INTERIORS 79 TILED HYGIENE
The pandemic has thrown the spotlight on issues of hygiene as never before; The Tile Association explains tiled surfaces’ wide applications for helping achieve clean, healthy environments.
accidentally get spilt on them. Glazed tiles and certain types of
unglazed tiles, such as increasingly popular porcelain tiles, are to all intents and purposes impervious. When used with epoxy grouts, this enhances the level of protection still further, since these are also impervious.
STANDARDS The relevant British Standard is BS EN 14411:2012, which covers the specifica- tion of ceramic wall and floor tiles, including their resistance to abrasion and chemicals. BS 5385-4:2015 includes a code of practice for the design and instal- lation of ceramic and mosaic tiling in specific conditions. This gives recommen- dations on design considerations and on the installation of ceramic wall and floor tiling and mosaics in situations where there are specific environmental or functional requirements. BS 5385-4:2015 also covers grouts and states that: “Epoxide-resin based materials are superior to cementitious mixtures by virtue of their impermeability and smooth surface texture whereby the degree of contamination is reduced and cleaning facilitated”. Grouts used should conform to BS 13888, which covers the specifica- tion, conformity and evaluation of all types of tile grout. Research has been carried out in the
are increasing the appeal even further. Large format tiles, metro tiles, industrial look and wood-effect are increasingly popular, and, more importantly, there are practical health and safety benefits as well. Current concerns about health and hygiene, triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, are likely to remain with us long after the current health crisis has passed. Housebuilders and developers are sure to be looking hard at the hygiene benefits of tiled surfaces long
T
A BESPOKE TILING BACKER BOARD SHOULD BE USED - THE INTEGRITY OF THE TILING SUBSTRATE CAN ITSELF HAVE IMPORTANT HYGIENE IMPLICATIONS
iles are a durable and aesthetic solution for walls and floors in domestic homes, and current trends
into the future. The current generation of wood-effect tiles are one interesting example of the benefits tiled surfaces can bring, since they give the aesthetic impression of real wood flooring, but bring hygienic proper- ties to the home, which wood flooring could never hope to achieve. This is not unique to wood-effect tiles,
of course. All tiled surfaces are inherently hygienic.
GROUT
There are sometimes concerns about the grouted area, but grout areas in a tiled surface will in fact normally only amount to about 3 per cent of the total area, and if epoxy grouts are used, the surface will be totally impervious and will not harbour bacteria or viruses, provided an appropri- ate cleaning regime is employed. It is also worth noting that tiled
surfaces can safely be cleaned at tempera- tures in excess of 60°C, since they are fired to temperatures far above that during the manufacturing process. This means that tiles are a good solution in an environment where boiling liquids might
AIR QUALITY & ALLERGENS Tiles are also hypoallergenic, since the hard surfaces on ceramic tiles don’t give allergens a place to hide. Ease of cleaning also means that dust mites, pet hairs, pollen and other chemical allergens common to other floorings have nowhere to hide on a tiled surface. Tiles are also resistant to the growth of mould and mildew spores.
There are also no chemicals in tiles
which can potentially cause an allergic reaction, such as formaldehyde or halogenated flame retardants, as can be found in vinyl, wood or carpet.
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past by the Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association, published in the Journal of Applied Bacteriology, which concludes that “the grouted joints and texture did not compromise the cleanabil- ities of tiled surfaces.” The research also states that the cleanability of tiled surfaces with grouted joints is not compromised over that of tiles alone. Tiled surfaces can even have a benefi-
cial effect on the air we breathe in the home. All building materials can have an impact on air quality. The manufacture of ceramic tiles results in a final product which is inorganic and fully inert. This means that tiled surfaces do not emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
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