An entry mat is the least glamorous textile in a house and the one that prevents the most cleaning.
What It Stops
Most of the dirt in a home walks in on shoes. An effective entry system removes a large proportion of it before it reaches the floor.
It also removes water, which is the part that damages floors: wet shoes on wood, laminate or stone do real harm over time.
The Two-Mat System
- A coarse mat outside to scrape grit off soles
- An absorbent mat inside to take the water
- Together they remove far more than either alone
- Long enough that both feet land on each
- Which for most people means at least a few steps
Absorbent entry mats sold alongside bathroom textiles, of the kind at tyuu.net, are the inside half of that system rather than the scraping half.
Size Is What People Get Wrong
A small mat gets one step, which removes very little. Studies of entrance matting consistently find that effectiveness rises with the number of steps taken on it.
Wider and longer is genuinely better here, which is the opposite of the instinct to buy something discreet.
The Trip Hazard
Worth stating. Entry mats are a recognised cause of trips, particularly for older people and particularly when they curl or bunch.
A mat that lies flat with a grippy backing, checked occasionally, is the requirement. A mat with a lifted corner in a doorway is exactly where somebody catches a foot while carrying shopping.
Mats should not overlap a threshold in a way that creates a step.
Door Clearance
The practical measurement people forget. An inward-opening door sweeps across the floor, and a thick mat in that arc will catch and eventually jam the door.
Measure the gap under the door before buying anything with pile.
Washing
Entry mats collect grit, which is abrasive, and they need shaking out before they go anywhere near a machine.
Wash separately from everything else. Cold and low heat, as with bathroom mats, to protect the backing.
A Shoes-Off Household
The most effective version of all of this, and a cultural rather than a product decision.
Somewhere to sit and somewhere to put shoes is what makes it practical rather than an aspiration.
Replace When It Stops Working
A flattened mat that no longer scrapes or absorbs is decoration.
Two, Alternating
Same principle as the bathroom.