Hygienic resin floors for cleanrooms

How often do you think about the floor in your cleanroom and controlled environment? Chances are it’s quite often and changes in legislation – and maybe a change of production usage or methods – mean that floor finishes may have to be upgraded. A new floor may be required to resist chemical or solvent spills or other risks of contamination. Or a change of usage could mean the floor has to be ESD to control static discharge.

Resistant to chemicals

A new floor may be required to resist chemical or solvent spills or other risks of contamination. Flooring experts can help with the specification process and will typically ask lots of questions before making any recommendations and developing the design. Key considerations that should always be pointed out in the early stages of all potential projects include operational and maintenance requirements, installation and aesthetics – all of which are necessary to meet the stringent measures used to control particles to ultra-clean ISO standards.

Seamless cleanroom floors

If the structural floor slab has been designed to have some movement and has expansion joints, the floor cannot be seamless. However, by using a “crack bridging” system and full floor waterproofing layers with the appropriate final floor finishes, we’re able to achieve a truly seamless floor. Eliminating joints means there is less risk of the floor breaking down due to traffic and, very importantly, it reduces the opportunity for bacterial growth. Making sure that there are only smooth surface transitions – as well as having mechanical protection of the floor and cove – is critical to protect against the more serious problem of bacterial infection in any of the transition points.

Is ESD flooring needed?

Some flooring solutions in pharma facilities need to be ESD rated – for instance, if solvents are being handled or there may be nuisance dust to consider. Even the use of FLTs can generate very high levels of static that have to be controlled. Within our range, we have numerous ESD flooring solutions to help control static. They can be decorative and even have enhanced chemical resistance.

Is slip-resistance an issue?

You don’t want anyone to slip in your cleanroom, so make sure you specify textured, non-slip-resistant flooring solution.

Key considerations for cleanroom flooring installations

Floors must meet rigorous cleaning demands

Flooring in cleanroom environments must be hygienic and easy to clean. Plain concrete floors are not classified as hygienic. To remove any spores in the air and to kill airborne germs, pharmaceutical sites tend to fumigate to control the microbial contamination in specialist areas. This essential cleaning can be aggressive on certain floor finishes and vinyl.

Floors must be chemically resistant

In cleanroom environments, caustic solutions for CIP and solvents can seriously damage standard resin floors, which is why it’s important to state what products are split – as well as their concentrations and temperatures – so that the correct level of protection can be specified.

The floor needs proper drainage.

Drainage plays a major part of any hygienic floor installation and should be considered at the start of the specification and design process. For maximum hygiene and cleanability, the drainage gullies in cleanrooms should be made from high-quality stainless steel.