Understanding Textured Surfaces

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When textured floors were introduced, traction improved — but cleaning requirements didn’t change with them.

Texture increases friction by design. It also increases surface area and creates microscopic voids where moisture, soil, grease, and biological material can lodge.

On smooth floors, a mop can displace material across the surface. On textured floors, the same motion redistributes material into the texture rather than removing it.

As the mop drags across raised edges and grout lines, material scrapes off and settles into the low points. With each pass, residue accumulates and hardens. The texture gradually fills. The surface levels out. Traction declines.

The cleaning method did not change when the floor did.

Without mechanical agitation capable of reaching into texture and grout, repeated mopping accelerates accumulation. Floors may appear clean while contamination builds within the texture, creating the illusion of a shiny, inviting surface.

Traction doesn’t fail because texture fails.
It fails because residue fills the very features designed to create grip.

If contamination is being redistributed rather than removed, the next question becomes unavoidable:

Where is that contamination coming from?