Hot Tips (Flooring)

Flooring for Safety

• By Kendall Speer Ellis
• 07/01/17

Is it possible to get students to stop running in halls? That’s not our expertise, but here is what we do know. It is possible to make floors safer in the event a student is rushing to class, running to catch up with friends or sprinting to the cafeteria on pizza day. Rubber flooring can help keep students safer and school environments healthier too.

How? Rubber flooring is slip-resistant and is available in sheet and tile, as well as stair treads for steps. The rubber surface is resilient and flexible so students and staff stay surefooted. Even when floors are wet from spills or snow and rain-soaked shoes and boots, they remain moisture resistant and very easy to clean. In some cases the profile is also available in an embossed round design for additional texture.

Safety isn’t just about slip resistance. When it comes to flooring there are hygiene and environmental health factors to consider. Many brands of rubber flooring are resistant to fungi and bacteria and are stain resistant; smoke and fire resistant, too. And this type of flooring can be a comprehensive healthy choice for materials in a facility because some rubber flooring is FloorScore certified, PVC free and has low VOC emissions. Finally, rubber flooring absorbs noise, providing excellent acoustical performance, critical in learning environments.

Slip-and-fall prevention, cleanliness, noise reduction and smart designs are all considerations facility planners and administrators must evaluate. Choosing flooring does not need to be complicated. Rubber flooring is available in a wide range of colors, patterns and profiles to deliver both performance and design for corridors, cafeterias, classrooms, science labs, stairwells and restrooms.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .