Go Green With Coconut Doormats

Go Green With Coconut Doormats

 

Sunday, March 23, 2008 2:38:49 PM

http://www.cfnews13.com/FamilyAndHome/YourHome/2008/3/23/go_green_with_coconut_doormats.html

Allison Walker, Your Home

 

The folks at The Personalized Doormats Company said if you do not use a doormat every time you go into your home, 50 percent more dirt would accumulate. That is why they said a doormat is a natural way to keep your home clean.

 

"That's the first line of defense," said Jill Mecca, who helps run the Lake Mary-based company.

 

Mecca was at a home and garden show in Orlando with a display that can help you go green. She said choosing a mat made out of coconut -- or the fibers from coconut husks, called coir -- are 100 percent natural.

 

"They're really rugged and durable, and they have that great scraping action to run dirt off your feet," Mecca said.

 

Another benefit of a coir mat is something not all synthetic doormats can do.

 

"They're naturally mold and mildew-resistant, as coconuts are, because they sit on the beach," Mecca said.

 

The catch is that you do not want to plop this mat down anywhere. Coir doormats do not do well in an uncovered entryway.

 

Some flooring experts said direct exposure to rain can cause the mat to curl and lose its weave.

 

Also, you might have a hard time finding them in stores. According to an online encyclopedia, India and Sri Lanka produce 90 percent of the coir produced every year, and half of it stays in those countries.