Slippery Shower Floor Solutions

Paula Lange has a slippery shower floor in Carmel, IN. The shower base is cultured marble. Let her tell you the rest.

"I have a cultured marble shower floor with slightly raised pattern ( supposed to make it not slippery).  It is very slippery.

No bathmat will stick because of the pattern.

I have been looking at solutions, some of them involve etching the surface.

I have been told that you can't use that on cultured marble because it will break down the resin, someone else says it is okay.

I am worried that the grit that you are supposed to roll on won't stick because the surface is too slick.  Do you have any suggestions?  Do you know if I can use etching solutions on cultured marble?"

I answered a similar question like this a couple of weeks ago, but thought of a unique solution for Paula yesterday.

Paula, I believe you that the raised pattern won't allow traditional mats to adhere, but I wonder if these three things won't work for you. I'd never do anything to harm the finish of the cultured marble. That could make it much harder to keep clean.

First and foremost you need a natural rubber mat in the shower. Natural rubber is NOT slippery when wet.

This is why the soles of boots that firemen, utility crews, construction workers, etc. wear are made with rubber. Many commercial kitchens have natural rubber floor tile so workers never slip.

Second, I'd look for a mat that has many tiny suction cups that will adhere to the flat portions of the raised pattern. I've seen mats like this on Amazon.com. I just went to THIS PAGE and saw photos of many that had small suction cups.

Finally, if you can't locate a mat with the tiny suction cups or it doesn't work, then I'd purchase a LARGE rubber mat - even an exterior one for a front door - and cut it to fit the bottom of your shower.

If you cut it right and it's heavy enough, it will not move as you stand on it.

This Slipper Shower Floor Solution was mentioned in the March 6, 2015 AsktheBuilder Weekend Newsletter.