Entrance mats come in many different shapes and sizes and can be tailored to fit your specific needs. When it comes to entrance matting solutions for offices, corporations, or other establishments, consumers have two choices: renting or buying?
How do you know if a rental mat or purchasing an entrance mat outright is the best possibility for your entryway?
There are several factors that need to be considered when determining whether it’s the right time to buy or the right time to rent a commercial entrance mat for your property. Cost, Safety/Functionality, Quality/Appearance, & Maintenance all need to be explored when making that decision.
Rental mats are less expensive upfront, but they come with regular rental program/contract fees: fees for mat delivery, cleaning, and maintenance can add up quickly. Another hidden cost associated with a rental mat program, is the maintenance required between cleaning cycles and the cost of paying your maintenance staff, essentially paying for the cleaning service twice, and duplicating efforts.
Owning mats can save you money in the long run. When you invest in a permanent entrance matting solution you only pay for the physical mat once. You are in control of the maintenance schedule, and you are also not bound to a long-term rental contract, allowing you to make changes to your floor safety procedure as needed.
Another thing to explore with cost is the size/quality of the mat. The larger the commercial floor mat is, the more expensive it will be to purchase or rent the necessary mats for your facility.
Permanent entrance matting is customized to your exact dimensions and specifications and can be tailor made to fit your entrance needs; whereas rental mats, come in set sizes and standard shapes so you may end up needing to rent multiple mats to cover the desired area, which can slide around creating the potential for an accident.
The size the floormats selected will affect the safety and appearance of your facility. A larger mat will look more visually pleasing, covering the necessary areas while also reducing the risk of a slip, trip, or fall accident, helping you avoid an expensive lawsuit.
When deciding between purchasing or renting mats, it is really important to consider the safety of employees and guests.
The reason you are needing an entrance mat in the first place is to prevent dirt and debris from entering your facility, keeping your building clean and safe for all those who enter. Tripping hazards are a huge liability for any entrance.
With a permanent aluminum entrance matting solution, you can select from a variety of insert materials in order to maximize efficiency in your building and ensure that you are meeting the climate and foot traffic requirements of your facility with the scraping and drying capabilities of an entrance mat. Entrance mats can be secured either in a recess or surface mounted keeping them firmly in place ensuring they are doing their job effectively.
Rental mats have limited material options and backing capabilities with your restricted selections. Typically rented mats are made of nylon or polyester, mats available in rental programs have some capacity for absorbing moisture. However, on rainy or snowy days, they can quickly become saturated and transfer moisture to interior flooring. Use and aging can also cause the rubber backing to warp and the borders to become ripped and uneven. Rental mats are not secured to the floor allowing them to buckle, curl, pucker, and travel across the floor, opening the door for a trip and fall accident.
Entryways and floor mats are one of the first things people see when they step into a business or a facility, so the quality and appearance of these mats is essential to making a good impression.
With the customized color and material options of a permanent entrance matting system, you can select any color to enhance your building aesthetic and décor. Permanent entrance matting solutions are made to your precise specifications, giving you one matting unit for your entrance creating a cohesive look across the business, while also keeping your building clean, safe, and beautiful.
Rental mats come in limited stock sizes, thicknesses, shapes, styles and colors, determined by the rental company to fit into a washing machine; opposed to your specific needs and safety specifications, which may result in you having to select an entrance mat that is not an ideal fit for your space or décor. Depending on the size of your entrance, you may need multiple mats to fit your specific needs; having multiple mats with different ages can also affect the overall look of your entryway.
Another consideration for rental mats is you don’t typically receive the exact same mat between service intervals, so consistency of your mat’s appearance varies considerably across visits, adversely affecting your building’s facility. The age of the rental mat can range from brand new to 10+ years old, showing extensive wear and tear leaving a negative impression of your building and affecting your customer's overall experience.
Another factor to consider when you are exploring a rental mat program is the environmental footprint being left behind. The fuel being used to pick up the entrance mats for laundering and returning during the different mat cycles, along with the water and chemical being used to clean your mats has a significantly larger environmental impact than purchased mats that stay onsite all the time.
Aluminum entrance mats on the other hand are environmentally friendly and maximize dirt retention. The inserts can either be replaced or recycled; reducing footprints in your facility, while also reducing the environmental footprints left on the earth.
The primary reason to select a rental entrance mat is the perceived low maintenance and simplicity of the rental program. Rental companies will only replace your mats on a schedule (ex. weekly, every other week, monthly etc.) Depending on the frequency that the mats are swapped out, means the facility team is responsible for maintaining the mat in the interim and caring for them when they get dirty, leading to hidden program costs. The longer the period between rental mat maintenance, the more soil that will buildup on your entrance mat. This means that your staff will need to clean more between each mat pick up cycle.
A rental mat does not effectively stop and trap dirt and debris. Dirt and water stay on the surface and gets tracked in on the soles of pedestrian shoes. There is no surface scraping action for dirt and moisture to be stopped and contained.
When you own your commercial entrance mat, you are in control and can make the best decisions about your floor safety program and determine when and how often your mat requires attention, while also ensuring that you have the right matting system for your facility and the amount of foot traffic crossed over it daily. Purchased mats are typically much more effective at eliminating dirt and debris from facilities, helping to greatly reduce facility maintenance costs, protecting floors from grit, dust, and dirt damage-enhancing the overall image of the establishment. With proper care and maintenance, your commercial floor mats can last anywhere from 5 to 10 + years, depending on the amount of foot traffic. As a result, your investment lasts much longer.
There is nothing difficult or unknown about the maintenance requirements of permanent aluminum entrance mats – Simply vacuum regularly, spot clean as necessary, deep clean periodically and for small wet spills, use a clean cloth or absorbent material to soak up as much of the spill as possible. If a large wet spill occurs or inclement weather causes your mat to retain more moisture than typical, we recommend you use either a wet/dry vac or a carpet extraction machine to effectively dry your mat. All of our Ronick entrance mats, are not laundered, and they require the same care and maintenance that your other flooring does.
As we have explored above the cost, safety, appearance, and maintenance are all key components that need to be considered when choosing whether to rent or buy your entrance mat. The benefits of purchasing a permanent entrance matting system can lead to long term savings and keep your clean and safe.
Here at Ronick, were here to help you get the biggest return on your investment ensuring that your guests start their experience at your establishment on the right foot.
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