Laboratories and operating rooms, as special chemical medical places, have high requirements for health and safety. With its antibacterial, wear-resistant and benefits to security, Vinyl Sheet Floor is an increasingly demanded material in the manufacture of floors for laboratories, operating rooms, and spaces that require maximum hygiene and safety. While the usual thing in these cases is to bet on continuous and completely smooth vinyl floors, without joints and with several layers arranged in a compact way to avoid leaks and/or humidity, although there are also other options.

Laboratory & Operating Room Flooring Requirements

The floors for hospital, operating room, and laboratories in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors must comply with the same regulations as industrial floors, although they may have some special characteristics to improve their hygiene and sterility.

In all cases, they must be approved by the Ministry of Health and meet the following mandatory requirements:

• Health

  The pavement must be unable to produce or retain any volatile residue that can move through the air and contaminate the space or the instruments stored there.

• Cleaning

  Laboratory and operating room floors should be quick to clean and maintain without the use of highly polluting chemicals. In these spaces, we constantly work with biological samples that are easily contaminated, so environmental sterility is an essential requirement.

• Chemical Resistance

  Due to the type of corrosive, highly reactive and dangerous materials used there, operating room and laboratory floors must be made of materials that resist accidental spills and are fire retardant.

• Mechanical Strength

  Since mobile heavy machinery and equipment are often used in laboratories and operating rooms, your flooring must be able to withstand the continuous force of these elements without fragmentation or loss of characteristics.

• Permeability

  Although industrial floors must not necessarily be permeable, soils in the chemical sector must be so, even if liquids are not handled regularly. As a general rule, these are very compact soils.

• Finishes

  The operating room floor and Laboratory floors are often continuous to ensure safe and accessible traffic. They must also integrate sanitary baseboards or half-reeds to prevent the accumulation of dirt and the filtration of liquids in the corners, thus guaranteeing bacteriostatic and fungistatic protection.

Operating Room & Laboratory Flooring Solutions

Operating Room floor and Laboratory floor must be stain-resistant, and some have specific antibacterial, antistatic and anti-slip properties to ensure worker safety.

• Self-leveling Cementitious Resin Mortars

  Inside the laboratory floors, we find self-leveling cementitious resin mortars that help level the surface without losing resistance. These mortars are usually comfortable and quiet and have the ability to better absorb footfalls, noise, and vibrations. Solid self-leveling floorings, in addition to high chemical and mechanical resistance, also have a smooth finish, anti-dust system and resistance to chemicals and abrasion, making them a good option for laboratory floors.

• Extra Layer of Stain Resistance

  Some laboratory floors also incorporate an extra layer of stain resistance. In fact, sterile areas such as operating rooms and laboratories need the highest cleaning requirements to avoid infections and the accumulation of dust or mites. The goal is for operators to handle biological materials or products safely and without fear of contamination.

• Continuous Antacid Pavements

  In most cases, laboratory floors or operating room rooms have anticorrosive properties that give them great chemical resistance and durability. Within this type of laboratory flooring, we would find continuous antacid pavements with greater resistance to chemical products.

• Static Discharges (ESD) Flooring

  Lastly, floors in the laboratory and the operating room must be “conductors or heatsinks”, that is, they must be manufactured to avoid static discharges in the event that sensitive electronic equipment such as those found in these workplaces is on them.

Vinyl Flooring Is The Best Flooring Solution For Laboratory & Operating Room

Why vinyl flooring is feasible to put in a laboratory? Vinyl floors are one of the best options in laboratory floors for the following reasons:

• The composition of vinyl floors slows the growth of fungi and bacteria.

• Vinyl sheet flooring is resistant to water, wear and impact and falling items. In addition, they are not damaged by chemical spills.

• Vinyl floors have cushioning capacity and are ergonomic, so they convey a feeling of warmth and comfort when walking on them. They are ideal for workplaces such as laboratories.

• This type of laboratory flooring or operating room flooring allows a perfect and integral fixing of the floor to walls and fixed elements without joints or overlaps.

• Anti-static vinyl flooring also effectively controls the discharge of static electricity from laboratory and operating room equipment, ensuring personnel safety and health.

• PVC floors are easy to clean as they do not retain dirt on the surface.

At AccessFloorStore.Com, we manufacture and supply and apply vinyl flooring for chemical, sanitary or pharmaceutical laboratories, hospitals, and operating rooms. If you want to bet on one of the best solutions for Laboratory & Operating Room floors, contact us.