Frequently Asked Questions 

1. Can I buy Non-Slip 21 or Bath-Safe 21 and apply it myself?

• Sorry, but only our professionals, trained in Great Britain, apply the treatment customized for your flooring, and then we test it in place using an instrument - and sometimes two different instruments, called tribometers - costing about $8000 each. This is essential to make sure that traction of your floor is adequate and uniform. We supply you with written results of the testing for your file to document your diligence. 

2. How much does the Non-Slip 21 treatment cost?

• Installation charge per square foot decreases as the amount of area increases. Generally, it's less than $1.00 per square foot if the area exceeds 15,000 square feet. For smaller areas, charges can range to $3.00 per square foot and sometimes higher, depending on the area and type of flooring and the location. Quarterly monitoring charges depend largely on location.

 3. My budget is tight this year. Is financing available?

• Yes. For organizations with approved credit, we can offer financing over several years.  

4. Are tax credits available?

• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) allows Disabled Access tax credits to eligible small businesses for removing barriers that prevent a business from being accessible to or usable by individuals with disabilities. Eligible expenditures don't include expenditures that are paid or incurred in connection with any facility first placed in service after November 5, 1990. Please see http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8826.pdffor forms and instructions, and check with your tax advisor, who might also know of state tax credits.

5. Can I see and touch sample results of the application on my flooring?

• If you can send us a sample of your flooring exactly as it is on the floor (including any coatings, sealers, etc.) we'll be happy to treat it and send it back to you with "before" and "after" test results. Every proposal to install Non-Slip 21 is based on a successful test, either in our laboratory or on your premises. A lab sample should consist of two or three representative pieces, but sometimes one piece is adequate.  

6. How much does the treatment reduce the risk of slipping?

• Results vary depending on the flooring, but an increase of 0.2 or more in measured dynamic coefficient of friction is not unusual. According to the best available research data this decreases the risk, or probability, of slipping by a factor of more than 10,000,000.  

7. Is acid etching an alternative to Non-Slip 21?

• Many people who have had their floors acid-etched complain that the floor becomes impossible to clean and because of this eventually loses its slip resistance, usually about 10 weeks after installation.  In addition, some inexperienced operators ruin the appearance of the floor. Acid etching is not suitable for many types of flooring, such as vinyl (VCT), wood, and epoxy. Non-Slip 21 is not an acid etch, and unlike acids can also treat many floors of those types as well as natural stone, ceramic tile, terrazzo, and concrete.

Photomicrographs show the striking difference between a ceramic tile etched with acid and the same surface treated with Non-Slip 21. The Non-Slip treatment deposits a durable polymeric honeycomb that uses suction to increase traction.

We do not use high-acidic-value chemicals in our products. If chemicals with high acidic value such as hydrofluoric acid, phosphoric acid, hypophosphorous acid, or hydrobromic acid are used as an anti-slip treatment there is a danger that they will be derogatory to the floor surface. Even in dilute form, they can also have severe adverse health effects in barefoot areas (pool decks, showers, etc.) when acids stored in the pores of grout and/or tile penetrate bare skin and muscle tissue, or when fumes are inhaled (University of Wisconsin, see www.uwm.edu/Dept/EHSRM/LAB/labHF.html).

8. The labels of the floor finish [or "wax"] and the floor sealer that I use state that they "meet ASTM D2047-99 requirements for slip resistance." Does that mean that I don't have to worry about slips on floors coated with those products?

• No. That label notice means that the coating is considered slip-resistant when clean and DRY. Flooring coated with such products may be, and frequently are, treacherous when wet. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) test the notice refers to is conducted on clean, dry flooring using a dry leather slider. It indicates absolutely nothing about wet slip resistance.

9. How do I maintain the floor after treatment with Non-Slip 21?

• Keep it clean using a floor-cleaning chemical that removes soiling and grease without leaving a slippery detergent residue. We highly recommend Steri-Kleen from Safety Direct America. It's competitive in price with other high-quality cleaners, but is unique and specially designed for preserving slip resistance while doing an outstanding job of cleaning.