Top 10 Benefits of Anti-Slip Mats You Never Knew Before

A hard floor can be dangerous when wet. Slips and falls are common accidents that can result in severe injury or death if precautions are not taken. As a property owner or tenant, you do not want these incidents to occur on your property.

Certain areas of your home, including paths, bathrooms, toilets, kitchens, and balconies, are often at risk from damp floors. Wet floors or slippery bath and shower trays are among the leading causes of toilet and bathroom accidents, especially among the elderly, people with disabilities and pregnant women.

Incidentally, the abovementioned areas are among the most used in any home. Whether it’s raining, you have a wet bathroom when you shower, or someone accidentally spilled something on the floor or mopped the floor, the floor is wet. It can lead to unwanted complications.

You can easily avoid these pitfalls if you know what precautions to take. There are many ways to reduce floor slippage – using anti-slip mats on hard floors is the most common and easiest way.

Many companies offer quality mats to help reduce the slippage of the floor. Let’s list some advantages showing that floor mats are your best bet.

1. Safety

Anti-slip mats increase safety in wet conditions. Hard floors, including tiles and laminate, among other things, are slippery when there is water from rain or spills. In England, slips, trips and falls accounted for 40% of workplace accidents (source: HSE: Preventing Slips and trips at Work). Placing anti-slip mats in potentially wet areas can reduce the risk of injury to your employees.

Anti-slip decking mats can be fixed to the sub-floor or have a gripper backing so that the mat does not move when someone places their foot on it. The ridges on the surface also give traction, to prevent people from slipping and falling when walking on the mat, even if their shoes and the mat are wet. Anti-slip mats improve traction and move water away from the standing surface. They ensure the safety of people and workers, even if there is water or other hazards, such as oil or grease, on the floor.

2. Comfort 

Anti-slip mats also increase the productivity of your employees by providing fatigue resistance. Anti-Fatigue floor mats can be installed in areas where workers have to stand for long hours, these mats can provide leg, foot and back support. In addition, they also help prevent the adverse health effects that can result from standing on hard surfaces without mats installed.

3. Entrances

Entrance mats remove moisture and dirt from footwear at the entrance to the building which helps prevent slips and falls. Walking down any UK high street in wet weather, you will often see ‘Caution Wet Floor’ signs adorning the entrances to shops, suggesting they haven’t got adequate matting in place. The mats need to be large enough to remove all of the water on footwear and wheeled traffic, as well as effective enough to remove, hold and store the dirt and water.

Most high traffic entrances, such as those found in shops, need at least 3 metres of matting length.

4. Workplace vs Domestic Mats

Various types of mats can be used in workplaces. For example, thick comfort mats significantly reduce fatigue in multiple situations.

Comfort mats are designed for jobs where workers have to stand a lot, but they can equally be used in the home, such as in the laundry room, kitchen or bathroom. Domestic comfort mats are generally softer, more flexible and not designed for heavy work or work where people are standing in one place for a long time each and every day.

Workplace heavy duty comfort mats tend to have extra length or additional features such as holes to allow water to pass through in a wet or a humid environment and into drainage. They are more suited for environments with a lot of activity, such as leisure facilities, workshops, garages, factories, restaurants and kitchens.

Such mats are made taking into account the physical needs of the workers. They are designed to be used when your employees need to stand in one place for many hours to provide back, leg, knee and hip support.

In addition, this matting method prevents adverse health effects – such as muscle, joint and spinal weakness and movement problems – from standing on hard surfaces with little or no foot support.

Similarly, if your employees have to stand on cold concrete floors, a good mat can be a good insulator for their health and heating costs. This comfort can lead to increased productivity, safety and satisfaction for your employees.

In most cases, anti-fatigue mats require minimal maintenance and can be used for many years as long as they are properly cleaned and maintained. Wash or wipe off any dirt or water from the mat, and it’s ready for use. If using detergent to clean, check the mats are chemical resistant, so you don’t have to worry about damaging your mats through the cleaning process. In any case you should only need to use a mild detergent when cleaning mats.

6. Presentation

From an aesthetic point of view, anti-fatigue kitchen mats can improve the look of your space. They help to prevent dirt, moisture, and other food spillages from spreading onto your surrounding floor. In addition to keeping your staff safe, anti-slip mats can keep your business clean and professional.

You can choose floor mats of the desired design and colour, which will complement the building décor, decorate the interior and at the same time perform a practical function.

A custom welcome mat (with your company logo) sends a positive message to customers and potential buyers when they enter your business as well as keeping your floors safer.

7. Easy to Clean

Some carpeted mats are easy to clean with a quick once over with a vacuum cleaner to remove dust and dirt. Some are even machine washable. Workplace anti-slip mats with a solid surface can be swept, wiped down with a mop or hosed clean. Some workplace mats can be placed in dishwashers or autoclave machines if this is required and is an effective way to kill germs on the mats.

8. Industry-Specific Protection

Designed to provide safety and protection in potentially hazardous industrial environments, industrial safety mats need to be highly effective and form an important part of a risk assessment. These mats offer defence against specific hazards and hazards in the workplace. Some industries need safety mats that are welding safe. Some anti-slip mats protect workers from electrical shock and electrostatic discharge (ESD).

Along with the other benefits mentioned above, resistance against chemical, oils and grease is a common characteristic of many anti-slip mats, but one that needs to be checked if they are to be exposed to these elements. These mats have features such as nitrile rubber, a closed cell construction and drainage holes that are essential in achieving this level of stability.

10. Safety Messages

Certain types of message mats display security information. Often sold as logo mats, these mats provide safety benefits themselves but can also carry a variety of safety messages such as fire exit, one way and no-entry messaging. Walls are often clogged with signs, so the floor can be an effective medium for floor signage that gets noticed.

Bottom Line

No one likes trouble and mishaps, no matter who they happen to be. Falls, injuries, fractures, and death from slipping on wet floors are far from people’s minds as they go about their daily activities, but when they do occur they have a major impact on people’s lives and on businesses.

It is essential that everyone feels able to move around and do their work together knowing they’ll be safe. Simple but essential products like anti-slip mats can make them remain self-sufficient, confident and carefree in small but significant ways.

Slips and falls also occur in the home. With children and elderly family members, it is even more vital that you check the main areas of the house and utilise anti-slip mats where practical.

Anti-slip mats are used in various domestic situations where it is necessary to prevent slips and falls. Mats can be placed on wet or slippery surfaces, for example, along paths, around pool areas, in the kitchen, by the bath or shower door, etc., for extra safety.