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Dry Floor

 keep feet dry in wet areas
 
(0) 		  [vote for,
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Flooring could be constructed with a rippled surface so that water collects below the surface that is actually walked on. This could be similar to massage sandals, with closely spaced 'fingers'.

This could be used in bathrooms, pools, kitchens, laundries etc.

The floor would slope towards a central drain as in most bathrooms and laundries so the water wouldn't stagnate.

—xaviergisz, Jul 02 2004

massage sandals http://www.janetbon..._massage_sandal.htm
closely spaced rubber fingers keep your foot massaged and aerated [xaviergisz, Oct 17 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

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       Wouldn't *any* ribbed non-slip tiling or matting make this redundant? True, the drainage is not 'built in' per se, but the idea is quite baked, IMO.
—lcllam2, Jul 03 2004
   

       This is pretty baked just using rubber mats with holes in them, which I've seen.
—5th Earth, Jul 04 2004
   

       [BrauBeaton] Ewww! One can only imagine the smell!   

       Now then, it sounds like the ribs would collect tiny particles of mud, pebbles, sand, and other nastiness, not to mention mucous-bacteria-sludge. However, the floor would be a snap to clean if there was, instead of a central drain, say a trough along one wall and a handy hot water spigot for a hose. That way, one could just rinse all the nastiness away. The rinsing wouldn't work with a central drain because when the mud and crap was displaced by the water, chances are that it's so heavy it would settle and just lodge somewhere else in the floor.
—fogfreak, Jul 04 2004
   

       OK, maybe I didn't emphasise the 'fingers' aspect enough... that's the invention... [BrauBeaton] and [5th Earth], this invention is different from those rubber mats for a few reasons, i) I was envisioning this to be a permanent floor feature preferably made of solid, durable material, ii) the fingers have only a small surface area that is horizontal where water can collect, ie water runs off the fingers readily.   

       Cleaning shouldn't be too difficult, with a combination of hosing (as suggested by fogfreak), cleaning agents (bleach, ammonia etc), brushing and vacuuming when dry (maybe a special vacuum attachment would be needed).   

       I guess the user would have to weigh-up the hassles of cleaning against the benefits of not stepping in puddles.   

       ..think about how much more pleasant pool change-rooms would be...
—xaviergisz, Jul 04 2004
   


 

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