It's a very good idea to have some sort of anti-slip surfacing in your shower, as falls in the bathroom are very common and extremely dangerous. Slips are made far easier by the presence of water, soap, bare feet and because the bathroom is a small but very busy area. The average bathroom has a lot of hard surfaces and possibly large panels of glass as well, which can break bones and cause other terrible injuries.
Anti-slip flooring
Tiles and other flooring surfaces designed for wet areas like bathrooms are generally required by law to meet certain anti-slip conditions in Australia. While these surfaces are designed to meet certain standards, shower stalls and bathtubs can also be specially coated or lined to improve their anti-slip properties. This is done by texturing the surface to ensure that even when there’s a large amount of soapy water, wet feet can still hold steady. Depending on what type of surface your shower or bath uses, this is normally achieved either using a brush-on surface coating, an adhesive tape or a rubber mat.
In a shower stall the surface can be slightly rougher than in a shower/bath combination, as you won’t be sitting on the floor. Fibreglass, polymarble and acrylic bases are common and also provide an anti-slip effect when wet. Tiled bases are also common, but require more maintenance and cleaning than other shower floors.
Do it yourself anti-slip treatments
If your shower isn’t already pre-coated with anti-slip surfacing, it is relatively inexpensive to either have it done, or to do it yourself. There are a range of products on the market for specifically this purpose ranging from mats that attach to the floor of your shower with suction cups, to treatments applied to the surface of the floor that give it a rubber gripping coating. If you're planning on using your own brush on coating, make sure it's right for your type of bathroom flooring, and that you follow the necessary safety requirements.
