Glossary: What Does a Static-control Floor Finish Do?

Illustration of a man wax a floor with a buffing machine with a big red cross through the image. The text to the right of him reads "Static-control floors should perform according to ESD industry standard–without the application of special static-control waxes or finishes."

A static-control floor finish is a non-permanent conductive or static-dissipative coating periodically applied to existing floor surfaces. Floor finishes ground personnel, equipment, or other objects that touch the surface of the floor and dissipate charges to ground. Some finishes control the generation and accumulation of static charges associated with some charge-generating flooring materials, such as certain resins and polymers.

Unlike ESD floors with inherent (permanent) conductivity, ESD finishes wear off over time. The loss of conductivity affects electrical performance – i.e., the ability of the finish to protect electronics against harmful static discharge events. Without regular, well-monitored and controlled electrical testing, there is no way to know when an ESD finish has lost its conductivity. For this reason, ESD finishes do not provide reliable static protection.

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Background graphic is a still from the StaticWorx GroundSafe ESD Flooring – Your Trusted Partner explainer animation. In the foreground at the bottom are two boxes. The top is a bright blue with the StaticWorx logo and "GroundSafe ESD Flooring" underneath in white. The second is a dark blue-gray and includes the text in white: “GroundWorx ESD Flooring – Your Trusted Partner”
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StaticWorx high-performance static-control floors protect electronic components, explosives, and high-speed computers from damage caused by static electricity. ESD flooring is part of a system. Choices should always be based on objective, researched evidence. When you partner with us, we look at all possible items that may need to integrate with the floor, and, focusing on your goals and objectives, help you find the right floor for your application.