If you run a catering business, keeping your kitchen's flooring in good condition should be one of your top priorities. Damaged or unsuitable flooring can cause serious issues with hygiene and employee safety, and may even cause your business to be shut down until the flooring is replaced.

If your catering kitchen's flooring has seen better days and needs to be replaced, epoxy flooring is an ideal solution. Here are four reasons to choose epoxy flooring over other materials commonly used in commercial kitchens.

Hygienic And Easy To Clean

Epoxy flooring is applied in liquid form, and hardens over time into a flat, continuous surface. This unique application process makes a finished epoxy floor very easy to clean and sterilise. Unlike tiled or vinyl flooring, epoxy flooring has no cracks or gaps where dirt and microbes can accumulate, making thorough floor cleaning easier, faster and cheaper.

Once an epoxy floor has fully hardened and cured, its surface is completely non-porous and will remain so for many years. As a result, epoxy flooring will not absorb liquid spills, preventing microbes and bacteria from reproducing within the flooring. It is also virtually impossible to stain.

Non-porous epoxy surfacing is safe to use with commercial-grade steam cleaners. It is also chemically unreactive, and will not be damaged by harsh bleach or ammonia-based cleaning chemicals. 

Hard Wearing

Flooring in a busy commercial catering kitchen must be able to withstand a lot of foot traffic, as well as exposure to hot liquids, high humidity levels, and the occasional impact caused by dropped pans and cookware.

Epoxy flooring can shrug off almost anything you can throw at it, and will last for years in the busiest catering kitchens. It will not wear or crumble under heavy foot traffic loads, is highly heat-resistant, and will not peel or delaminate when exposed to high humidity levels. Higher grades of epoxy flooring are also highly resistant to abrasion, allowing the use of dollies and carts without scratching or scuffing your flooring.

Non-Slip Options Available

Non-slip flooring is essential for employee safety in any commercial kitchen environment. Epoxy flooring contractors can make your flooring non-slip by sandblasting its surface when it is being installed. Sandblasting creates a textured, high-traction surface that provides plenty of grip underfoot, even when the floor is wet due to spillages or recent cleaning.

Cost Effective

Despite all of these advantages, epoxy flooring is surprisingly inexpensive, especially when compared to other flooring materials commonly used in catering kitchens. It is considerably cheaper than tiled flooring and takes less time and manpower to install, keeping your labour costs low. It also lasts significantly longer than other low-cost flooring options (such as vinyl planks), making epoxy flooring a superb long-term investment for any catering kitchen.

For more information on epoxy flooring, contact a professional near you.