Might seem stupid but how Non-slip vinyl should non-slip vinyl be?

jonnywells

Ive had my bathroom and en-suite ripped out and replaced.

There was carpet in both before and i though i would go for something different. Also had all my upstairs carpets replaced.

I brought it all from a local carpet firm and although i brought the vinyl from there shop stock roll they guaranteed me it was non-slip like the ones in the books.

But in the last 2 weeks my g/f has twice about broke a bone getting out the shower (small step down) and slipped badly on the floor.

My question to you lot is non-slip just a "selling" thing and really it dont mean much or do i have grounds to go back to the shop and voice my concerns?

webwalker

Non slip means high friction, you should not be able to easily slide your DRY foot along the floor, wet soapy feet are a different matter. Put a bath mat down and that should solve the problem.

jonnywells

Right, i was under the impression that it ment non-slip when wet......

andrew-b

Like you I would have hoped that non-slip meant non-slip when dry and wet ..but whether that is the case or not i don't know.

Are you getting out of the shower directly onto the vinyl or onto bath mat on top of the vinyl? From my own experience of bathrooms with vinyl floors i find it much safer with a bath mat down (so long as mat does not have a smooth backing).

I think i would go back to the shop and find out what they will do about it. I'd mention "not fit for purpose" and bring up that they guaranteed you it was non-slip.

In the meantime be careful getting in/out of the shower and put a suitable mat down before one of you breaks something!

I was going to go for non-slip vinyl for our own bathroom - now i might stick to carpet so thanks for drawing this to my attention as you may save me breaking something!

Andy

jonnywells

I use to use a matt when it was carpetted.

Trouble with carpet is it goes manky. Although never had to worry about slipping on it

andrew-b

jonnywells wrote: »

Trouble with carpet is it goes manky.

Yep that's what puts me off putting carpet back in the bathroom. There was carpet in our bathroom when we moved in but we always had bath and toilet mats down. The toilet cistern used to drip condensation down on it though and made it go mouldy at that point despite. New concealed cistern is insulated with polystyrene though so we shouldn't have that won't be a problem again. As i'm susceptible to falling over i'm thinking maybe carpet would be a safer option despite it's problems and just keep replacing when needed.

Andy

jonnywells

I think i might pop into the shop tomorrow and see whats what.

I the end if i want to i can have carpet put down at there is ALOT of carpet waste and easy enough to do the 2 room if required.

jonnywells

Any more on this?

illzlee

commercial vinyl flooring has measured slip resistence test data in the technical specification, this is done wet and dry using a pendulum device (too technical to explain fully and for me to really understand )

but, safety flooring and so-called anti-slip can vary greatly between manufacturers and even different ranges. was the flooring sold as bathroom anti-slip or for use in a wet room/environment?

aliasojo

I agree with illzlee, there is a big variation in what's classed as non slip. We've been looking at vinyl for ages for our kitchen and eventually bought Rhinofloor. (Rhinogrip) There was a marked difference between this and some of the other versions we looked at. You'd have to polish the floor with grease or oil before you'd slip on this stuff.

What is Rhinogrip?

As featured in the all Rhinofloor ranges including Rhinofloor Options and Rhinofloor Choice.

Rhinofloor has a textured surface, an enhanced Rhinoguard, offering the same high resistance to dirt & stains, but now improved with a lower potential for slip when wet. Rhinofloor ranges carry 20 year guarantee, Rhinofloor Options 15 years and Rhinofloor choice 10 years. Our two new ranges for 2008 Rhinofloor Aspects and UR Home both carry a 10 year guarantee.

I did wonder if the fact they had used the words I've highlighted, meant it wasn't all that non slip when wet before iyswim.

Anyway, I'd go back and query it with the store. Ask which manufacturer made it and query it with them too if you are not happy with the store response.

In the meantime, looks like mats or a wooden duckboard might be the way to go?