Suresh Babu

‘Prevention is better than cure’: This quote perfectly describes a facility’s entrance matting system that traps dirt/dust and prevents it from entering the premises. A study conducted by 3M India found that up to 1 kg of dirt can be tracked and accumulated per day by twenty thousand people passing through an entrance without matting. This dirt consists of fine or large particles, wet soil, mud and microbial contaminants.

Without efficient matting at the entrance, dust works as an abrasive and degrades floor quality, leading to increased frequency of maintenance and cost. Floor surfaces look dull, with footmarks and stains. The floor could also become unhygienic and prone to slips and falls.

Suresh Babu, Technical Manager, 3M India CSD writes about the need for matting, which mats suit what areas, misconceptions about indoor matting and how proper matting helps facility managers save on time and costs.

Entrance matting

Any premises with significant footfalls needs an efficient matting system at the entrance to trap and hold dirt at the entrance as the first line of defense. When considering an efficient entrance matting system for your facility, think of it as a good investment that pays for itself over time.  A correctly chosen matting will:

• Reduce the frequency of maintenance
• Reduce consumption of cleaning chemicals,
• Mitigate surface damage of the floor
• Reduce chances of slips
• Reduce dust contaminating the surrounding air.

All these benefits will improve the look of your facility while improving productivity and safety. With 3M’s Nomad™ Three-Way matting system, we can scrub and trap up to 98% of dirt entering the facility. A trial at a large public facility with very high footfalls showed outstanding results.

High-traffic areas

Matting may have a similar appearance, but different mats are built for extra performance. High traffic matting systems have higher crush resistance and also resist wear and tear. The dirt scraping mechanism depends on the matting surface design, and dust-holding or trapping capacity comes with the overall design. Another important parameter is how easy it is to clean the mats, which is determined by the unique open design structure.

Mats for every weather 

India sees different types of weather conditions that change by season and geography. In addition, we see lots of dust and dirt from under-construction projects and populated cities. We experience hot summers with dry dust
and the rainy season leads to wet mud.

We recommend combinations of 3M Nomad Loop mat as the first defense to scrape and trap dry dust for the summer and winter season/3M Nomad Z web mat as the first defense to remove wet mud or excess water, followed by 3M Nomad Aqua mat to scrape fine dust. The three-way matting system provides year-round protection.

Saving on floor maintenance

Dust or dirt particles are the primary cause of floor surface damage. After entering a facility, they abrade the floor surface as they move with internal traffic, which results in a dull, stained floor with a patchy appearance. Facility owners spend huge operation costs maintaining floor gloss and aesthetics, especially for floors prone to damage such as marble, granite, and vinyl floors. An efficient entrance matting system helps mitigate floor surface damage due to particle abrasion. Preventing dirt from entering the facility is the first step towards reducing maintenance costs.

Does a carpeted floor need matting?

The purpose of the carpeted floor is not to absorb moisture. We strongly recommend an entrance matting system that prevents carpets from soiling. Carpeted floors are challenging to clean and expensive to replace. They require specialized machinery and dedicated time for deep cleaning and more time to dry than conventional non-porous hard floors.

With its water absorption and retention capacity, 3M’s Nomad Aqua mat is the perfect fit. It is easy to clean with quick-drying properties, making it ideal to have just before the carpet-covered floor begins.

Is indoor matting necessary?

Just having a mat in front of and inside the facility is not helpful.  Mats need to be chosen carefully, depending on the use. Generally, Z web mats and loop mats are used outdoors, whereas the aqua mat is used indoors. While the outside mat helps to scrape and remove larger particles, the mat inside helps to remove moisture and fine dust.

Mats prevent slipping

All Nomad Mats come with anti-skid backing that will not displace easily from the floor’s surface. The mat surfaces themselves are anti-skid in nature and provide overall safety when it comes to slip hazards. In addition, the three-way matting system efficiently scrapes off all dirt and moisture, protecting facility floors from potential slip hazards.

Cleanroom matting

Some industries like pharma, food processing, healthcare etc need cleanroom facilities as per ISO standards. These range from class A, B, C, or D or 1 to 9. Each class has a limitation on particulate matter (PM) along with other parameters. Efficient matting plays a vital role in controlling PM.

Apart from the three-way matting system, we recommend additional Clean-Walk Unframed Mats. These mats have a multi-sheeted adhesive system that removes dirt and contaminants from shoe soles, wheels, and other passing objects on contact. A thin adhesive-coated sheet is securely topped with 30 or 60 removable adhesive polyethylene sheets that lock in place until discarded.