FEATURE A SAFE AND SPO The Tile Association and its international partners are working to promote the superior hygie


Winner of Best Commercial Project – Large (over 250sq m). Pool complex at Butlins, Bognor Regis. Tiling by ARDEX UK and Dyson-Briggs & Sons.


The Tile Association (TTA) has joined forces with its partner associations ASCER, from Spain, and Confindustria Ceramica, in Italy, to promote the advantages of using ceramics across Europe and especially in the UK market.


Entitled ‘But ceramic…is a safe choice’, the campaign employs social media and other digital communication to promote the benefits of tiled surfaces, with regard to hygiene, ease of cleaning, waterproofing, fire resistance and sustainability.


The campaign kicked off in October with a webinar for the British market, which was attended by TTA members and others from the industry. The campaign is pan-European and followed similar events which were organised for the French and German markets.


The videos which support this campaign are available to view on the TTA website. Meanwhile, TTA’s social media will continue to cover the latest information on this programme.


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. Specifiers will be sure to look hard at the hygiene benefits of tiled surfaces long into the future.


The current generation of wood-effect tiles are an interesting example, since they give the aesthetic impression of real wood flooring, but bring hygiene benefits which wood flooring could never hope to achieve.


All tiled surfaces are inherently hygienic. Although there is sometimes concern about the grouted area, in fact grout areas in a tiled surface will normally only amount to about 3% of the total area and, if epoxy grouts are used, this surface will be totally impervious and will not harbour


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bacteria or viruses, provided an appropriate cleaning regime is employed.


TTA has a technical document on The Cleaning & Maintenance of Wall & Floor Tiles which, like all TTA technical documents, is available as a free download to TTA members. The document outlines different types of cleaning regimes for different tile types.


It is also worth noting that tiled surfaces can safely be cleaned at temperatures 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 accidentally get spilt on them.


Glazed tiles and certain types of unglazed tiles, such as increasingly-popular porcelain tiles, are in fact, to all intents and purposes, impervious. When used with epoxy grouts, this enhances the level of protection even further.


The relevant British Standard is BS EN 14411:2012, which covers the specification 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 installation of ceramic and mosaic tiling in specific conditions. This gives recommendations 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”.


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