycle old carpets, and how you could also offset the carbon emissions at the same time.  To read Michael’s article click here. 

Well, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk about carpets as well.  But in this case, I wanted to share some thoughts about entryway matting systems. 

Hopefully if I can get you to prevent and eliminate the soils that damage carpets, we can significantly extend their life and reduce the health and environmental impacts associated with disposing of old carpets and making new ones  ---  and probably saving a ton of money at the same time!

High quality and appropriately sized entry matting systems should be an integral part of every Green Building.  They are one of the best pollution prevention strategies that can be employed to reduce soils before they enter a building.  And this article begins Part 1 of a 2 part series that you won’t want to miss.

To begin, let me share with you some interesting facts:

Thus, if you can reduce the amount of soil coming in, you have enormous opportunities to reduce the potential adverse impact on the health and performance of building occupants, reducing the frequency of stripping and refinishing floors, reducing damage to carpets and delicate electronic equipment, and improving the overall appearance of the building.

Please note that I have intentionally left out the opportunity to reduce the amount of cleaning done in a building.  I have done this because I firmly believe that currently we are NOT cleaning our buildings enough and any labor savings resulting from green or other traditional strategies should be redirected to create healthier, high performing buildings especially for those occupants who are sensitive or vulnerable.  The misplaced strategy of solely focusing on cost reduction is harming not only our building occupants, but is harming your ability to manage, protect and market your building.

When thinking about entryway matting systems the first and perhaps most important question you need to ask yourself is “what are my goals for an entryway matting system?”  Is it solely to improve the appearance of my building?  Or are there other factors/benefits such as those stated above, along with others such as reducing slips & falls or meeting the requirements of LEED?

If your current interest is only the appearance, you have an opportunity to capture the numerous other benefits of a high quality and appropriately sized entry matting system.  And yes, you can have high quality and appropriately sized entry matting system in all kinds of colors, designs and with custom imprinted logos.

However, one of the biggest problems with most existing entryway matting programs is that they are simply too small.  I frequently tell facility managers if they are using small 3X5 entry mats that they should ‘stop pretending’ and save their money.  Even if they are buying a $25 mat at the local big-box club store, they should save their $25 because these mats are too small to be effective.  Thus why waste any money?

For a mat to be effective it has to be long enough for each foot to hit the mat at least 2 times – typically resulting in a mat that is at least 10 to 15 feet long.  Studies have indicated that thirty feet of a high quality, well-placed entry matting system can remove nearly 100 percent of dirt, sand and moisture!  And less dirt, sand and moisture results in all kinds of good stuff….

Granted I’ve been in plenty of buildings where there simply wasn’t enough space to install a 30 foot entry mat.  But hopefully after reading this article, you will re-evaluate your reasoning for your entryway mats and consider how you can implement a better program in your building.

Next month we will complete Part 2 of this discussion and I will share among other ideas some entryway matting placement opportunities, how to select “high quality” mats, and some tips on keeping them performing well.

And please remember, Green Cleaning probably isn’t the most important thing on your “to do” list, but it is getting easier and easier, and perhaps offers one of the best returns on your investment of time and money.

Good luck selling!