Use and Care Manual

1.0
1.0 PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
KEEP THE DIRT OUT
An often overlooked, but vitally important part of
a maintenance program is preventive maintenance,
which prevents soil from being deposited into the
carpet. The best way to do this is with proper and
adequate walk-off systems at all entrances and other
sources of soil.
Proper walk-off material is able to scrape and hold
large amounts of dry soil as well as absorb water or
oil-based moisture. Mohawk walk-off tiles are made
to do both, or you can use separate mats for soil
containment.
Adequate walk-off material should capture five or six
footsteps (roughly 10-15 feet). This amount has been
shown to trap 80% of the soil and moisture that would
have migrated into your facility.
Along with placing walk-off material at all entrances
to your facility, you can use mats at other sources of
soil, such as break rooms, water fountains and coolers,
to prevent soil from being deposited into the carpet.
For walk-off material to be effective, we recommend
daily vacuuming, just as with your other surfaces.
Actually, walk-off material requires more frequent
cleaning because it is your first line of defense and
accumulates soil much more quickly. If this accumu-
lated soil is not removed, the walk-off material will
become saturated with soil and lose its ability to
prevent soil from entering your facility.
THOROUGH PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE INCLUDES
Keeping sidewalks and parking areas clean
Using chair pads to prevent casters from grinding
soil into the carpet
Placing trashcans in easily accessible areas
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE FACTS
A 15 ft. walk-off tile area effectively removes about
80% of soil and moisture before it reaches the carpet.
Removing a pound of dirt once it is inside a build-
ing is estimated to cost more than $500.
It is estimated that up to 24 lbs. of dirt can be
tracked in by 1,000 people entering a building
over a 20-day work period.