What is Entrance Matting and why is it so important?

When you see facts like 70-85% of dirt is brought into a building from the outside, that it costs as much as £800 to remove just a kilogram of dirt that’s been tracked into a building and that accidents on wet and dirty floors can cost employers millions of pounds, you can start to understand why Entrance Matting is so important.

There are two types of Entrance Matting generally available, they are Primary and Secondary entrance matting.

Primary Matting is found externally, at the entrance to a building. This is the first step to removing dirt and moisture from the soles of people’s feet and wheeled traffic and helps to increase the effectiveness of the secondary matting.

Secondary Entrance Matting is generally used indoors at all the entrances of a building. The secondary matting consists of an absorbent yarn that removes the moisture and a scarper yarn that works to remove the dirt.

As a company, we like to help our clients lay the perfect foundations for inclusive, safe and healthy interiors. Whether that’s by providing a proactive approach to flooring maintenance or ensuring our clients meet all UK Building Regulations.

In addition to this, we want to help you create beautiful, welcoming and accessible interiors so that from the first moment someone walks through the doors of your building they feel comfortable.

Entrance Matting may not be at the top of your consideration list, but it’s a legal requirement for all public and commercial buildings in the UK and helps to create an inviting and safe interior for all who enter.

The majority of the dirt that’s brought into a building is done so on the soles of people's feet and wheeled traffic such as pushchairs and wheelchairs. This not only causes internal floors to look dirty and unattractive it can also cause them to become unsafe and slippery. According to HSE reports slips are the most common type of accident to members of the public, as a result, they recommend preventing floors from becoming contaminated as the first course of action and this is why entrance matting is essential.

Entrance Matting can be made from several different materials, but the most common is Nylon. Trin Step Entrance Matting is made from 100% Polyamide solution dyed nylon, a synthetic fibre comprised of a scraper and moisture-absorbing yarn. It’s ideal for the removal of both dirt and moisture and is commonly used in heavy-duty entrance or barrier matting systems.

Trin Step also has a luxurious feel that ‘brushes and scrapes’ and offers a high level of resilience through good crush-resistant properties. It is a material that is hard to impregnate, making it more soil, stain and fade-resistant whilst being easier to maintain. The other benefit of nylon entrance matting is its ability to dry quickly.

When specifying entrance matting, consider how much you may need for your building. It takes about 6 footsteps and 2 rotations of a wheelchair to remove sufficient dirt and moisture and if it’s a high-footfall building you may require a long stretch of entrance matting. Some Independent research suggests the following:

• Under 80 people per hour – 3-4 meters
• 80-400 people per hour – 6-7 meters
• Over 800 people an hour – 8-10 meters

All in all, entrance matting is an ideal investment for your interiors. It helps to reduce the overall cost of cleaning and maintenance; it keeps your interiors safe and enables you to tick all the boxes when it comes to building regulations and legal requirements so take a little look at our Trin Step.