Is a Stone
Floor Safe for Seniors(Older Adults)
By Frederick
M Hueston stoneforeniscs.com
A simple google search will come up with hundreds of
recommendations for flooring for older adults. Most of them are recommending
carpet, cork, rubber or other non-slip type flooring. While these are good
choices for older folks there is one thing they have not considered? These flooring types may be slip resistant,
but they are often a trip hazard. Here is why
A lot of older adults shuffle rather that step and walk
normally. Also many use a cane or walker. Flooring like carpeting, cork or
rubber can reduce the gliding resistance of a shoe and cause someone to
fall. So what are the other choices.
Stone
No, isn’t marble and granite shiny and it’s too slippery?
You would think that these shiny surfaces would be slippery when in fact they
are not if properly polished. Most of
the slip fall accidents that occur are not on stone flooring. The top reason for falls is tripping over
something and the second is uneven surfaces. Fortunately, a properly installed
stone floor is very flat. This means that shuffling or using a walker is very
easy and will not catch like it would on carpet or other type flooring
In addition, unlike most ceramic tile, stone has a very
narrow grout joint. The advantage to such a narrow joint it is unlike to catch
in one shoe or the leg of a walker or a cane.
What if the stone gets wet? Any surface that gets wet can be
a slip hazard. Even wet carpeting can be very slippery when wet. The good news
for marble and granite is that there are treatments that can be applied to give
the stone surface a safe walking surface even when wet. These treatments create
microscopic depressions in the stone which act like tiny suction cups. They
provide just enough grip when wet to prevent a slip but not enough to catch and
cause a trip. They should be applied by
an experience applicator or stone floor restoration contractor.
What about vinyl or wood flooring? These materials can also
be slip and trip resistant if properly installed. However, unlike stone they
will need the application of a finish which can not only increase maintenance
cost and frequency but choosing the wrong finish can also make the floor more
slippery.
Thousands of slip fall accidents occur each year and
installing the proper flooring can not only prevent these but can be safer for
the older adult.
