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That dirt trapper mat you have sitting by your door works hard to keep dirt and debris on the mat and off of your floors, but even the best of these mats can only function as they were meant to so long unless you make the effort to keep them clean and functional. Here are few tips on cleaning those dirt trapping maps.

Some of the advice on the internet suggests that you simple vacuum these mats like you would your carpeting or sweep them like you do the floor, but stop and ask yourself if this really makes sense? Sweeping the mat is bound to put some of those dirt particles into the air of your home when they will then get track all over your wood floor or carpet, which is what you are trying to prevent in the first place and vacuuming up all the dirt and dust your mat has collected is going to put unnecessary strain on your vacuum unless you take steps to get rid of the majority of that dirt and sand first. So, regardless of what type of material is mat is made from the first thing you need to do is take it outside and shake most of that sand, dirt, and grime from the mat.

Once you have shaken the majority of the dirt from the mat then if it is made of cotton or other cloth material you may want to give it a good vacuuming. If the mat appears to be stained or simply looks dirty you can use a rug shampooer to clean it or simply take it back outside on your deck or patio and use rug shampoo and scrub brush to gently clean the fibers then rinse it thoroughly with a hose and allow it to dry completely before placing it back in front of the door.

For those mats that are made from rubber or other such material shaking them off then giving them a good spraying with a hose will get them as clean as whistle in no time at all. However, you are going to want to make sure that the mat is completely dry before bringing back into the house.

If you want your dirt trapping floor mat to be able to catch that dirt before it gets drug throughout your home then you will need to take the time every week or so to make sure to remove the built up dirt that mat collects so that it can continue to keep your floor as dirt free as possible.

Even after vacuuming the rug, it still looks rather dirty. We recently tried to sweep the rug as we do with the rest of the floor, and it worked wonders. This method saved on power, the time of getting out and putting away the vacuum, and it produced better results.

It works pretty well. You have to sweep several times over the same area to see results. But at least I can see results unlike when I used the vacuum cleaner. The rug collects mainly grass that falls off our shoes. I see now why my sister-in-law has everyone take off their shoes at the door. That’s not crazy; that is a very smart practice. We should start doing that, too. It definitely would mean less time spent sweeping.

Sweeping the carpet is something I probably never would have done had I not seen my husband do it – and it work fairly well. Although it takes a few minutes, the results are better than using my vacuum cleaner.