How Do I Make My Polished Concrete Floors Slip Resistant?

So How Do I Make My Polished Concrete Floors Slip Resistant?

As a general rule Mechanically Polished Concrete Floors are slip resistant – but like many other flooring options it will be slippery when wet. If you need flooring that is non-slip we would recommend doing a Grind and Seal or another type of coating such as epoxy.

Real Polished Concrete is naturally quite non-slip under bare feet anyway. Simply keeping your Polished Concrete Floor free of dust helps keep it non-slip even when wearing shoes. If you have a grind and seal, which is a replica form of Polished Concrete, in the topcoat of the sealer, a non-slip grit or non-slip additive can be added to help prevent slipping.

However, please keep in mind that this non-slip additive does wear away over time. After about 12 – 18 months, you will probably start to need more non-slip grit. Unless you want high gloss outside, we recommend that you choose our Honed finish for your outdoor floors. Honed finishes will not require frequent non-slip grit and are also much easier to clean.

Below we are going to go discuss:
1) Why Aren’t Polished Concrete Floors Slippery
2) How Do You Make Polished Concrete Floors Less Slippery

Why Aren’t Polished Concrete Floors Slippery?

– Easy To Clean: Clean floors are up to 20 times less slippery than floors with contaminants on their surface. Polished concrete is extremely easy to keep clean! Because of their uniform surface, robot vacuums and microfiber mops are all that are needed to clean residential polished concrete floors. For commercial applications, walk-behind or ride-on floor scrubbers are generally recommended because they can clean large areas very quickly.

– High Coefficient Of Friction: Because of their high coefficient of friction, polished concrete floors are 20% to 50% more slip-resistant than the national standard for a low slip floor. In physics, the coefficient of friction measures the resistance of motion between two surfaces relative to the force (gravity) holding the two surfaces together. This is measured as a number between 0 and 1, where larger numbers indicate more slip resistance.

While this might sound pretty technical, what’s important to note is that the national standard for a non-slip floor is .42. In other words, on a non-slip floor, at least 42% of one’s weight must be converted into grip between your shoes and the floor. The coefficient of friction for polished concrete floors is between .49 and .59 depending on the details of the installation. This is the reason why polished concrete floors are incredibly safe, whether in a residential, retail, or industrial installation.

– Safer Floors For Retail And Residential: America’s largest installers of polished concrete floors, such as Home Depot and Costco, use our installation because of its high slip resistance. In the United States, slip-related injury lawsuits cost businesses more than 80 billion dollars a year. Even when wet, polished concrete floors offer significantly higher slip resistance than tile or wood floors. When installed properly, polished concrete flooring reduces slip and fall liabilities and insurance costs for business owners.

How Do You Make Polished Concrete Less Slippery?

– Routine Cleaning: Government tests show that clean concrete floors are nearly 20 times less likely to cause slip and fall accidents and injuries than dirty floors.

– Absorptive Rugs: Even in a very high-traffic area, there is no need to use rubber mats. However, absorptive rugs can dramatically reduce slip incidents in indoor spaces prone to standing water.

– Non-Skid Additives: Apply a concrete sealer with glass beads or sand for added grip. These finishes offer tons of grip for the most demanding installations such as restaurant kitchens or veterinary offices.

– Anti-Slip Conditioners For Polished Concrete: Mop on an anti-slip grip additive such as SlipDoctors Polish Grip. There’s no quicker or easier solution than a slip-resistant coating to make wet surfaces safer.

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