Quick answer: In a restaurant, café or bar, WaterHog belongs at the guest entrance and in front-of-house walkways, where its job is to stop rain and grit before they reach the dining room. It does not belong at the kitchen door. Rawlins' WaterHog product pages say the mats are "not recommended for use in areas exposed to grease or petroleum products", so the kitchen threshold needs a 100% nitrile rubber mat instead. Keep the two zones separate, clean each one the way its maker says, and you cut the grease and water that would otherwise spread across your floors.
Rawlins has supplied cleaning equipment, chemicals and matting to UK businesses since 1981. This guide is for restaurant managers, operations leads and cleaning contractors who look after food and drink premises. For the full WaterHog cleaning method, see our commercial WaterHog care routine.
Why food and drink premises need two matting zones
A restaurant floor gets dirty from two directions. Guests carry rain, mud and grit in from the street. Staff carry water, food debris and grease out of the kitchen and pot-wash area. These are different soils, and they need different mats.
HSE's guidance on preventing slips and trips in kitchens and food service (CAIS6) says most slip injuries happen on wet floors or floors contaminated with food debris or fluids such as oil. Among its controls, it lists preventing water being walked into the kitchen or service area on people's shoes "by providing suitable floor mats". The word "suitable" is the key. The right mat at the front door is the wrong mat at the kitchen door.
The front door and dining room: WaterHog's job
WaterHog mats are built for entrances. The Waterhog Classic page describes a bi-level construction, where dirt and water fall to the lower level of the mat so they are not tracked further into the building. That is what you want between the street and your dining room, particularly on wet days when guests arrive with soaked shoes and umbrellas.
Front-of-house areas where WaterHog usually fits:
- The main guest entrance, inside the door.
- A vestibule or lobby, if you have one, so shoes get more steps on matting before the dining floor.
- Walkways from the entrance to the bar or host stand, where queues build up.
- Customer toilet corridors, provided they are away from kitchen traffic.
The full range is in our WaterHog collection.
Keep it looking right for guests
In hospitality, the entrance mat is the first floor a guest sees. A mat that is saturated, gritty or rucked up gives a poor first impression and is a trip risk. Check it before opening and again after any heavy rain, and swap in a dry spare if it is holding a lot of water.
The kitchen threshold: why not WaterHog
Both the Waterhog Classic and Waterhog Eco Elite pages carry the same note: not recommended for use in areas exposed to grease or petroleum products. The WaterHog care guide on waterhog.eu also says to keep the mats clear of petroleum-based products, as they will negatively affect the rubber backing.
The kitchen door, the pass and the route to the pot-wash all see grease and oil on staff footwear. That makes them the wrong place for a WaterHog, however good it looks. It also means you should avoid laying a WaterHog right next to the kitchen exit, where grease would be walked straight onto it.
Nitrile mats for kitchen thresholds
At the back-of-house side of the swing door, use a mat made for grease. Two options Rawlins sells:
- Safety Scrape Non Slip Rubber Mats: the product page says they are 100% nitrile rubber, oil and chemical resistant, with a moulded gripper surface for traction, and describes them as ideal for restaurant and kitchen areas.
- Superscrape Plus: 100% nitrile rubber with a bi-level design that traps debris. Its page says nitrile provides excellent resistance to oils, grease and chemicals, and that the mat is certified high-traction by the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI).
Where the kitchen has its own back or delivery door, the Safety Scrape page also describes using it outdoors to scrape heavy dirt off footwear, combined with an interior entrance mat as a dual entrance matting system.
A front-to-back daily routine
Use this as a starting point and adapt it to your opening hours and cleaning specification.
| When | Front of house (WaterHog) | Kitchen threshold (nitrile) |
|---|---|---|
| Before opening | Check the mat is flat, dry and in place. Vacuum if needed. | Check the mat is flat, clean and not curling at the edges. |
| During service | Check after heavy rain. Swap a saturated mat for a dry spare. | Clear food debris. Deal with spills on and around the mat straight away. |
| After close | Vacuum with an upright brush vacuum, such as the SEBO Automatic XP20 (a brand Rawlins sells). | Lift the mat, clean the floor underneath, and wash the mat before relaying it on a dry floor. |
| Weekly or as needed | Hose or pressure wash outside, following WaterHog's limits (below). Air dry fully. | Deep clean with a deck brush and neutral pH detergent, rinse well and hang to dry. |
Cleaning WaterHog mats
The WaterHog care guide says not to use bleach or other harsh chemicals. For pressure washing it gives clear rules: apply mild detergent first, use a 40° (white) nozzle, do not exceed 2,000 psi, keep the nozzle at least 12 inches from the surface, and let the mat air dry completely. Lay it back on a dry floor so it does not trap moisture underneath.
Cleaning nitrile threshold mats
The Superscrape Plus page gives the hand-washing method: scrub with a deck brush using a neutral pH detergent, rinse thoroughly with a hose or pressure washer, and hang the mat to dry completely before reuse. Its page also lists commercial laundering and autoclave sterilisation as options. Always clean the floor under the mat as well, because grease and debris collect there. Our kitchen mat HACCP routine covers this in more detail.
Hygiene: keep the zones apart
A few habits stop the two zones contaminating each other:
- Don't use the same mop or bucket on the kitchen floor and the dining room floor.
- Wash kitchen mats away from front-of-house mats, and never wash entrance mats in food preparation sinks.
- Don't move a nitrile kitchen mat to the front door, or a WaterHog into the kitchen, to cover a gap.
- Record mat cleaning in your cleaning schedule alongside the floors, so it is checked like any other task.
HSE CAIS6 also advises asking the floor manufacturer about the best cleaning method, suitable detergents and the correct concentrations. The same principle applies to mats: follow the mat maker's care instructions rather than whatever chemical is to hand.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a WaterHog mat in a commercial kitchen?
No. Rawlins' WaterHog product pages say the mats are not recommended for areas exposed to grease or petroleum products. Use a 100% nitrile rubber mat at kitchen thresholds instead.
What is the best place for a WaterHog in a restaurant?
Inside the guest entrance and along front-of-house walkways, away from the kitchen exit, where its job is to trap rain and grit from the street.
Can I pressure wash restaurant entrance mats?
WaterHog mats can be pressure washed if you follow the care guide: mild detergent first, a 40° nozzle, no more than 2,000 psi, the nozzle at least 12 inches away, and full air drying. For other mats, check the maker's instructions.
How often should kitchen threshold mats be cleaned?
Clear debris during service and clean the mat and the floor under it at the end of each day, then deep clean as your cleaning schedule sets out. Busy kitchens may need more.
Talk to Rawlins about front-to-back matting
If you are planning matting for a restaurant, café, bar or hotel dining room, we can help you match the right mat to each zone and the right cleaning kit to each mat. Browse the WaterHog collection for entrances and the Safety Scrape and Superscrape Plus nitrile mats for kitchen thresholds. Call us on 0121 351 4444, email werner@rawlins.co.uk or use our contact page.
