If you have a coir doormat, your guests come over to that your house is sustainable from the first. Coir is great stuff for making doormats. It is absorbing and organic material. Cleaning it right is vital to ensure a more eco-friendly home and prolong the lifespan of your mats. Follow our detailed guide and your coir doormats will last as long as possible.
What is a coir doormat?
A coir doormat is a type of mat made from coconut coir. Coconut coir is the fibroid external layer of coconut husks, which end up as waste products during the industrial harvesting of coconuts.
The longer fibers from the husk are ideal for creating brushes, brooms, and doormats. They are wear-resistant, antibacterial, and antifungal qualities, organic, and can be woven together in diverse ways.
When producing traditional coir door matting, the coconut fibers are soaked, then husked and desiccated to leave the customary coir fibres.
Advantages of coir doormats
Coir mats get the jump on synthetic fiber doormats due to their natural sustainability, naturality, and ecological compatibility.
Thanks to coco mats being thicker than thin synthetic mats they can hold rubbish like gravel.
Coir mats efficiently defend against mold and fungus thanks to the presence of lignin that coats the coconut fiber. They also reduce unpleasant odors that can develop over time due to stagnant water.
The ways of cleaning coir doormats
The best cleaning method depends on whether the mud within the mat is damp or dried, how long it has been there, and the kind of mat you have. Despite coir matting catching so much mud, generally, they only need occasional cleaning to be effective at keeping dirt at the door.
Luckily there are various ways for cleaning coir mats including hoovering and hand washing. However, by claiming of some manufacturers they cannot be machine washed! The reason for this is their unsuitability for use in the washing machine. Traditional coir mats are made up of rough, bristly fibers and should be only hand-cleaned.
How often coir mats need to be cleaned depends on the sort of mud on the mat and the foot traffic.
Dry cleaning a coir mat
The dry clean way is often best for fast removing dust, dried dirt, and small stones stuck inside the bristles. But this way is less effective at removing deep-seated dirt within the bristles.
Shaking off dirt
For shaking off dirt you will need to take the coir mat outside. Holding your coir mat on different sides and shaking in various directions.
Pro tip: you don’t need to shake it too energetically and be careful that some of the mats are heavy and need strong hands.
Using this method you will need to incorporate a quick doormat clean into your regular cleaning schedule. A shake-down of the coir mat will remove the huge majority of dust and mud. This will also allow you to clean the floor around the mat well.
Beating mud out of the fibers
It is necessary to hang the door mat and using the broom handle, gently beat out all the dirt from it. You can also gently tap the door mat against an exterior wall to release more stubborn dust and debris from the deeper bristle fibers.
Pro tip: coir mats may be durable, but you should try not to knock them too heavy to avoid damaging the pattern.
Ideally, to knock out the coir matting, it is recommended to hang it up so that you have two free hands and have the opportunity to get into especially dirty places to release stubborn dirt.
Bulldog clips can be used for this, as laundry pegs are not strong enough, especially for heavier floor mats. However, you can also lay the mat on its side to knock out mud. But be careful not to kink the mat as this can cause splitting if it is folded too far.
Brush off the upper layer and get rid of the garbage
To clean a coir doormat in this way, use a stiff brush. After you have removed the dirt from the surface, it’s time to remove the mud that has caught on the tips of the bristles of your mat. Tap the brush lightly on the top of the mat to remove the top layer of dirt. Then try to press the block into the mat and penetrate the grooves to loosen the stuck mud.
With printed coir mats, you need to be more cautious not to scratch the pattern too hard and wash it off.
Hoovering the mat for a final clean
After the loose dust and rubbish are shaken off and knocked out, remove any remaining loose dirt and stones by hoovering. Use a lower setting for printed mats as well, and avoid using brush or carpet settings that can aggressively scrub and wear the pattern.
Spot cleaning can be done to remove clods of dirt by running the vacuum cleaner nozzle around the bristles to remove debris below the surface.
The outdoor mat has grooves and holes for water drainage. Of course, it can be filled with mud and debris. This is where the reliable nozzle head of the vacuum comes useful.
If your mat has stubborn stains and dirt, apply a small amount of a natural cleaning powder, such as baking soda, to the fibers before vacuuming. The powder is recommended to be applied with a hand brush with coir bristles. Leave the powder on for about 30 minutes, then vacuum to remove dislodged dirt and powder residue.
It’s not worth using bleach as it removes the antibacterial lignin and changes the color of any pattern and the natural brown color of the coir.
Cleaning a coir doormat with water
Clean a coir doormat with a garden hose every few months or when the mat is particularly dirty after a rainy, muddy fall day.
You can also use the shower in the bath to clean the mat. But, it’s not advisable because by cleaning this way mud and stones can go down the pipe.
Before cleaning your mat with a hose, you should ideally do the previous dry cleaning steps first so that the dry dirt on the mat doesn’t turn into mud.
Pro tip: avoid using a pressure washer or too much flow, but it’s recommended to use the “jet” setting on the standard adjustable hose head.
You will need to start cleaning the mat from its top and wash horizontally across the space, then gradually move down and do the same until you reach the bottom of the rug.
After washing the mat, it must be completely dried.
Removing deeper spots from the coir mat
To remove spots from a coir mat, you can use a sponge with a small amount of carpet shampoo dissolved in warm water. Avoid saturating the fabric, but repeat the process as many times as required to move away the stain.
More stubborn stains can be dealt with by spot cleaning with soap and warm water. To remove marks and odors from pets or dyes on the mat, you can use baking soda.
If there are oil stains on the mat, they can be removed with a mixture of coconut oil, water, and white vinegar. If chewing gum sticks to your mat, you can use a freezer spray to remove it.
Pro tip: if the doormat’s bristles are damaged, apply a thin layer of coconut oil to them for protection.
FAQ
The coir mats are water-resistant and they can absorb water from your shoes excellently. However, they are better suited for use as indoor doormats rather than outdoor mats, because of their absorbent material, excess water causes it to become waterlogged and can give the mat a darker hue when water is absorbed.
As mentioned above, there are different ways for cleaning a dirty coir doormat. All of these methods can be applied to other types of doormats as well.
To clean a coir flooring, you will need a hoover, a stiff brush, dry carpet cleaner, cornstarch, and baking soda. For proper cleaning sometimes remove the entire mat from its installation to brush away the accumulated dirt.
You should note that some types of doormats cannot be vacuumed. For example, PVC-backed coir doormats, and woven-backed coir doormats.
We recommend using a vinegar-cleaning solution. Add one part white vinegar to one part water. Urine smells like ammonia and is neutralized with white vinegar. After the soaked area is dry, pour the vinegar solution over the affected area and allow the solution to soak for 10 minutes to reach the deepest mat fibers.
Conclusion
Now you should know everything that you need to for how to clean a coir doormat in your home. We hope that following our detailed guide and tips will help keep your coir doormats looking great, and your home will be more sustainable.
Read also: Best entry mats for hardwood floors: what choice to make?
