Floor Safety Guide for Elderly Care Facilities: Slip Resistance, Cushioning and Fall Prevention

Published on 2026-07-16 · Suzhou Industrial Park Gulin Commerce Co., Ltd.

For elderly care facilities, floor safety is not a nice-to-have but a matter of life and death. Older people have reduced balance and declining eyesight, and a single slip can have serious consequences. Slip-resistant and cushioned floor design is the top priority of age-friendly renovation.

1. Why Floors Are Closely Related to Falls

• Slipperiness: restrooms, washing areas and dining areas become extremely slippery when wet;
• Height differences: thresholds, steps and transition height gaps are the main causes of tripping;
• Hard floors: an overly hard floor increases impact injury when someone falls.

2. Three Essentials of Age-Friendly Floors

• Slip resistance: choose PVC and rubber materials with high slip-resistance coefficients, with a wet friction coefficient of at least 0.6;
• Cushioning: elastic materials such as rubber and elastic PVC reduce impact injury when falling;
• Visual assistance: use color contrast to mark steps and zone boundaries to help the elderly recognize them.

3. Renovation Advice for Key Areas

Restrooms and bathrooms: slip-resistant rubber flooring, level drains without height gaps, and grab bars; corridors and activity areas: elastic PVC or rubber flooring to reduce height differences; room entrances: remove thresholds and use transition strips; beside beds: add bedside mats for cushioning.

4. Gulin Commerce Age-Friendly Flooring Service

Suzhou Industrial Park Gulin Commerce Co., Ltd. provides slip-resistant, elastic and cushioned flooring materials for elderly care facilities along with age-friendly renovation services, with on-site surveys and assessments available. Welcome to call: 0512-68114680.