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Walk-Off Mats are Green & Contribute to Building Safety

by Amy Streeton

Being green encompasses a myriad of considerations—costs, the health and well-being of building occupants and visitors, and environmental impacts related to product selection and maintenance. Decisions you make on a daily basis can contribute to a greener work environment.

Here are a five ways that often overlooked walk-off mats/entrance mats and work area mats contribute to greening your building. The colors and patterns on the mats add to work productivity and the signature aesthetics of a building. Extending product life with proper care shows respect for the earth.

1. Mats’ most obvious benefit is capturing dirt. Dirt enters buildings through doorways riding on workers and deliveries. The minute you put a mat on the floor, you begin capturing dirt and moisture that means a cleaner work environment. During dry weather conditions, 1000 people can be expected to track one-fourth a pound of dirt per day into a commercial building. Improved cleanliness communicates that your building is well-maintained.

For dirt tracked from outdoors or from construction renovation within the facility, consider scraper mats with the capability of attracting more. Getting dirt and contaminants out is especially important in food processing areas and healthcare settings.

2. Increasing safety affects workers and insurance rates.  Reducing dirt and moisture that may cause slips and falls, demonstrates concern for everyone entering the building.
Accidental falls count for about 21 percent of annual hospital emergency room visits. Slips and falls account for nine percent of all fatal injuries and 33 percent of hospitalized injuries. Two-thirds of the falls were at floor level.

During wet weather conditions, 12 times more is tracked into buildings. If your work area is already prone to moisture, adding mats can mitigate the problem.

Drainage holes in flow-through mats channel away spills that may lead to accidents. Sponge surfaces reduce breakage. The safety advantages of suction cup mats with no-skid features that do not migrate in heavy traffic areas, including carts, wheelchairs and other rolling equipment are obvious. Applications include schools, colleges and universities, airports, grocery stores, hospitals and healthcare facilities and any high-traffic area where safety is a factor.

3. Being green saves green. The estimated cost of removing a pound of dirt from a building can exceed $500. Therefore the more dirt and moisture captured in a mat, the less time is spent collecting and removing it. There’s also less to damage flooring and finishes, reducing overall maintenance and renovation expenses.

Attributes that affect costs like replacement frequency and maintenance expenses need to be considered when products and services are selected. Choosing mats that look better for longer periods and require fewer resources to maintain are part of managing a green facility.

Innovations in mat construction offer products that require less energy, water, time and  detergent to maintain, while increasing dirt removal. For example, some mats require no drying and go straight back into service. Durable, lighter weight mats allow more items per load for cleaning. Mats are available with a broad selection of patterns, custom design and texture that can enhance the customer’s building image. The twist levels, pile heights and yarn type are design features that are engineered into some mats to remove more dirt and water per mat.

Consider these factors when choosing a mat laundry rental service. Rental mats generally last about five times longer than direct purchase mats.

Safety may also affect insurance rates. During winter months there is a significant increase in slips and falls and more than 10 percent of claims reference words like snow, rain and ice.

4. Healthier interiors consider IAQ. In addition to reducing slips and falls, reducing dirt and contaminants means better indoor air quality. Only 10 percent of dirt is removed from floor mats with a vacuum cleaner.

Mats with no PVC and other chemicals of concern translate to healthier interiors. Areas where workers spend a substantial amount of time standing benefit from mats with anti-fatigue features, which lessen worker fatigue, improve comfort and reduce musculoskeletal injuries.

5. Fewer replacements reduce waste. Mats engineered for longer service cycles over a longer period mean less maintenance and fewer replacements per mat as well as less waste for the planet. Appearance retention considerations include stain resistance, wash fast and fade resistance attributes. Mats with patterns obscure stains and spills while meeting the design criteria demanded for the building’s brand and community image.

As we approach Earth Day on April 22, remember mats may contribute to creating healthier and safer facilities.