At a time like this you may find yourself thinking 'how anti-bacterial are all the various items in my home and surrounding environments?'
Well, we are here to answer your questions and to explain to you everything and anything there is to know about anti-bacterial flooring.
So pop your listening cap on and get a notebook at the ready.
Carpet Tiles
Interestingly, carpet tiles themselves are fairly anti-bacterial!
But how you ask?
Carpets by their very nature do not form a habitat for microbial growth nor are they sensitive to fungi. This is because man made fibres generally do not propagate the growth of bacteria.
However, this is not just to say you can simply lay your tiles, leave them and like magic, you will have tiles that are anti-bacterial for life (you still gotta put in some effort here guys).
Regular maintenance and periodic hot water extraction removes any soil and anti-bacterial growth before it begins to build up into anything nasty. This is especially important if a carpet tile gets wet (not just a splish splash, we mean sopping).
If a carpet was to stay wet for a period of time it does open the opportunity for any additives to become effective. Therefore, it is essential that a proactive and regularly scheduled maintenance rota must be in place to keep your tiles in tip top condition.
In the current situation we understand that you may be concerned about what your flooring can carry and how viruses can spread. Well, carpet tiles have the added benefit of trapping particulate matter ready to be vacuumed away rather than allowing it to recirculate into the breathing zone.
(Basically, like a bad guy - carpet tiles tackle them to the ground until the police (Mr. Hoover) comes to remove them). Simples.
A professional deep clean should be effective to remove such particulate matter.
However, there are further steps you can take if you would like to go the extra mile anti-bac’ing your environment.
Milliken offers the option of adding Alphasan (an antimicrobial treatment) to any of their products. This is designed to be effective against bacteria, for example inhibiting bacterial growth from spillages.
Modulyss similarly offer an anti-bacterial treatment on request.
If this is something that is of interest to you, call our friendly sales team on 0345 222 1541 or Livechat today to discuss your options!
Vinyl
Vinyl itself is not quite as naturally talented as carpet tiles in the anti-bacterial department.
It is not standard for a vinyl to be able to claim anti-bacterial qualities, however due to one vinyl’s special genetic make-up, it can carry the anti-bac crown with pride.
Marmoleum by Forbo
Marmoleum is a range by Forbo which is associated with sustainability, durability and high quality.
Marmoleum is an anti-bacterial flooring solution thanks to its ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria which stems from the natural raw materials used during production, with Linseed oil taking centre stage.
An inherent property of the product is that the bacteriostatic qualities of Marmoleum won’t diminish over time, giving peace of mind and constant protection from the moment it is installed.
Discover the versatile world of Marmoleum with over 300 colours and more than 12 different structures to choose from.
We do hope this has given you an insight into the anti-bacterial flooring world and eased any worries.
Don't forget to keep those carpet tiles spick and span!