Do Anti-Slip Shower Trays Work?

The quick answer is yes! The real question is how long do they stay effective? Let’s take a look…

To be questioning the validity of the claims made by anti-slip products, it’s most likely you’ve been let down by one in the past. 

So to answer the question ‘Do Anti-Slip Shower Trays Work?’, we need to talk about why some don’t!

Why Some Anti-Slip Shower Trays Don’t Work

The biggest reason for the failure of an anti-slip solution is the cleanliness of the anti-slip, simple as that. 

Shower trays deal with a lot of dirt, this could be body fats, slippery body washes, sweat or grime. Naturally, the base of the shower tray will accumulate dirt as it channels the water down the drain and needs to be kept clean. 

The issue is how well can you keep the anti-slip texture clean and will the cleaning break down the anti-slip coating.

Applied Coatings: How they work and why they fail

Applied coatings are the most common form of anti-slip, we’ve covered them in detail in this blog (click here). Basically, an applied coating is something you add to the tray after the manufacturing process, stickers, texture paint ect. 

Firstly, these are difficult to clean, due to their grit-like texture. This is great for your feet to grip but the same applies to the grime. Quite quickly you’ll either see one of two things: 

• The degradation of the texture as the harsh chemicals break down the applied coating – creating an ever-depleting level of anti-slip.

Or 

• The build-up of grime in the anti-slip texture due to poor cleaning, creates a slippery surface.

Since an applied coating is the most popular anti-slip, these two reasons are likely to be why you’re questioning the use of anti-slip in showers.

Integrated Design: How they work and why they fail

The main difference with integrated design is that the anti-slip components are manufactured into the tray making it permanent and non-degradable, unlike an applied coating. This makes the anti-slip components last the lifetime of the tray and means each tray is the same creating confidence in consistency.

Look at the size and shapes created in the anti-slip and assess how easy getting into all those small gaps for cleaning is. For most, the gaps are far larger and more uniform than those of an applied coating therefore they are easier to keep clean. The permeant nature of the anti-slip also allows the user to clean with stronger chemicals without worrying about the anti-slip breaking down.

SENSTEC Anti-Slip Shower Trays: Why it’s different 

Those design pillars are:

• Industry-leading anti-slip – We wanted to create something that made showering as safe as possible for everyone.
• Comfort Underfoot – ‘not being uncomfortable’ wasn’t good enough, we wanted people to feel massage levels of comfort while standing in the shower.
• Cleanability – To be as good after 10 years as the day it was installed, SENSTEC must be easy to clean and maintain grip levels.

After 42 prototypes and years of research, we finally settled on the perfect size, shape and distribution of our dimples (the protrusions) which surpassed our expectations in all 3 categories. In fact, our research was so unique we were able to secure the patent for our anti-slip.

SENSTEC dimples break the foot’s contact with the flat, slippery bottom of the tray elevating parts of the foot away from the slippery surfaces creating grip. These dimples are designed to have no straight edges so dirt can simply flow past them, leaving the dimples clean and the dirt washed away.

For many years SENSTEC Anti-Slip Shower Trays have been a pride of place in some of the UK and Ireland’s most illustrious hotels including the 5-star Irish castle hotel Dromoland Castle.  Here is what their team had to say…

We also have Peter Butts thoughts on anti-slip after staying in a hotel with less than desirable looking anti-slip…

Conclusion

Most anti-slip on the market work for a time. 

Just like the sole of a good pair of walking boots, the more you use them the less grip you have and if you are walking around with the tread clogged up with mud, they’re as good as a pair of skis. So like everything maintenance is the key:

If regular maintenance and a constantly changing level of grip is acceptable there are plenty of options for you with paints, stickers and matts.

If you are looking for something more reliable, sustainable and of a higher grip level in the first place, a SENSTEC Anti-Slip Shower Tray will work for you, not just today but every time you shower.