Having been importers and specialist suppliers of high quality wood products ranging from hardwood and engineered floors, to decking and worktops, Wood and Beyond has gathered significant health and safety experience when dealing with timber products which brings me to writing this article, and put some of our health and safety tips on paper. If you are reading this article chances are you are considering buying wooden floors or in the initial stage of your market research, hopefully you will find our tips useful.

Hardwood Flooring Health and Safety Tips:

1. Is hardwood flooring really for you? Does not sound like a health and safety issue of the top, but if you are running an industrial operation such as workstations or assembly areas for example and the ground needs to cope with extreme heavy loads, hardwood might not be the right material for the floor to start with. Other materials such as tile PVC flooring with anti-slip technology will prove extremely hard wearing and easy to maintain making it a more sensible choice.

2. Always consider hygienic safety – Protect your staff, customers and the general public by ensuring your hardwood floors are clean and hygienic by using dedicated cleaning products with anti-bacterial properties. Ideally when hygienic safety is mentioned, we tend to normally think of the kitchen area and sometimes other catering areas such as medical rooms, however by ensuring that every area is hygienically clean (by simply hovering the floor and using a dedicated cleaner) you will also increase the longevity of the entire floor.

3. Avoid costly slips – Some hardwood floor finishes might be more receptive to become a slippery surface leading to unsafe workplace, especially when poor maintenance is applied. In addition, use of low grade cleaning chemicals and those with oily residue properties might make the floor slippery. To combat this, ensure that the right cleaning chemical is used, the cleaned area is clearly sign posted and if possible clean after hours when your staff and customers are away. In case you have recognised sections which have a high likelihood of becoming slippery, consider using anti slip add-ons such as self adhesive safety tapes for peace of mind.

The ultimate combination between great looking decor and health and safety is choosing the right floor for your particular circumstances, using quality cleaning products and if hardwood flooring is the right floor for you, make sure to use solid wood floors which are made from one piece of hardwood timber and are therefore more durable.

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Guest post by Ran, Marketing Manager at UK based online shop Wood and Beyond – Hardwood Flooring

About David Cant

A chartered (fellow) safety and risk management practitioner with 20+ years of experience. David provides a healthy dose of how-to articles, advice and guidance to make compliance easier for construction professionals, Architects and the built environment. Get social with David on Twitter and Linkedin.