Red Clay, Rain and Your Office Entryway

That Cleaning Girl · Office Cleaning

One good North Texas thunderstorm and your front entry looks like a pickup truck drove through it. Red clay sticks to boots, tires and paws, and it ends up on your floors. We just talked about the dry side of the year in Keeping a Small Office Clean Through North Texas Dust and Pollen. This one is about the wet side.

These tips come from offices around Waxahachie, Midlothian, Red Oak and the rest of south DFW, where the soil is red and the storms show up fast.

Why red clay is such a pain

Our clay soil is sticky when wet and turns into fine, reddish dust when it dries. Wet, it smears across tile and grabs onto carpet fibers. Dry, it gets ground deeper into the carpet every time someone walks over it. And it can leave a reddish stain on grout and light-colored carpet if it sits too long.

The secret is catching it before it gets far and cleaning it before it sets. Clay that gets cleaned up the same week usually comes right out. Clay that has been walked on for a month starts to look like part of the carpet, and getting it back out is a much bigger job.

Mats: your first and best defense

A good mat setup catches most of the mud before it gets past the door.

• An outdoor scraper mat to knock off the heavy stuff.
• An indoor absorbent mat long enough for several steps, not just one.
• Rubber-backed mats that won't slide on wet tile.
• Darker colors that hide mud between cleanings.

Mats need care too. Vacuum or shake them out on every cleaning visit, and clean the floor under them. Mud and grit trapped under a mat can scratch the floor.

Dealing with wet mud

When mud comes in wet, it's tempting to wipe it up right away. On hard floors, that's fine if you use a damp cloth and blot. On carpet, it's usually better to let it dry first. Wet clay smears and spreads. Dry clay can be vacuumed up, then any remaining stain can be treated.

• On tile or vinyl: wipe up with a damp cloth or mop, rinsing often.
• On carpet: let it dry, vacuum thoroughly, then treat any stain by blotting with a carpet-safe cleaner.
• On grout: scrub with a soft brush and a mild cleaner before the red sets in.

The entry floor itself

The first stretch of floor inside the door takes the most abuse. On every visit, it should be swept and mopped, with extra attention to grout lines and corners. During a rainy week, an extra visit or a midweek mop might make sense. Some offices ask for the entry to be cleaned twice on visit days during storm season.

Don't forget the threshold, the door sweep and the little strip of floor under the door. Dirt piles up there and gets tracked in every time the door opens.

Door glass and handles

When it rains, people push the door open with wet, dirty hands, and drips land on the glass. Clean front door glass inside and out where you can reach, wipe the push plate and handle, and wipe down the frame. In spring, the glass will also have a pollen film. Clean glass at the front door is one of the cheapest ways to make an office look cared for.

Umbrellas, boots and wet coats

Give people somewhere to put wet things:

• An umbrella stand or bucket by the door.
• A boot tray in offices where people come and go from job sites.
• Coat hooks so wet coats don't end up on chair backs.

This keeps drips contained in one spot instead of spreading through the office.

Offices with heavy outdoor traffic

Some businesses get more mud than others. Real estate offices with agents coming back from showings in new subdivisions. Insurance offices where adjusters come in from the field. Offices next to job sites. Churches after an outdoor event. Salons where clients come straight from the car through a muddy parking lot.

For these, the entry and floors should get extra attention on every visit, and a little extra mat space goes a long way. If your team comes in from the field, a boot brush outside the door is worth its weight in gold. It takes ten seconds to use and saves the carpet a lot of grief.

On truly bad days, it's fine to put out a temporary runner or an extra mat and accept that it's going to get dirty. That's what it's for. A muddy mat that gets cleaned on cleaning day is much better than a muddy hallway carpet.

Keep the mud at the door

Good mats, a regular floor clean and quick action on bad days will keep red clay from taking over your office. To get entryways, floors and the rest of the office handled on a schedule, see our office cleaning services.