On surfaces traditionally found in aquatic environments, like concrete, ceramic tiles, and pour-in-place aggregates, there are numerous issues that arise. These surfaces are often slippery when wet, abrasive, hot, and/or non-cushioned. Not only are children slipping and falling, but they are also skinning their knees and elbows, getting concussions, burning their feet, and developing fears of community features that were intended to spark joy and inspire play. Water shoes have been developed as a low-cost alternative to help provide more traction and protection; however, this should signal to the industry that end consumers are unhappy with aquatic surfacing and are trying to improve safety within their personal means. Unfortunately, we’ve seen the effects of these types of surfaces far too often — through news articles about splash pads shut down for safety concerns, from first hand stories we hear from family or friends, or from customers looking to solve major pain points at their facilities.
This is why Life Floor was created. Our co-founders saw a need for safety surfacing on splash pads and at other aquatic facilities, especially when one of them became a new father. He witnessed his young son slip, fall, and hit his head on wet concrete surfacing. When that happened, he saw these facilities in a new light and recognized that changes needed to be made to protect other children like his son. Fast forward nearly a decade and this mission has become a reality. Using safety surfacing standards for dry playgrounds as a historic precedent, NSF International created a new standard within NSF/ANSI 50 recommending safety surfacing for use in all aquatic play areas. In order to be certified to the new standard, surfacing products are required to meet or exceed six criteria, one of which is slip-resistance. Surfaces need to be significantly slip-resistant when wet and maintain slip-resistance even after exposure to harsh UV and pool chemicals. Another one of the six required characteristics of certified products is the need for impact attenuation. Knowing that very small children can stumble and fall regardless of surface type, it is now recommended that splash pad surfaces cushion this fall to a certain extent. These new requirements will add a standard of safety to aquatic play areas that hasn’t been present until now and we’re proud to witness this positive shift in the industry. To learn more about the standard and specifications for certification, download our NSF/ANSI 50 Guide here.