Should I rent or Should I Buy?
This is a question we are asked many times. It depends on several factors. To aid your decision making process, here are a few facts.
Rental - what does this mean
You don't own the mats - they belong to a rental company who rent them out to you to protect your floors on a contract basis. They will drop off new mats and take the old ones to an industrial laundry where they are washed and dried ready for the next placement.
Outright Purchase - what does this mean
You control the purchase and cleaning of your mat(s). No contract involved. Complete freedom.
What are the pro's and con's to both:-
RENTAL
Pro's
- You don't have to worry about cleaning your mat(s). This is all taken off for you - for a price.
- Mats receive a proper machine wash on a regular basis.
Con's
- Rental system relies on year round cleaning - irrespective of time of year, weather conditions or footfall. It's a fixed cost and a fixed rotation period.
- The price is broken down into what appears to be a small weekly sum - but the mats are then cleaned FORTNIGHTLY.
- You have to enter into a contract with a rental company - usually around 3 years. Beware of a hidden clause that operates an automatic renewal unless you adhere to a specific notice period.
- You can rent plain mats or logomats. Plain mats will come from a pool stock of standard sizes/colours. They will have been rotated around their customer base so you don't know where they have been previously and what soiling they were subjected to. Sometimes the mats may be relatively new - the next fortnight they may be at the end of their life and ready for replacement. Its the luck of the draw what mats you receive.
- You may have some restrictions on size and colours as rental companies generally align themselves to specific mat manufacturers to obtain their best purchasing power.
- What happens if you are not happy with the service you are receiving? This can be tricky as you have a contract in place. Check the small print and put in a complaint. Try and get out of the contract if the service doesn't improve.
OUTRIGHT PURCHASE
Pro's
- Price. You will save a lot of money buying your mats outright. Add up the cost of your weekly rental over the whole contract period - then work out how much buying the mat will cost.
- The mats will last longer as they are not being put through unnecessary machine washes in the summer months.
No contract to worry about
They are your mats - you decide if and when they need cleaning. In December you may want to clean them every other day. In July this may mean not at all. You decide the best colour, size, shape for your building.
If you want to have a new logo or new colour - you can
You have access to a whole range of manufacturers with a vast range of products, colours, sizes and qualities.
Con's
You have to manage the cleaning of your mats in-house
There will be some initial work deciding which products are right for your location.
What is involved in cleaning rubber backed mats?
Rubber backed mats are designed to be easy to clean. This means they are fully machine washable. Large capacity drum which can accommodate your mat size. They can also be warm tumble dried. Alternatively you can steam clean them in situ as often as needed.
A lot of our customers will purchase a small steam or carpet cleaner and run this over the mat as needed to keep it in daily tip top condition as part of their normal cleaning routine.
The benefit of this is that even in the winter months a rental clean once a fortnight will not keep your mats looking good. With your own simple equipment you can keep your mats looking good on a daily basis if necessary at a fraction of the cost of a rental contract.
Our advice is to buy one mat and test it out before you enter into a contract. See how it performs. See how easy it is to clean. Then make a decision on the best route forward.