How to choose the most suitable entrance mat

How to choose the most suitable entrance mat

Every mat at the entrance of a building, premises, or home, is an anti-dirt barrier that saves significant time and expense on cleaning in exchange for a minimum investment

It is a fact that the proper design of entrance matting areas significantly REDUCES
•  cleaning costs, which not only saves a lot of money, but also helps to protect the environment
•  wear and tear of the floors inside the building caused by small stones, salts, or any scraping or scratching element
•  the risk of accidental slips caused by ground moisture and dirt
 
At present, due to the great advances in technology, which allow wide ranges of colours in different materials and finishes to be manufactured, it is also a design feature at the entrance to any establishment

Placement of the entrance mat




The ideal is that any entrance mat is housed in a matwell-recess ( embedded, so that it cannot move ), flush with the rest of the floor, without unevenness, thus avoiding possible tripping. In addition, certain types of mats are specifically designed to be housed in a matwell, with the following principle of action: dust particles, small stones, and moisture are detached from the footwear, and get deposited between the profiles of the doormat. In this way they are trapped, so that the next visitor will not drag them inside. Every so often it will suffice to simply roll up the mat and remove the captured dirt accumulated in the matwell in which it is housed



However, if no matwell-recess is available, there are types of entrance mats that are designed to be placed directly on the ground ( on the surface ). They have a non-slip base, in contact with the surface, so that they do not move
 


Finally, there are aluminium profiles in the form of ramps that are fixed to the surface with adhesive, to create a simple frame without construction work. This is useful for those cases in which there is no matwell in which to house the doormat. These ramp profiles bridge the unevenness between the floor and the top of the mat, which prevents accidental tripping

Entrance mat size


Length is the factor that to a great extent determines the efficiency of a mat in its function as an anti-dirt barrier. It has been estimated that a visitor must walk 4 steps on the mat ( approximately 3 meters ) in order for 80% of the dirt on their footwear to be retained.
In short: the longer the mat, the better it will do its job

How to choose the most suitable model of entrance mat


When purchasing an entrance mat, the following should be taken into account:
  • where it will be used, which can be
    • either interior, or
    • exterior ( outdoors )
  • its type of placement, which can be
    • either directly on the floor-ground, or
    • housed in a matwell-recess. In the latter case, the depth must be taken into account, since the mat must have a thickness that matches as far as possible the depth of the matwell so that the surface of the doormat is flush with the rest of the flooring
  • if a logo, design, or any kind of marking-printing is to be reproduced on the doormat. This is called customization
To refine the selection criteria for the most suitable entrance mat, in addition to all of the aforementioned, the following aspects should be taken into account:
  • Should the mat have an EC marking
  • Should the mat have a fire resistance classification
  • the level of transit-footfall on the mat. We have defined the following levels of footfall, mentioning typical scenarios at each level
    • ​low: private dwelling, small business
    • medium: small business, apartment buildings
    • high: medium-sized company, supermarkets, office buildings, headquarters of public offices, etc...
    • very high-intense: shopping centres, hospitals, airports and stations, etc...
  • the degree of moisture absorption that the doormat should have: to be taken into account in the case of a humid climate
  • the degree of dirt retention that the doormat should have: to be taken into account in cases of areas with a lot of dust, mud, etc...
  • the degree of durability that the mat should have
  • the degree of easiness to clean that the mat should have
Obviously, each type of entrance mat has its own characteristics. A product search engine has been developed, whereby all the previously mentioned characteristics can be specified, for each of the types of entrance mats in our range. This is so that the user can easily and scientifically find the model of entrance mat that best suits their needs or particular preferences by restricting the search to only those models that meet the criteria previously selected by the user

ATTENTION:
  • when carrying out a search, only one option or value should be selected according to the criteria relevant to the user, it is not necessary to select each criterion
  • it is important to select a range of values ​​of the "thickness" criterion only if the "matwell" has been previously selected in the "placement" criterion. In this case, the range for the depth of the matwell in which the entrance mat is to be housed should be selected. For example, if the matwell has a depth of 18mm you should select the range "16-20 mm" in the "thickness" criterion
  • the search criteria "level of" or "degree of" are of the "minimum value" type. This means that the search will be restricted to those products whose criterion value is the selected one, or higher. For example, if you select the average value for the criterion "transit level", the search will be restricted to those products whose transit level value is at least medium, therefore the search will be restricted to those of medium, high and very high transit level
  • select the level of traffic according to the following table:
TYPICAL USES SUITABLE LEVEL OF USE
 shopping centres, hospitals, airports and stations, etc...  very high-intense
 medium-sized company, supermarkets, office buildings, headquarters of public offices, etc...  high
 small business, apartment buildings  medium
 private dwelling, small business  low

A system of icons has also been developed through which the specifications ( option-value ) of all previously related aspects ( search criteria ) for each of the products in our range is clearly shown. For this, each of the possible options or values ​​of each criterion has been assigned an icon that symbolizes the aforementioned option or value. Below all the search criteria, possible values ​​or options of each criterion, and the icon associated with each option-value are shown

 
 area of use indoor outdoor
 placement matwell​ surface​
 thickness 0-10 mm 11-15 mm 16-20 mm 21-25 mm 26-30 mm
 customised
 EC marking
 fire resistance clasification
  low medium high very high
 level of
 transit
 degree of
 moisture
 absorption
 degree of
 dirt   
 retention
 degree of
 durability
 degree of
 easiness 
 to clean