# Best Foot Scraper / Door Mat For Shop ?



## hvontres (Sep 4, 2015)

In order to create a more harmonious household, I was wonder what kind of foot scraper and/or door mat you guys use to make sure only a minimal amount of swarf gets tracked back in from the garage shop.


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## RJSakowski (Sep 5, 2015)

I haven't found the perfect solution yet.  I use closely woven closed loop mats, several of them.  I have a basement shop and have a mat at the bottom of the stairs and one at the top.  The type of footwear makes a difference as well.  A hard soled shoe or boot will be less likely to embed swarf.  One solution is to change shoes when leaving the work area.  In addition, chips can land on your clothing only to drop off later.  A shop apron or lab coat will help there.  A baseball cap can keep chips out of your hair (yes, they even land there). 

With all that prevention, I still find them creeping into places like the bedroom carpet.  I watch for them and pick them up when I see them.  Bending over is less stressful than the earache.

When you find that perfect solution let me know, please. My wife will be very grateful.

Bob


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## ogberi (Sep 5, 2015)

Shop shoes.  That, and we don't wear shoes in the house.  Tracks in too much sand.  I'm lucky in that my workshop is it's own building, with a short walk to and from the house.  I leave my grubby, filthy shop shoes outside.  If you really need a mat, I would say hit up a buddy that does carpet and get some remnants. The thicker the pile, the better.  Maybe one of those bristly shoe scrubbers like you see at golf country clubs for cleaning cleats.


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## Franko (Sep 5, 2015)

Compressed air is great for cleaning the soles of your shoes. It will remove sawdust and swarf that isn't stuck in the sole. Any that doesn't blow off is stuck in and may or may not be scraped off on one of those bristle pads. Some of it takes pliers.

Some really cool golf country clubs have compressed air for cleaning golf shoes.

Compressed air is good for mud and wet grass, too.


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## jpfabricator (Sep 5, 2015)

Just don't leave the shop, then you can't track swarf in.

Sent from somewhere in east Texas!


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## Bamban (Sep 5, 2015)

Shop work shoes and house slippers, never had any problems with tracking stuff in. Now, stuff clicking to the shirt and pants is another story. Bought an apron and that helps.


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## kd4gij (Sep 5, 2015)

http://indoorovershoes.com/


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## cascao (Sep 9, 2015)

I have a magnetic sheet on the floor
like this:
http://www.abelmagnets.com/magnetic-sheet


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## Tailormade (May 18, 2017)

I use those scrubby mats inside  and outside the shop doors, and outside the garage back door, and the house door. I keep a scrusher (that might be a brand name, but its one of those boot cleaners inside the door to my shop, and outside the door to the house.

The theory is that I clean my shoes on the way out of the shop and wipe my feet at each door. I walk across some gravel and then lawn and then concrete on the way to the house and wipe my feet up to 5 times on the way in, depending on what I've been doing in the shop.

I also am pretty on top of metal on the floor with one of the magnetic sweepers. My kids know that if they remember to wear their safety glasses, gloves, and good shoes and knock when they come to the shop, they can earn a bit of money if they run the sweeper around, which they already seem to think is great fun. So I don't have much metal on the floor to begin with. 

However, I also work with wood and plastic, and they aren't nearly as thrilled about running a broom, so that's why all the sole/shoe scrubbers.

If I ran into problems marring the floor, I'd probably start looking at the next level of cleaning. Thankfully, however, it wouldn't ever be an issue of harmonious household. My wife and family watched (and helped a very little bit) me cut, mill, sand, tongue and groove them on a normal router which is a huge pita, resin seal, sand, resin seal some more, sand some more, and finally, install the hardwood floor, so if I happen to mar it... oh well.


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## Silverbullet (May 18, 2017)

The only way to keep chips out is to leave them out. Have a chair by the door and change them to your house slippers, I got tired f cutting chips out of our rugs and feet.


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## Brnoczech (May 18, 2017)

I have a rubber mat that I bought at Lowes (I think) or perhaps Home Depot.  It's black and has holes in it that go all the way through (the holes are about 1 to 1 1/2 inch in diameter)  I scrape my shoes on it before going from the garage shop into the house.  It has a rough surface that does a good job of getting chips off the bottom of my shoes, and 95% of the swarf drops through the holes.  Occasionally I will pick up the mat, shake it, and sweep up  the swarf that fell through the holes.  Works really well.


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