Top 5 Reasons Why Kitchen Floors Are So Slippery

A slippery floor is only funny on the cartoon channel! Here are the best fixes to keep your kitchen floor a safe zone for your family.

A kitchen floor can turn slippery for several reasons. These include water and grease spills, powders like talcum and dust, cleaning agents with a waxy residue, and moisture problems like high humidity and sweating floors.

A slippery kitchen floor can cause an accident. Avoid having your family lose their footing on a hard floor by learning how to recognize and solve the cause behind your slippery floor.

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The Reasons Why Your Kitchen Floor Is A Little Too Smooth

Kitchens are unfortunately predisposed to slippery floors. Few kitchens contain carpets which might give people more stability when they walk. It is more common for kitchens to have smooth concrete, wooden, or tiled floors. Due to this, kitchens can be more dangerous under certain circumstances.

1. Cleaning agents often leave wax and other residues behind that make floors slippery.
2. Floors can also lose traction when you spill powders (like talcum, flour, or even dust).
3. Water and grease spills.
4. High moisture levels in the air can make tiles wet.
5. A sweating floor can also cause someone to slip and fall.

READ NEXT: 4 Reasons why kitchen floors are sticky after mopping.

How Cleaning Agents Make A Kitchen Floor Slippery

There are some amazing products to clean floors. You wipe the floor and get rewarded with a clean smell and sparkling tiles. But there are two ways that cleaning a kitchen floor can lead to a slippery floor.

Your Mop Is Spreading Grease And Other Substances

While cleaning a floor, a mop picks up dirt. Unfortunately, nasty stuff like grease and other lubricants. If you clean a mess like this, the mop could smear traces of grease over the entire floor and leave a slippery residue. A similar problem occurs if you do not wash the mop afterwards in hot water. The next time you use it, the mop might smear grease residue all over the floor again.

How Cleaning Products Leave Slippery Residues

• The product contains incorrect or inferior ingredients.
• Too many layers have been applied to the kitchen floor.
• Using incorrect cleaning products on floors (for example, an oil-based cleaner should never be used if your kitchen has wooden floorboards).

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How Powders Can Make A Kitchen Floor Slippery

Perhaps you had a baking spree and now the whole floor is covered in flour. Perhaps your talcum-covered twins left a trail of white powder through the kitchen. Either way, powders can be just as hazardous as grease or wetness. How so? They prevent your toes or shoes from getting a good grip! When you are in a rush it is certainly possible to lose your footing on a kitchen floor sprinkled with flour.

How Do I Get Rid Of Powder On My Kitchen Floor?

You are probably thinking that sweeping the stuff away is a good idea. And you are right. But getting the powder in the dustpan is just one step. The problem with talcum, which is a very fine powder, is that it remains behind to a degree - even after a good sweeping session. To make sure that you catch every grain, give the floor a quick once-over with a wet mop.

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Water And Grease Spills

Cooking can get messy. Doing the dishes can also get sloshy! Most people spill grease, milk, dishwater or other liquids on their kitchen floor at some point. The good news is that the slipperiness will be limited to the spill-zone and not the entire floor. Even so, the odd chance that somebody is walking fast or running through the spill, they can slip and fall.

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How Do I Clean Spills?

Most liquids can be dealt with quickly. Simply wipe the water or milk with a paper towel and you are good to go. But grease is a different story. Here is how you can clean this sticky substance and prevent your family from slipping.

Do not use this method with a wooden floor.

Step 1: Gather a bucket, a bristle brush, clean mop, bleach, and hot water.

Step 2: Mix about 7 litres of water with 300 ml bleach.

Step 3: Using the clean mop, wipe the greasy spot with the bleach mixture.

Step 4: Use the bristle brush to scrub away the remaining grease.

Step 5: Allow the area to air-dry.

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How High Moisture Levels Make Your Kitchen Floor Slippery

When there is too much moisture in the air, water tends to gather on cooler surfaces like wall and floor tiles. But what causes moisture to gather in your kitchen?

• You live in a high-humidity area.
• The day is particularly humid and muggy.
• The steam from your kettle and cooking adds moisture to the air.
• If you iron your clothes in the kitchen, it also adds more steam.
• There is a leak somewhere in the kitchen. (Find out more about why your kettle is leaking water).

How Do I Fix High Humidity In My Kitchen?

You can easily prevent moisture from settling on your tiles and turning them slippery. Most cases can be fixed by simply creating more air circulation in the room. Open the doors and windows of the kitchen to create a draft. This will reduce the effects of steam and humid weather. You can also get a good dehumidifier in case you live in an area without too much wind or you fail to get a draft. A leaking pipe also needs to be fixed and depending on the severity of the leak, you or a plumber can tackle the problem.

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A Sweating Floor Can Also Cause Someone To Slip And Fall

What exactly is a sweating floor? At the most basic, it is typically a concrete floor that contains too much moisture. This is never a good thing. A concrete floor is supposed to be completely hardened and dry.

What Causes Moisture To Remain In A Concrete Floor?

The most common reason happens when concrete is not allowed to dry out completely. When builders are in a rush, they often slap tiles on a concrete floor that never got the chance to cure properly. As a result, a level of moisture is trapped in the concrete and the problem can only get worse. At some point, the water gets pushed up through the floor and turns the surface slippery.

How Do I Fix A Sweating Floor?

Unfortunately, the problem was caused by bad building practises and cannot be fixed. The entire floor needs to be replaced by a reputable professional.

A Quick Summary On Why Kitchen Floors Get Slippery

• A wet kitchen floor is a hazard and can cause someone to slip and hurt themselves.
• The most common causes include liquid spills, powder spills, high moisture levels in the room, a sweating concrete floor, and greasy residues from cleaning agents.
• Most slippery floors can be avoided by using the correct cleaning products, cleaning spills quickly, and improving air circulation in the room.
• A sweating floor needs to be replaced by a professional company.