All this wet weather certainly makes the need for good quality entrance matting more essential than ever. It’s not just the type or style that’s important. The length of the floor matting installation is also a crucial factor that should be considered. All too often, there is an insufficient length of matting to wipe away moisture on footwear, wheelchairs or trolleys.
The creation of ‘entrance zones’ is the ideal solution (this is where you have exterior ‘scraper mats’ followed by ‘interim mats‘ that perform both a scraping and wiping action, and then lastly interior floor mats that do the final wiping of moisture). However, as ideal as this may be, it is not always possible to create such an elaborate dirt barrier system.
What are entrance matting Zones?
An entrance matting zone system helps to effectively remove dirt and moisture from footwear and wheeled traffic before touching internal carpets and floor coverings.
We recommend a zoning system when choosing your entrance matting. Whether your entrance extends outdoors or is fully covered, creating three zones delivers optimum dirt barrier performance, ensuring interior floors are kept clean and slip hazard free.
Zone 1 is all about scraping and removing the initial ‘surface’ dirt, mud and moisture. The matting should have a more abrasive surface, or tough bristle, for scraping action.
Zone 2 is usually the location of the main entrance mat section. Often set in a recessed matwell, it is designed to capture dirt and moisture for removal later on.
Zone 3 cleans and dries the soles of wet shoes or wheels, before they finally reach the internal floor coverings.
How to prevent slips on rainy days
Slips can be prevented during wet and rainy weather by installing efficient entrance matting systems at entrances. When it is very wet additional loose lay rain mats should be used to absorb excess moisture.
Using a combination of entrance mats, especially when used in conjunction with long lengths of carpet runners can be equally effective. Entrance mats can sometimes be referred to as rain mats, they can be used to support entrance matting systems on wet days to help prevent slip accidents. They can look smart too. Another key feature of this style of installation is the ‘protection’ it provides. We’re not only talking about ‘protection’ to carpets and floor surfaces, but also ‘protection’ to people where wet smooth floors potentially create slip hazards.
At COBA flooring (the new specialist division of COBA Europe Ltd) we are confident of having the ideal entrance mat for a wide variety of commercial environments. So whichever sector your business or building is categorised in (such as retail, hotels and leisure, healthcare or education) we have high quality, cost-effective floor matting options.
A small investment can make a huge difference to the cleanliness and hygiene, floor safety and general aesthetic appeal of your building.
Different entrance matting systems
Here we’ve compiled aluminium, carpet and more budget conscious entrance matting systems to cope with wet weather.
What are the best loose lay entrance mats for wet weather?
Our go-to rain mats to support entrance matting systems on rainy days are COBAwash, Cosmo, Dirt trapper and our Micorfibre doormat are all ideal for when it’s raining to capture excess moisture and dirt from footwear. These rain mats are also quick drying to maintain effectiveness.
For more information on choosing the best rain mats for your building we’re here to provide further tips and advice.
