Laminate flooring can be slippery due to a lot of reasons, and if you’ve ever wondered how to make a laminate floor less slippery it can be quite confusing to know what the right thing to do is – but don’t worry.
The best ways to keep your laminate floor clean involve keeping it clean, using an anti-slip coating or spray and incorporating a rug with an anti-slip backing.
Keep reading to find out why exactly laminate floors get so slippery and the detailed steps you can take to reduce it.
Why Laminate Floors Get Slippery
Laminate floors are prone to being slippery primarily because of the coating that is used to seal and protect them whilst also making them appear glossy. This coating, depending on how much is applied and how strong it is, will make your laminate floor more slippery.
The general rule of thumb is that the more glossy your laminate floor appears, the more slippery it is likely to be.
Another key reason why laminate floors are slippy is because of a build-up of dust, dirt and debris. If you don’t maintain your floor properly with regular cleaning you might find yourself with a floor that is dirty and more slippery.
An unclean floor becomes more slippery because it further reduces the friction between your feet and the floor. If you’ve ever walked over your laminate floor when it hasn’t been cleaned in a while you will know all too well this feeling.
6 Ways To Make Your Laminate Floor Less Slippery
So, if floor coating and dirt and debris are the main reasons for a laminate floor becoming slippery, what steps can you take to reduce these effects?
Take a look through our 6 best tips here.
Use An Anti-Slip Coating
Lots of brands, including Bona, have created anti-slip solutions that can be applied to laminate floors to make them less slippery. These usually come in the form of a coating or a spray, which we will address later.
An anti-slip coating is applied to the entire floor similar to a floor polish or cleaner and results in a much less slippy floor. The downside to this is that your floor will appear much less glossy after this has been applied because in order to make it less slippery it has to remove some of the glossy layers that are causing it to begin with.
Use A Rug
Using a rug is more of a bandaid solution as it won’t technically make your floor less slippery, but it will appear to make it less slippery by reducing the surface area of flooring that you make contact with.
The key here is to use a rug that has a non-slip backing to it, as well as a backing that will not damage your laminate floor such as propylene. In order to do this it’s sometimes best to choose a rug pad to place beneath your rug that will not damage your floor below as well as stop it from slipping around.
The downside to this method is that it will cost quite a lot depending on the type and size of rug you choose, but it’s a great excuse to freshen up your living space.
Regular Maintenance
Perhaps the most boring option is to simply keep your laminate floor as clean as possible.
The emphasis here should be regular vacuuming which will keep the build-up of dust and dirt collecting on the surface. Stains and other marks, although harmful to your floor, generally won’t contribute to how slippy your laminate floor is – although you should also keep these to a minimum.
You’ll surprise yourself at how much of a difference it makes simply sticking to a regular cleaning schedule.
Use An Anti-Slip Spray
Anti-slip coatings can also come in the form of a spray, which is designed to be used on specific areas of flooring that are particularly slippy.
These work exactly the same as an anti-slip coating for your entire floor but are really useful if you only have a small area that you want to make less slippery. This option is more affordable and much easier to use than buying enough coating to cover an entire floor.
Wear Different Footwear
The type of footwear that you wear when walking on a laminate floor can drastically affect how slippery it is. For example, if you wear socks around the house you will find that these can make a laminate floor much more slippery to walk on.
On the other hand, if you wear slippers with a grip on the bottom then these will make it less slippery. This is an easy option because the chances are that you will have a pair of appropriate footwear around the house, it’s just a case of actually wearing them.
Use A Door Mat
A doormat is another simple solution that will catch most of the dust and dirt coming in on your shoes from outside.
This will keep your laminate floor cleaner, and ultimately less slippery as less dirt will build up on the surface.
Final Thoughts
We hope you now know how to keep your laminate floor less slippery using these 6 tricks.
If you know of any other ways to make a laminate floor less slippery, please let us know by contacting us here.
