Hi everyone,
Welcome to my first blog of 2017 (Business has been so busy lately!).
This week I will be addressing issues surrounding floor safety.
Slips, Trips and Falls were responsible for more than half of all major/specified seven-day injuries to employees in 2013/14 (RIDDOR). The statistics show that floor safety is a big problem here in the UK.
However, 4Earth Cleaning Supplies are here to help. This blog will outline 6 simple ways in which you can reduce slip accidents at home or in your business.
One: Get the correct flooring for the application
This may seem like a pretty obvious thing to be saying but you wouldn't believe the amount of floors we come across day to day that have been specified incorrectly. One call in particular stands out, in which a washroom for a disabled person with very limited mobility had had a polished porcelain floor installed in it. For those who don't know, polished porcelain is pretty much one step down from glass when it comes to slip resistance when wet.
It pays to shop around and get the correct flooring for the job it needs to do.
TOP TIP: Don't listen to R-Ratings when it comes to slip resistance - only ask for what the floor scores in terms of WET PTV (pendulum test Value) - this should be no lower than 36!
Two: Keep floors clean
Floor cleanliness is one of the biggest reason why floors become dangerous when wet. Even floors that have an anti slip treatment or coating applied to them.
If a floor is dirty, your foot is not touching the actual floor surface, its touching the layer of dirt on top. This can make all the difference when it comes to slip resistance. In our experience this can be the difference between a safe floor and a dangerous floor.
Make sure your floors are cleaned on a regular basis using a cleaning product that doesn't leave too much slippy residue on the floor, which leads me to my next point.....
Three: Rinse off cleaning chemicals
Rinsing down your floors after you've cleaned them is very important. Especially if you use a cleaning product that leaves a residue on the floor.
We have a number of different cleaning products for that work on floors but we only advise to use a couple of them when it comes to floor safety, this is beca
use of what they leave behind which can sometimes be more slippy than the dirt its cleaning from the floor.
It is so important to rinse your floors with clean fresh water after every clean. You might not think it but you will feel a big difference under foot!
Four: Keep floors dry
This is a no brainer really. If there is a spill or someone drops something like a piece of orange or a grape, these things are dangerous.
It is good practice to deal with the issue right away and not leave any time for someone to slip and fall. Remember, if you're mopping up a spill, make sure the floor is left bone dry before you leave the area.
Five: Anti slip treatments & coatings
Somewhat of a last resort for some floors is application of an anti slip treatment or coating. We apply these on a weekly basis up and down the country to floors that are or already have caused a lot of problems. Sadly we find that some of the places we visit have had their hand forced into dealing with their slip issues on the back of a compensation claim, rather than identifying the problem and sorting it before an injury occurs.
There are a number of anti slip treatments and coatings on the market at present and you can likely find a treatment that will match your floor.
Six: Maintain
Finally, once you have implemented the points above, its simply a matter of keeping on top of your floors cleanliness and safety.
4Earth Cleaning Supplies are available for advice on floor safety and we can even visit your premises to conduct a floor safety test if you are worried about your floor safety. All of our details can be found in the contact section of our website.
Hopefully you have picked up a few vital hints and tips from this blog and now your floors can be safer than ever!
Thanks for reading,
4Earth James