Anti Slip Solutions – Putting Safety First

Like Aerosmith, Rawlins Paints encourages you to ‘walk this way’ and read our guide to anti slip solutions and products available in the UK. Find out how to stay steady on your feet with anti-slip floor paint, or how to add that extra layer of grip to steps and stairwells with anti-slip GRP products and anti-slip tape. It couldn’t be simpler to turn your potential health and safety nightmare into a regulation meeting workspace. Follow these simple ‘steps’ and stay safe on your feet.

Do I need anti-slip products if I have good grips on my soles?

Anyone who has tried to walk on an ice-rink in a pair of steel toe-capped shoes or Dr Martin boots will know that falling down hurts. That extra tough grip cannot work if there is nothing to grip to. Your feet may not hurt when you come crashing down to earth, but the rest of your body will, and if you’re carrying a heavy load, the outcome could be devastating.

Anti-slip paint is a simple solution to a legally liable situation, where there are more law firms chasing cases with scientific testing methods of a surface’s grip than is worth overlooking for the sake of saving refurbishment costs.

Nearly all workplaces use equipment whose wheels have grip tread, and much the same as ARMY boots on sheet ice, they still need something to grip to. Lifting equipment, storage cages and more can at times restrict visibility and require a safety solution, so regardless of whether you have the right shoes for the job, employers must provide adequate surfaces for this equipment to be used on.

From TESCO to the local greengrocers, most retail stores and shops have dispatch and load-in entrances, often exposed to all kinds of weather when unloading is taking place. Because of this, an anti-slip solution is required – a durable and hard wearing surface coating.

As well as it being anti-slip, this protective coating allows for quick ‘sweeping’ or mopping up of pools of water with industrial scale cleaners or abrasive cleaning chemicals – always remove traces of water pools and keep surfaces as dry as possible to prevent excessive stress and damage occurring to the surface (blistering/peeling). Therefore, in retail, regardless of whether you wear steel toe-capped boots with enough grip to climb Everest, the floor must have an additional layer of grip to it.

What does anti-slip floor paint do?

Top level, anti-slip or non-slip floor paint contains ‘grit’ (either by an additional substance/additive in the paint coating or chemical enhancement) to increase the friction of a surface. As an anti slip solution, it can be used internally or externally, in environments including walkways, forecourts, office restroom facilities, laboratories, nursery play areas, car park stairwells, gymnasiums and other sporting facilities. It is especially beneficial in wet conditions and where chemicals or liquids may be spilled – such as kitchens or canteens.

Anti-slip floor coatings can be clear or coloured, paint or varnish, and applied by brush or roller. Drying time varies product to product – from being touch dry to fully cured (a solid state rather than being dry and still pliable).

It cannot be stressed enough the importance of having an anti-slip solution in place, preventing slips and falls in public areas, be that shops, hospitals, school corridors or residential nursing homes. As described on our anti-slip floor paint product section, there is a legal requirement for the safety of employees and residents by providing adequate ‘gripped’ floor coatings. Slip resistance testing is the science of measuring the coefficient of friction – as taken from a Wikipedia entry. This test can be actioned by employers when a slip or fall has occurred.

Non-slip floor paint can also be used domestically, in bathrooms or kitchens, as well as in commercial, public/private sector or industrial environments. Also known as anti-skid paint, Jotun Jota Armour is ideal for ramps and in places where wheelchair access is provided.

What about cold surfaces?

Anti-slip floor paints are designed for most surface environments, but for cold environments, like walk-in freezers for example, where temperatures cannot be changed to allow sufficient drying times, there are Winter Grade versions available, including Jotun Jota Armour’s WG floor paint.

What surfaces can anti-slip floor paint be used on?

Manufacturer technology is so advanced in 2016 that most anti slip solutions and products can be used across varying surfaces and different products are no longer needed to coat concrete, brick, wood, plastic, asphalt, metal or fibreglass surfaces. All products listed on Rawlins Paints come with surface recommendations, but if you need to double check that a product is suitable for a project you are working on, we are available to take your call Monday to Saturday and will be happy to contact the manufacturer or provide data-sheets for any further information required.

Do I have to do the whole floor? What if I can’t?

This is where anti-slip GRP or non-slip tape comes in extremely handy. For stairwells, doorsteps and decking, stair tread covers, such as this or anti-slip AND luminous stair nosing, seen here, are ideal. They are available in hi-vis colours and in varying lengths and depths.

Also available are anti-slip flat plates, which can be placed over critical areas, such as where storage cages and trolleys are stored.

For decking, Rawlins Paints have a range of convex decking strips (50mm or 100mm) which can be attached to decking to give a slightly raised grip layer, as far apart as you want to install them (for example, across the full decking or just around the edges). These strips are ideal for slippery areas close to water, or where moss, algae or mould may be a slippery and hazardous problem.

If you need a high quality ramp, either for permanent use, or that can be transported, look no further than these products:

• Rust-Oleum’s aluminium portable access ramp
• Rust-Oleum’s fibreglass threshold access ramp
• Rust-Oleum’s fibreglass standard access ramp

Similar to anti-slip GRP, which is placed over the edges of steps, anti-slip tape is placed along the edges or further inward. Available in rolls, clear or in hazard colours, edge sealer can also be purchased to improve the adhesive qualities and durability of the tape.

Anti-slip product recap

All anti-slip solutions – paints, GRP and tape products – sold at Rawlins Paints have been tested by the manufacturers in varying environments and whilst there is no one product that fits all situations, our full range covers 99% of situational needs. If there is something specific you require and do not know how to search for it, what it may be called or cannot see it on our site, please contact us by phone or email and we will be happy to find or make recommendations for what you need.

For durability, safety and to do the hard work for you, shop at Rawlins Paints’ anti-slip product section and stay safe in any condition, indoors or out, and under any amount of stress, from one-person footfall to a football stadium’s Saturday turn-out.