Since Safety Direct America introduced its popular transparent anti-slip floor coating, SparkleTuff™, in September of 2016, we’ve fielded questions from thousands of prospective customers. Here are the most popular ones. 1. Will it adhere to my flooring (epoxy, vinyl, wood, tile, marble, granite, glass, etc.)? Yes. We have yet to find a flooring type that … Continue reading “Your Questions About SparkleTuff™ Transparent Anti-Slip Floor Coating”
Category: Slip and fall prevention
Outdoor Test Shows Cleanability of SparkleTuff™ Transparent Anti-Slip Floor Coating
In order to demonstrate the cleanability of transparent SparkleTuff™ (“Sparkle-tough”) Anti-Slip floor coating, we placed seven contaminants on the surface of a porcelain tile coated with SparkleTuff™, as shown in Fig. 1. They are, clockwise from top left, black coffee (a long patch): cabernet sauvignon red wine; yellow mustard; mud from amended adobe (clay) soil; … Continue reading “Outdoor Test Shows Cleanability of SparkleTuff™ Transparent Anti-Slip Floor Coating”
Flooring for Dementia-Friendly Environments
Several million Americans are suffering from dementia for which there is as yet no known prevention or cure. For people living with dementia, a slip, trip or fall can seriously impede their physical health as well as their confidence and mobility. Flooring has an important role in creating a safe environment. The Dementia Services Development … Continue reading “Flooring for Dementia-Friendly Environments”
Detailed Information on Our Abrasive Anti-Slip Tapes
Occasionally a customer asks what the “grit size” is for our self-adhesive Safety Grip abrasive anti-slip tapes. The numbers are mostly irrelevant for reasons discussed below, but here they are together with their wet Pendulum Test Values (PTV): Standard Safety Grip is roughly equivalent to 60 grit abrasive paper: wet PTV = 71 (using TRL … Continue reading “Detailed Information on Our Abrasive Anti-Slip Tapes”
Anti-slip Handrail Grip Tapes are Non-abrasive and great for Indoors or Outdoors
Slips on stairs can be very serious and sometimes fatal. Our self-adhesive anti-slip tapes on stair treads or SparkleTuff™ transparent anti-slip floor coating on stairs can make them slip resistant and can protect against foot slips, but self-adhesive, non-abrasive grip tape on the handrail can provide valuable “insurance” against slips in high-risk areas at a very … Continue reading “Anti-slip Handrail Grip Tapes are Non-abrasive and great for Indoors or Outdoors”
SparkleTuff™ Transparent Anti-Slip Floor Coating Has Outstanding Chemical Resistance, Zero VOCs
We are sometimes asked if SparkleTuff™, our long-lasting transparent anti-slip floor coating with excellent wet slip resistance, has good resistance to chemicals and cleaning/sanitizing agents. It does! It even stands up well to concentrated sulfuric and hydrochloric acids, ethanol, and sodium and ammonium hydroxides! SparkleTuff™ Anti-Slip Floor Coating is a polysiloxane, a type of coating … Continue reading “SparkleTuff™ Transparent Anti-Slip Floor Coating Has Outstanding Chemical Resistance, Zero VOCs”
Suggested Specifications for Lifetime Slip Resistance of Flooring
When we’re buying new automobile tires we’d like to know not only that the tires are good at the time of purchase, but that they will have a reasonably long lifetime for us. Michelin, for instance, offers models with mileage warranties (within a time limit) from 36,000 to 80,000 miles. When buying slip-resistant flooring, customers … Continue reading “Suggested Specifications for Lifetime Slip Resistance of Flooring”
CoatingsPro article: How to Specify a Slip-Resistant Floor Coating
An article in the March 2020 edition of CoatingsPro™ Magazine details how to specify an anti-slip floor coating, specifically a transparent one. (A printable version of the article is also available.) After establishing a reliable method to determine wet slip resistance, the article discusses initial slip resistance safety criteria; durability testing of the coating’s slip … Continue reading “CoatingsPro article: How to Specify a Slip-Resistant Floor Coating”
U.S. Senate Bipartisan Report: Falls Kill an American Senior Every 19 minutes
Lest we think that the U.S. Senate is capable only of partisan wrangling, the bipartisan Senate Aging Committee has published a report on falls prevention in efforts to protect those 65 and over from injury and premature death. Every 11 seconds an older American is treated in an emergency room for a fall. Every 19 … Continue reading “U.S. Senate Bipartisan Report: Falls Kill an American Senior Every 19 minutes”
Germany’s DIN 51130 Slip Test: What’s it Good For?
In Europe, a slip resistance test for flooring is prescribed by German Institute for Normalization (DIN) standard DIN 51130. A person wearing industrial-type treaded shoes walks, facing down slope, on a variable-angle ramp which has the flooring to be tested on it. The flooring is coated with motor oil. The walker (without holding the handrails) … Continue reading “Germany’s DIN 51130 Slip Test: What’s it Good For?”