It's that time of year, when friends and family come over for a number of reasons! Football games, holiday parties, trick-or-treaters, Thanksgiving, Christmas or just to visit. That's a lot of company! And a lot of dirt, rain and snow that could be coming into the house! But stop it before it comes in with a quality mat.

Taking advantage of good matting is the smartest, easiest, and least expensive thing you can do to cut your housecleaning time. It's easier to vacuum or shake out a mat daily than it is to chase dirt all over the house. Proper matting alone can slow down structural depreciation, reduce wear and tear on carpets and flooring, and save the average homeowner approximately 200 hours of work a year (not to mention hundreds of dollars spent in cleaning supplies!). The reasons for such savings are easy to understand if you simply ask yourself, "What is it that I clean out of my house - off the floors, walls, furniture, etc.?" Dust and dirt are the obvious answers, and almost 100 percent of it is transported in from outside. In fact, the average five-person home accumulates forty pounds of dust a year.

Proper matting will:

• Keep your entire house cleaner.
• Reduce the need for shampooing, waxing, and washing.
• Absorb sound and enhance safety.
• Improve appearance.

Where is your carpet dirtiest? Take a look, is it at the entrance, on about a three-by-four-foot square where the matting should be. Well, it's only logical - if dirt doesn't get in, you won't have to round it up. Remember, traffic doesn't hurt a floor much; it's the abrasiveness of dirt that creates havoc.

Here are some matting pointers that will get you on your way to enjoying a house that stays cleaner longer...

Outside the Door
Exterior mats are just as important as interior matting, and that's why most decorative mats just won't do. Some outdoor mats, like link mats (the kind made from little slices of car tires wired together) are even dangerous for wearers of high heels, and coco mats are messier than they are absorbent.

For outside the house, the synthetic-grass-type mats, like our AstroTurf^TM Mats, or any rough-textured non-perforated mat with a rubber back, works well. These won't rot or shed, they're easy to clean, and they'll knock the big stuff off shoes or boots. Try to get one at least five feet long, to cover three or four steps. Of course, the exact type of exterior mat to buy depends on the available space, overhead cover (awning or porch), and your home's architecture and landscaping style.

Check out our new Grime Stopper Mats. With a unique combination of high quality fibers and tough rigid construction, they effectively trap dirt and moisture beneath the shoe level to keep dirt in the mat, not your floor. With rubber Tri-Grip backing, traction is improved to all surfaces.  And they lay flat and never curl or crack.  They also come in two designs and multiple colors to find the perfect match to your style. You can even have them personalized!

Inside the door
First, get rid of any carpet samples or scraps you're using for "throw rugs." These items are, indeed, appropriately named. They're unsafe, unattractive, and, most importantly, inefficient. Instead, reduce falls and trap loose dirt - the same dirt you'd be cleaning off everything in the house - with vinyl or rubber-backed mats of a commercial quality. Our Olefin Mats, or our new Tri-Grip Interior Mats, fit the bill perfectly.  The efficient nylon fibers of a commercial mat create a static charge that actually helps pull particles from your shoes. These mats then hold mud and moisture from foot traffic in their roots. They won't show dirt easily and can be vacuumed like any other carpet.

Also, don't forget the garage entrance where motor oil and residues from home projects are easily tracked into the house from the garage. Fine sand and gravel often get caught up in the snow that lodges under a car and falls loose on the garage floor. When the snow melts, the sand and grit are carried into the house by foot.

Our Olefin or Tri-Grip mats will last up to fifteen years, and are available in a wide variety of sizes and interior colors. Just remember, proper matting is not only safer and quieter, it protects your entire home... all while it saves you time and money.

To maintain mats:

Keep them vacuumed.

• When they're dirty, hose them down, apply neutral all-purpose cleaner solution, scrub a bit, and hose them again.
• Squeegee off excess water with a floor squeegee or old window squeegee.
• Hang mats to dry. Never use them when the back is wet.

So save yourself hundreds of hours annually cleaning the house, and invest in some quality mats throughout your home. Again, if the dirt doesn't get in your house, you don't have to clean it! And, our quality mats are a great "Welcome Home!" to all your guest coming over this fall and holiday season.