How useful are door mats?

Many years ago a carpet layer told me the best way to keep dirt ruining the floors in a home was to use the two door-mat trick.  This trick was to not only to have a mat outside the door but have a mat inside as well.  Of course the inside mat was not as heavy as the outside mat, but it needed to be strong and durable.

Since receiving this advice I have faithfully done this and advised customers and friends to do the same.  It makes a huge difference to the amount of dirt being trampled into the home.  The mat outside the door catches and loosens the dirt on the shoes and the second mat catches the loosened dirt as the wearer steps over the threshold.

Of course having a door mat outside and inside only near the front door isn’t enough; every door that leads to the outside needs to have two mats.  This includes a kitchen door, laundry door and even the patio or verandah door. 

With the introduction of bi-fold doors leading to patios and decks, the double door mat is a little difficult.  Those doors when open expose the width of the room whereas small French doors or even sliding doors give a smaller space.  The small gap worked perfectly with the two mats but that extra space with the bi-folds becomes harder as people never step into the property at the same spot.

So how can you stop the extra dust and dirt entering the home when you have bi-fold doors?  Place a carpet runner inside along the strip where the doors sit and you will have one long mat covering the exposed entrance.  Finding a door mat for the outside is not so easy, but coir squares joined together in a long strip will do the job.  You will need to buy squares that are joinable otherwise separate squares will move as people step in and out of the property.  If you are forever putting the squares back in place you will finally wish you hadn’t bothered in the first place.   

Wooden floors and carpeting can be easily scratched or stained, so using the double mat protection system is a sensible idea.  Real floor damage is done around the entrance to a home. Give it a go and see what a difference it makes. 

For more information on cleaning a home, purchase Julie's new book 'Stinking Cleaning' published by Austin Macauley