With all the wet weather we’ve been having lately, effective entrance matting is more important than ever. It’s not just the design or material that matters—length plays a vital role too. An entrance mat that’s too short often fails to do its job, leaving floors slippery and unsafe. To properly remove moisture from shoes, wheelchairs, and trolleys, the matting should be long enough to allow for several steps, ensuring water and dirt are captured before they reach your interior flooring.
What are the best loose lay entrance mats for wet weather?
Our go-to rain mats to support entrances on rainy days are COBAwash, Cosmo, Ekstra Clean HyginePlus and our Micorfibre doormat are all ideal for when it’s raining to capture excess moisture and dirt from footwear. These rain mats are also quick drying to maintain effectiveness.
How to prevent slips on rainy days
Slips can be prevented during wet and rainy weather by installing efficient entrance matting systems at entrances. When it is very wet additional loose lay rain mats should be used to absorb excess moisture.
Using a combination of entrance mats, especially when used in conjunction with long lengths of carpet runners can be equally effective. Entrance mats can sometimes be referred to as rain mats, they can be used to support entrance matting systems on wet days to help prevent slip accidents. They can look smart too. Another key feature of this style of installation is the ‘protection’ it provides. We’re not only talking about ‘protection’ to carpets and floor surfaces, but also ‘protection’ to people where wet smooth floors potentially create slip hazards.
At COBA we are confident of having the ideal entrance mat for a wide variety of commercial environments. So whichever sector your business or building is categorised in (such as retail, hotels and leisure, healthcare or education) we have high quality, cost-effective floor matting options.
A small investment can make a huge difference to the cleanliness and hygiene, floor safety and general aesthetic appeal of your building.
Different entrance matting systems
Here we’ve compiled aluminium, carpet and more budget conscious entrance matting systems to cope with wet weather.
What are entrance matting Zones?
An entrance matting zone system helps to effectively remove dirt and moisture from footwear and wheeled traffic before touching internal carpets and floor coverings.
We recommend a zoning system when choosing your entrance matting. Whether your entrance extends outdoors or is fully covered, creating three zones delivers optimum dirt barrier performance, ensuring interior floors are kept clean and slip hazard free.
Zone 1 is all about scraping and removing the initial ‘surface’ dirt, mud and moisture. The matting should have a more abrasive surface, or tough bristle, for scraping action.
Zone 2 is usually the location of the main entrance mat section. Often set in a recessed matwell, it is designed to capture dirt and moisture for removal later on.
Zone 3 cleans and dries the soles of wet shoes or wheels, before they finally reach the internal floor coverings.
The creation of designated entrance zones is widely regarded as the most effective way to control dirt and moisture ingress. This approach typically involves a three-stage matting system: starting with heavy-duty exterior scraper mats to remove coarse dirt and debris; followed by interim mats placed in sheltered areas or lobbies that combine scraping and wiping functions; and finally, interior mats that focus on absorbing remaining moisture and finer particles. When used together, these layers create a comprehensive dirt barrier that helps maintain cleaner, safer floors and reduces long-term maintenance costs. However, while this multi-zone system is ideal, it isn’t always feasible to implement in every building due to space constraints, budget limitations, or architectural restrictions. In such cases, selecting high-performance mats that combine multiple functions becomes even more critical to ensure adequate floor protection.
For more information on choosing the best rain mats for your building we’re here to provide further tips and advice.
