Is Vinyl the Right Choice for Hospital Flooring?

Choice of flooring is one factor that many hospitals tend to overlook. The management fails to realize the importance of creating a pleasant and safe environment through the right choice of flooring.

Hospitals are expected to offer a safe and clean environment. To ensure this clean environment, it is important to install best quality flooring that is not only easy to clean and durable but also safe for the patients and hospital staff. Getting the right flooring for hospitals can be a daunting task. It should help in maintaining a clean environment but be sturdy enough to handle the heavy traffic that hospitals are prone to throughout the year. One material that meets all these requirements is vinyl. This flooring material is not only strong but also easy to maintain. This is the reason why vinyl or PVC flooring is increasingly being used in hospitals across the world. The biggest advantage of vinyl floors is that it is easy to clean. Vinyl tiles have a sealed impermeable surface which makes it easy to maintain.

Frequent cleaning of the floor with a dry mop or vacuum is sufficient; however, in order to tackle spills or wet shoes marks it is recommended to use a mop dipped in lukewarm water. Soon after mopping, the floor should be dried with a dry mop to avoid accidents caused by slipping. Ease in maintenance is one of the main reasons why vinyl is also a preferred School Flooring material.

Vinyl is a strong and durable product. It can take a lot of weight even though the material itself is light in weight. Vinyl tiles and floors are easy to install and replace. To avoid damage to this type of flooring it is advised to use protective feel on equipment’s. However, if damaged, a panel or tile can be easily replaced.

Vinyl tiles are also anti-static. Anti-static vinyl does not conduct or store static charge, keeping the equipment free of static to provide right readings. Vinyl flooring is also known to reduce sound and provide good acoustics.

Anti-slip flooring is necessary in hospitals especially in critical areas such as emergency ward and intensive care unit. Slip resistant vinyl floor helps in better movement of the staff. Hospital Flooring also needs to add up to the hospitals décor. Vinyl tiles come in different colors and patterns.

Ideally, it is recommended to have light colored walls and tiles in hospitals as it helps in detecting dirt and stains easily. However, it is not necessary to choose only white colored tiles. There are various shades in vinyl tiles that you can choose from, such as powder pink, blue or beige. There is no harm in choosing varied colors and textures; however, remember that some colors can interfere in assessment of patient’s skin tone, disorient impaired or older patients and even agitate the staff or patients to some extent. These factors should also be taken into consideration when choosing the right type of flooring material.