Floors TOO clean?

So you've got that kitchen floor so clean you could eat your dinner off it. Only problem is, you have introduced another hazard. Someone could slip on that - and they often do.

Each year more than 200,000 injuries are reported at work and slips and trips are the single most common cause, accounting for 35 per cent of such accidents. Slips alone are the most common cause of non-fatal major injuries in the manufacturing and service industries.

The annual cost of slips, trips and falls to UK businesses is estimated at £145million. As an employer, your liability includes legal costs in compensation cases, increased insurance costs and enforcement action - the kind of thing that can tip a small pub out of business.

A couple of new non-slip treatments, which can be simply introduced into your cleaning regime, aim to tackle the problem.

Johnson Wax Professional has launched Stop Slip, an acid-based product designed for tiled floors that combines a cleaning agent with a traction treatment.

The cleaning agents help break down the grease and oils that can make a floor slippery while the traction treatment increases the friction generated by the floor.

It is applied to the floor and left for 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the type of tile, then rinsed and allowed to dry.

Traction Plus is a range of American products which, according to manufacturer Elliot Anti-Slip, have been shown over the last 10 years in the US to reduce slips and falls by up to 85 per cent.

They work on almost all hard surfaces and are "as easy to use as mopping a floor".

Johnson Wax Professional - 0800 525525Elliot Anti-Slip - 01905 840813