When we walk on a marble floor or a smooth kitchen floor made of porcelain we do not usually think about what is going on with the floor and our feet. We only think about it when we slip and fall. Slipping and falling are reasons why people get hurt by accident all over the world.. Often we can not see what can be done to prevent this from happening just by looking at the floor.

In the world of facility management and home safety people really want floors that’re not slippery. This has led to a change: special invisible treatments that you can put on the floor. These treatments are different, from the rough paints or sticky tapes that can damage nice stone floors. The invisible treatments work in a quiet way so you do not even notice them and they make the floor safe at a very small level that you need a special tool to see. The anti slip floor is what everyone is looking for and these invisible chemical treatments are making it possible to have a slip floor without ruining the way it looks.

So how does this liquid that looks like water make a really slippery tile safe to walk on without looking any different? To figure this out we have to take a look, at the tiny details of the floor.

The Illusion of Smoothness

When you look at a ceramic or granite tile, with your eyes and touch it with your hands the ceramic or granite tile feels really flat.. If you look at the ceramic or granite tile under a special kind of microscope that can see really small things you will see that the ceramic or granite tile is not flat at all. The ceramic or granite tile has lots of hills and deep spots and tiny holes in it.

When the floor is dry the floor and your shoe have grip to keep you standing up.. Things get tricky when something slippery like water or grease gets on the floor. This stuff gets into the holes in the floor tile. It is like a layer of water or grease forms, between the floor and your shoe. This is what happens when you hydroplane on the floor. It is really easy to slip and fall. The floor and your shoe are not really touching because of this layer of slippery stuff.

So you want to make your tiles safer. A lot of people who own properties look for a coating that stops tiles from being slippery. Some coatings put a layer on top of the tile.. There are other kinds of treatments that work differently. These invisible treatments actually change the tile itself than adding something to it. They make the non slip tile coating a part of the tile. It is not something you can see.

The Micro-Pitting Process: Nature’s Suction Cups

Invisible anti-slip treatments are not like coatings. They are mixes of chemicals that work with the minerals in the floor like silica, in a very controlled way. Invisible anti-slip treatments do this to make the floor safer.

When you put the treatment on a slip floor it makes a lot of tiny little holes. These holes are really small less, than a few microns deep. The anti slip floor still looks the same because these tiny holes do not change the way the light hits the floor. The anti slip floor keeps its shine and color it looks just like it did before the treatment was applied to the anti slip floor.

How Micro-Pores Create Grip

The magic happens when the surface gets wet.

In a tile that has not been treated water just sits on top and this creates a slippery layer.

On a surface that has been treated with a slip floor solution the tiny holes in the surface work, like small suction cups, the anti-slip floor solution makes the surface have these tiny holes and these tiny holes act like tiny vacuum cups.

When you walk on a floor that has been treated your foot presses down on the water and it goes into the tiny holes in the floor. This makes the water get pushed down. Then it pulls your shoe or foot back towards the floor. The floor kind of sucks your foot down which is what helps you not to slip. This is what makes the floor safe to walk on even when it is wet it is, like a kind of floor that stops you from sliding.

Beyond “Roughness”: The Role of Coefficient of Friction (COF)

When we are talking about safety we do not just guess if a floor is safe to walk on. We actually measure it to be sure. The main thing that tells us if an anti-slip floor is really working is something called the Coefficient of Friction or COF for short of the slip floor.

There are two types of COF:

Static Coefficient of Friction (SCOF): The force required to start a slide.

Dynamic Coefficient of Friction (DCOF): The friction available while a person is already in motion.

Invisible treatments are made to make the DCOF better. They work by changing the surface in a small way. This means that the results are the same. It is very important to get help from a Friction Testing and Issue Certificate Expert to make sure everything is safe and legal. These experts use tools like the BOT-3000E to check if the tiny changes have made a big difference, in safety. They want to make sure that the DCOF is safe. The experts check the DCOF to see if the invisible treatments have worked.

Why Choose Treatment Over Traditional Coatings?

When you are looking for a non slip tile coating a lot of people are really surprised to find out that a special treatment is usually better, than a sealer that forms a film. Here is why the microscopic approach is the way to go with non slip coating:

1. The looks of things stay the same the aesthetics remain intact and that is what matters the aesthetics remain intact.

Traditional coatings are not that great. They can get really thick. Turn yellow after a while. Sometimes they even make things look like they are made of plastic. Invisible treatments are different. They work inside the pores of the tile not on the surface. This means that nice materials like travertine or polished porcelain still look really good. The invisible treatments help keep the look of luxury materials, like travertine and polished porcelain.

2. No Peeling or Flaking

The thing with these floors is that they do not have a layer on top. So there is nothing that you can remove. When you use a slip flooring treatment it becomes a part of the tile. The tiles surface and the treatment become one. This treatment does not come off easily it stays on for a time. It is very different, from wax or paint because those things wear away quickly in areas where a lot of people walk. Slip resistant flooring treatment stays on the tiles surface in high-traffic areas. The slip resistant treatment is an option because it does not wear away like wax or paint would.

3. Breathability

Stone and grout need to breathe so that moisture vapor can get out. If you put a coating on stone and grout it can trap moisture. This can cause problems like efflorescence or damage to the tile.. If you use a special kind of treatment that is very small it will leave the pores in the stone and grout open. This is good, for the stone and grout because it helps keep them healthy. Stone and grout stay healthy when they can breathe.

The Importance of Professional Application

The science may seem easy to understand. The chemistry of stone cleaning is actually very delicate. You have to be careful with types of stones, like limestone or ceramic because they need special cleaning solutions that are balanced just right. If you use the chemical on a stone it can damage the stone too much which ruins the way it looks or it might not even work very well because it does not make enough tiny holes in the stone.

People who own businesses often choose to get an Anti Slip Floor & Tile Treatment Solution. This is because a professional technician knows how long it takes to get everything right so the floor is not too slippery and it still looks good. The technician understands that Anti-Slip Floor & Tile Treatment Solution needs time to work properly so they can find the balance between making sure the floor is not slippery and keeping it looking nice. Anti-Slip Floor & Tile Treatment Solution is important, for businesses.

Maintaining Your Anti Slip Floor

People often think that an anti-slip floor is easy to take care of and does not need any maintenance.. If you look really closely at an anti-slip floor you will see that the tiny things that stop you from slipping can get blocked. They get blocked with things, like grease and dirt and soap scum. An anti-slip floor still needs to be cleaned so that it can keep doing its job.

When the tiny holes, in the floor get clogged up with dirt and stuff the floor does not grip like it should. It gets slippery again.. You do not need to do anything fancy to fix this problem. The micro-pores just need a really good cleaning. You should use a kind of cleaner that gets rid of grease not a floor wax. The floor wax is not good because it fills up the holes but the degreaser is good because it removes the grease and oil and that helps the tiny holes work properly again. The micro-pores need to be clean so they can do their job.

Sustainability and Safety

In the world of architecture today sustainability is really important. Some special treatments that you can not see are better for the earth than epoxies. The special treatments do not need to be applied as times and they do not release bad chemicals into the air like some non-slip tile coatings do. Non-slip tile coatings can be very bad for the earth because they release organic compounds or VOCs for short into the air when they are applied. Sustainability is the goal and non-slip tile coatings are not always the best choice, for sustainability.

Creating slip flooring is a big part of making spaces safe for everyone like the elderly, children and people with mobility issues. This is what they call Universal Design. We can make floors safer, by changing them at a small level. This way we can make spaces that’re good for everyone without making them look bad. We want Universal Design to be a part of architecture so it looks nice and is safe for people to use.

The science of making floors not slippery when you can not see it is really cool. It is like a team work of chemistry and physics. We know that a floor can look smooth. It is not really smooth. So we use a way to make tiny holes in the floor and that makes the floor not slippery. This way the floor is safe, for people. It still looks nice.

If you own a restaurant. You are worried about kitchen spills or if you are a homeowner with a really nice but slippery marble bathroom the answer is in something very small that you cannot see. You do not have to put rubber mats all over your nice floors. When you pick a slip-resistant flooring treatment you are getting a safety net that you cannot see but it is very important, for your safety when you walk. The slip-resistant flooring treatment is a choice because it helps prevent falls and it is not noticeable. You can still have floors and they will be safe to walk on with a slip resistant flooring treatment.

When you want to make your surfaces better you should get help from a Friction Testing & Issue Certificate Expert to make sure everything is okay. The thing is, real safety is not just about what the floor looks like it is about how the floor works, even at a level that people can not see with their eyes. You need to think about how the Friction Testing  Issue Certificate Expert can help you with your surfaces and make them safer, for everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. So I was wondering if an anti-slip floor treatment will affect the color of my grout. I mean will the floor treatment change the color of my grout. Will it stay the same. The floor treatment is supposed to make my floor safer. I do not want it to change the color of my grout.

No that is not what happens. The treatment works on the silica and minerals in the tile. It does not really change how the grout looks.. When you use it the treatment really gets into the surface and makes it clean. So your tile grout may look a lot cleaner and brighter after you use the treatment on the tile and the silica and minerals in the tile. The treatment is good for the silica and minerals, in the tile.

2. How long does a microscopic slip resistant flooring treatment last?

These treatments can last for years in a home. It is usually 3 to 5 years or more. This depends on how many people walk on the floor.

In places, like hotels or malls you should have someone check the floor every year. This person should be a professional. They need to make sure the floor is not too slippery. The friction levels have to be safe.

3. I want to know if I can put a non-slip tile coating on a floor that has already been treated. Can I really apply a non slip tile coating over a treated floor?

We do not think this is an idea. The main idea of a treatment is to keep the holes in the surface open so they can suck things in. If you put a kind of coating on top it will fill in those tiny holes and the treatment will not work. You should pick one way to do things or the other way. Not both. The treatment is meant to keep the pores open to create suction so do not cover them up with a coating. Always choose to use either a treatment or a coating. Do not use both at the same time.

4. Is the treatment process messy or loud?

Not at all. The process of creating an anti slip floor via chemical treatment is relatively quiet and quick. The solution is applied, allowed to dwell for a specific amount of time, and then neutralized and rinsed away. Most floors are ready for foot traffic immediately after the service is completed.