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6 Best Anti-Slip Flooring for Bathroom: Tiles, mats, & non-slip coatings

by Agatha Wong  /   March 26, 2023

A guide to non-slip flooring for bathrooms.


When planning and designing bathrooms, flooring deserves special attention. Non-slip flooring is essential to ensure the bathroom is a place to feel good and relax, as water splashes can quickly make the bathroom floor slippery – and create a slipping hazard. This is particularly important for the elderly, as a fall in the bathroom can cause serious injuries.

When choosing your type of non-slip bathroom flooring, the material must be durable, withstand frequent water splashes, and preferably easy to clean. But practicality doesn’t mean dull, especially since many solutions combine style with functionality.

Here’s a rundown of the options available that guarantee sure-footedness even in wet conditions and makes bathing and showering more enjoyable for people of all ages:

Ceramic Tiles

Tiles are a classic choice in the bathroom – and it’s easy to see why, as they’re waterproof, robust and long-lasting.

Floor Tiles Anti Slip Rating: R9 to R13

However, when choosing tiles for the bathroom, check the surface’s slip resistance. Anti-Slip ratings for tiles are determined by the Oil Wet Ramp Test, where a person walks on a slippery surface wearing cleated safety boots while being held by a harness. The ramp angle is adjusted until the individual slips, generating an R-Value where R9 has the lowest slip resistance up to the highest slip resistance of R13.

Bathroom Tiles: R10 Is Recommended (medium grip, easy to clean)

Leading building material supplier, Hafary recommends R10 tiles for bathrooms, where occasional spills and wetness can occur. Within this range is Hafary’s Tendencias Cermicas brand from Spain, which has an attractive blue Denim range featuring combinable diamond and square-shaped tiles for unique layout patterns or the Mud range in pure white for a more natural, crafted look.

Another thing to consider is that small tiles often have an advantage over larger ones regarding slip resistance. This is because joints are highly slip resistant due to the rough grouting material, so a bathroom floor with small mosaic tiles is therefore considered very slip resistant.

Epoxy Flooring

Epoxy flooring is increasing in popularity in Singapore. Commonly used in the waterproofing industry, epoxy coating is a mix of polymer resins and hardeners applied to concrete flooring. This liquid-to- solid process gives epoxy flooring the ability to be strong and stain- resistant.

An example is MESG which offers metallic epoxy, an enhanced version of conventional epoxy.

Used in homes to also beautify a space, metallic epoxy is a unique five-layered epoxy system that incorporates metallic pigment powder for a unique-looking lava-flow or pearlescent effect after installation. This surface is sealed with matte anti-slip finishing for bathrooms, which offers the highest traction and scratch resistance capabilities.

Bath Mats

We all love the feeling of a soft place for our feet to land after stepping out of the bath or shower. Not only is it a place to dry your feet, but it’s also less of a shock to the body than a cold floor.

Having a bath mat is an easy and cost-effective way to provide this, although keep in mind the mat’s backing to ensure it doesn’t slip. IKEA’s RÖDVATTEN Bath mat ($19.90) and OSBYSJÖN Bath mat ($7.90) have anti-slip backing built into the mats, but for those which don’t, there’s IKEA’s STOPP anti-slip underlay which comes in a 200 cm roll enough for a 1.35sqm surface area.

Anti-Slip Floor Coating

If the flooring in your bathroom is slippery, but you don’t want to replace it, a cost-effective option is to give it an anti-slip coating. One such treatment on the market is Nano clear anti-slip treatment offered by companies such as YHH Plus Enterprise (www. antislipsolution.sg).

This breakthrough technology provides extremely high durability and slip resistance even under the wettest slippery floor or soapy conditions. Furthermore, the coating forms countless nano non-skid holes to increase the traction on the treated floor tiles when applied.

The base formed is permanent and won’t peel off or degrade even under hard brushing. In fact, scrubbing will allow for an even better grip and result in a longer- lasting effect. Pricing for this treatment ranges from $300-$500 for a 25-50 sq ft area.

Vinyl Flooring

Once more common for commercial use, vinyl flooring has become popular for residential purposes as innovations in the material have improved its appearance and how it feels underfoot.

Waterproof vinyl flooring is particularly suitable for bathrooms as it is durable, stainproof, and 100 per cent water resistant. When it comes to slip resistance, be careful to pay attention to the slip resistance class when choosing a flooring product, as not all vinyl is anti-slip when it’s wet.

Suppliers like Xing Floors offer a wide range of waterproof vinyl flooring suitable for bathrooms. For ease of installation, these vinyl floor tiles are installed with a click- and-lock mechanism, so there is no need for adhesives. Best of all, this click-and-lock flooring can be installed directly above your existing subfloor and is 100% waterproof.

Diatomite Mats

Diatomite, also known as diatomaceous earth, is a fossil soil which contains millions of micropores. When harnessed as a material and made into mats, it allows water to evaporate quickly and prevent the accumulation of moisture and bacteria, making it a highly absorbent and fast-drying alternative to traditional bath rugs.

Available from www.mrphy. sg, Weave Quick Dry Diatomite Bath Mats absorb water instantly, – leaving your feet clean and dry within seconds. The ceramic-like material also gives an organic stone feel that is easy on sensitive feet. Available in small (40 cm) and large (60cm) and priced at $29 and $35, respectively. The mats also come with anti-slip bath mat stickers and sandpaper, which are used to lightly sand down the surface to increase absorbency after a usage period.