One notable green “cleaning” system does not involve cleaning at all. According to Scot Case, vice president of TerraChoice Environmental Marketing and EcoLogo, any steps taken that can reduce the use of cleaning chemicals and products, green or conventional, is a component of green cleaning. The best way to accomplish this involves “source reduction” strategies; implementing practices and procedures that keep soils and contaminants outside before they can harm the indoor environment. According to Case, this includes exterior maintenance: keeping sidewalks, parking lots, entries and other areas surrounding a facility clean. “Occupants walking through these areas can bring in outdoor soil and contaminants,” Case says. “Keeping these areas clean and well maintained is key to a healthy indoor environment.”

However, Case adds that exterior maintenance must be supplemented with effective matting systems. “We know that as much as 90 percent of the dust and dirt entering a facility ‘walks in’ through building entries on people’s shoes,” Case says. “And studies by ISSA (www.issa.com) report that as much as 24 pounds of dirt can be tracked into a facility by just 1,000 people in about 24 days. A high-rise office building may have several thousand people entering the facility a day, so you can see just how quickly this can add up.”

Unfortunately, facility managers and building service contractors (BSCs) frequently do not use mats properly; they are often placed haphazardly, not enough matting has been installed, or the wrong type of mat is used, limiting the effectiveness of the matting system.

The Rule of 15

According to Chris Tricozzi, vice president of sales and marketing for Crown Mats, matting should always be viewed as a “system,” with each mat—through the way it is placed, the type of mat, and the length of matting—doing its part to prevent contaminants from entering a facility. “This is especially true in a green cleaning program,” Tricozzi says. “And the first thing we must understand is what is often referred to as the ‘Rule of 15’ and the role it plays in green cleaning and an effective matting system.”

The Rule of 15 states that three types of mats must be placed at all major building entries, each mat being five feet long:

• Five feet of scraper mats are placed outdoors and trap as much as 50 percent of all soils and contaminants from entering a facility.

• Five feet of wiper/scraper mats are typically placed directly inside a facility to gather dust and debris not captured outdoors.

• Wiper mats, again five feet long, are often referred to as the “final line of defense” and are designed to capture any remaining soils and contaminants.

“Entry matting systems [are] not only integral but must be included in any green cleaning program,” says Tricozzi. “They are about the best source reduction strategy that can be employed to help keep soils outside, helping to minimize the use of cleaning chemicals and products and protect the environment.”