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| ABOUT |
Ceramic tiles are the hard surface flooring of choice
for areas where the greatest slip-fall hazards exist and
the most foot traffic. This creates the greatest number
of slip and fall flooring incidents. It is second only
to family bathtubs, which creates unacceptable, slippery
and soapy conditions for elderly, infirm, medicated,
intoxicated and unwary persons.
Slippery pool deck tiles
are commonly the most misunderstood and feared condition
facing property managers, parks boards, janitorial
services, residential and public works people. When an
architect originally selects the ceramic tile, it is to
provide a surface with the ability to maintain a
sanitary environment, ease of cleaning and maintenance,
chemical resistance, slip-resistance, a long
service-span, etc. Quality vitrified ceramic tiles have
durability attributes that last. It's unnecessary to
prematurely replace tiles. Often a simple rejuvenation
or housekeeping is all that needs to be performed.
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SANITARY
ENVIRONMENT |
Clean ceramic tiles will not provide a surface for
bacteria, algae, or fungi or any other organic materials
to grow. Even the pH level of grout joints is 11 and
they are denser, harder, and far more resistant than may
be suggested by some. They will not be affected by
periodic acidic treatments. Even the manufacturers
provide "Sulfamic" acid cleaning treatment; however,
acid is NOT a practical recommendation for repeated
cleaning, using higher acidic or vinegar solutions. This
is commonly recommended in janitorial and maintenance
manuals but is unacceptable for both the tile and grout.
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CHEMICAL
RESISTANCE |
Tiles are specifically manufactured with this attribute
in mind. They do not include materials other than
inorganic and vitrified (glass-like) mineral components.
The primary element used is quartz. Quartz is highly
chemical and acid resistant. Even laboratory beakers are
composed from similar minerals.
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SLIP
RESISTANCE |
This is one of the key issues facing ceramic tile. No
hard mineral surface remains slip-resistant permanently,
not without some periodic rejuvenation. The ceramic tile
manufacturers go to added lengths to produce and have
tested tiles in accordance with industry standards and
slip-fall requirements.
Most pool deck tiles are unglazed, mosaics extruded
clinker or dust pressed porcelains. They have a
service-span of hundreds of years. The substrate and
building construction will usually start to deteriorate
long before the ceramic tiles. Even several Roman baths
are still working 2000 years later with the original
tiles. Tiles have been installed for thousands of years
using cementitious materials. There's no need for
anything more than thin-set and standard cementitious
grout. In the county borough of "Bath" in Somerset,
England there are medicinal springs noted since Roman
times and which were very fashionable in the 18th
century, a time of much of it's architecture.
Our point is that these are popular, even today, baths
have been there for centuries with nothing but cement
materials used to bond and fill the mosaic joints. Stick
with these materials and their most historically recent
chemical improvements and you can't be wrong.
A product such as the Safe Solution® anti slip treatment
will rejuvenate the ceramic surface to their original
slip-resistant characteristics. In addition, tiles that
are specified incorrectly can be altered to provide an
acceptable slip-resistance without needing to remove
them. This is a considerably different process than
heavy scoring, sandblasting, harsher multi-acidic
etching, grooving, etc., which damage tile surfaces.
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EASE OF
CLEANING |
There are rough, sandpaper-like tiles on the market.
These are unnecessary to provide adequate fall
prevention. In fact, all such tiles will only create
cleaning difficulties and become a trip-fall hazard. The
purchase of a good quality, smooth surfaced unglazed
mosaic or floor tile pavers is all that is needed.
For daily cleaning, use a quality cleaning solution,
such as: the Clean Step™, which has specifically been
designed for cleaning tiles and has a pH compatible with
the grout joints. The nature and formulation of the
'Maintenance Solution' allows it to act also as a
superior general high performance cleaner on most all
surfaces.
The 'Clean Step™' is a non-caustic formulation that will
also not harm pool filters. It is fully compatible with
any pool environment. Regardless, it should clean a
surface and be flushed away. Any residues will be
insignificant and harmless if entering a pool.
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LONG
SERVICE-SPAN |
Pool decks are predominantly unglazed, mosaics extruded
clinker or dust pressed porcelains. They do not have a
glaze that wears out. Quality tiles are uniform
throughout their bisque or biscuit (body) and have a
hardness of Mohs 7. They are between 9 to 12.5
millimeters thick. Normal footwear will remove about 65
microns of surface within a 2 to 3 year lifespan of the
tile, but pool decks are virtually unaffected by
footwear. Subjected to extremely light traffic, regular
maintenance and cleaning conditions, a quality unglazed
ceramic tile on a pool deck has a lifespan of between
450 to 625 years. Rejuvenation of the pool deck surface
is all that is needed every 7 to 15 years.
Treatment and maintenance of these unglazed tiles is not
a problem and visually is unnoticeable, other than the
improved slip-resistance. They are designed to last and
to provide the long-term easy maintenance and
slip-resistant surface for wet traffic environments.
Ceramic tiles, simply by their unique properties, have
the ability to provide extended service dynamics.
Replacement is not always the best solution.
Everything depends on "location, foot traffic, and
cleaning regimen".
In the typical Commercial Kitchen, the normal life
between maintenance is about two to three years. It will
only wear out as the tile itself wears out.
We provide a cleaning and Clean Step™ that maximizes
both the safety and longevity.
In applications around Swimming Pools, the maintenance
life could be as long as 10 years, simply because bare
feet will not wear the surface down as fast and the
cleaning activities and surface residues are far less
than in a kitchen environment.
For a Shopping Center's Exterior Entrance, the
maintenance life may be only several months, depending
on the hardness of the tile and surface dirt. This is
the most challenging area. Ceramic tiles are made from
silicate, based materials. The sand and grit found in
dirt, often tracked over the area, can act as an
abrasive that will defy treatment longevity. If kept
clean and swept, and properly maintained, the treatment
will remain considerably longer.
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