Anti Slip Floor Maintenance

Anti Slip Maintenance Aids Floor Safety

Congratulations! you made a great decision and had your floors treated, now you need to think about floor safety, how to protect and gain long term benefit from that investment by introducing a compatible Anti Slip Maintenance regime to enhance floor safety.

All anti slip treatments whether a surface modification or a coating require good housekeeping to maximize their effectiveness. Keeping the floor clean is only a part of the answer. To ensure optimum performance it is critical to ensure the surface is free of surfactants (detergent) oils, grease and general contamination as these will compromise the anti slip characteristics within a very short period of time.

One of the biggest mistakes made by most cleaners on a tight schedule is the over use of detergent based cleaners, usually mopped on and allowed to air dry the water evaporates off and the detergent film remains, the next drop of water activates the detergent film and you now have your own skating rink!

This Graph shows the impact on floor safety as the film of detergent that remains on the floor surface after the water has evaporated off. These detergents include a surfactant (surface active agent) which is great at dislodging foreign matter from soiled surfaces and retaining it in suspension but as you can see the trade-off is as much as a 50% decrease in SCOF Static Coefficient of Friction), this reduction is particularly severe on vinyl and ceramic surfaces.

Another great idea for floor safety is using Methylated spirits or Vinegar, these will dissolve most basic grease and grime and is a better alternative when added to hot water to help maintain treated floors, however we always recommend a clean water second rinsing to remove the remaining contamination.

The regular use of a wet vacuum in commercial environments like Kitchens and public dining areas it another excellent way to control grout line buildup and cross contamination.

After years of development surfactant free Enzyme based cleaners address this issue by emulsifying and biodegrading proteins such as grease, food waste, animal fats, mold, bacteria, viruses and other organic matter. All these contaminants are made up of proteins that are broken down into their components by the enzymes and then biodegraded into oxygen, carbon and water within minutes, and no rinsing is required!

They literally eat protein and organic matter! Amazingly, the enzymes will continue to break down and eliminate contaminants for a further 24 hours - long after mopping is completed. As a bonus these Enzyme based cleaners have gained the tough US EPA approval so it's safe for the environment.