On the coatings front, there are two classes of products that exist. The first is floor finishes that contain visible particles (sand like compound) in the 40 to 80 micron size range. While our lab found that these coatings do increase the slip resistance of a surface by up to 40%, they also found the products very difficult to apply and maintain, making them almost unusable under most circumstances. Problems exhibited include:

• Application with a roller is recommended. A mop and bucket application causes most of the particles to fall out before they get to the floor.
• Gloss is severely affected since it's a function of smoothness and cleanliness of a surface.
• Cleaning with a mop is very difficult because the mop fibers are readily torn by the particles. This makes cleaning almost impossible.
• Same for auto-scrubbers equipped with cleaning pads. Scrubbers equipped with brushes produce acceptable results.
• Burnishing eliminates any gain in slip resistance since it removes the particulate material and smoothes the floor.
• Floors with these coatings attract dirt rapidly and are next to impossible to keep clean.
• Foot traffic reduces the effectiveness of the particle through abrasion. Frequent stripping and reapplication is necessary to maintain the elevated slip resistance.

The other class of coatings are those with microscopic particles. They range in size from 1 to 3 microns. They are usually added to standard floor finishes. Our floor finish chemists found the following:

• The microscopic particles did not show any increase in slip resistance. In fact, one of the products tested barely passed the James Machine standard, coming in at 0.5.
• Gloss is reduced, although not as much when compared to large particle products.
• These products can be maintained like regular floor finish.
• They perform no differently than a standard floor finish. In fact, most of Essential's finishes have higher slip values on the same James Machine.
  

On the cleaner/restorer front, new products claim to fill pores, eliminate stripping, increase slip resistance when wet, etc. In testing these items in our lab we observed the following:

• All restorer products recommend burnishing after use.
• Burnishing is the key to increasing slip resistance. All the products tested show a slight increase with the James Machine before burnishing but then show an appreciable increase after burnishing.
• Claims of increases in slip resistance even when wet cannot be validated. There is no test protocol that has been approved by either ASTM D-21 (James Machine) or UL to validate these claims.
• On balance, these products appear to be standard cleaners or restorers with slip claims on the label.

All of Essential's cleaners and restorers show a dramatic increase in slip resistance when used according to directions. The chart to the left shows increases in slip resistance from 16% to 32% depending on the product used. So if you are looking for products that can improve the slip resistance of your floors, look no further than Essential's cleaner, restorer and finish line. Our products are safe underfoot and competitively priced.