Designing Hygiene into Floor Drainage
How Aliaxis is Rethinking Performance
In modern bathroom and washroom environments, hygiene is often considered in terms of visible surfaces. Fixtures, fittings, and touchpoints are designed to be easy to clean, resistant to moisture, and durable over time.
But some of the most important interactions happen out of sight.
At floor level, where water, waste, and human activity converge, drainage systems operate in one of the most biologically active zones of any built environment. These are areas exposed to constant moisture, temperature fluctuation, and microbial presence. And yet, historically, they have been engineered primarily for performance, not hygiene.
Aliaxis, through its Nicoll brand, is challenging that convention.
A New Generation of Floor Drainage
To meet the evolving demands of healthcare, hospitality, and public buildings, Nicoll has developed a range of floor drains for flexible flooring systems, featuring an antimicrobial grille designed to address a previously overlooked challenge.
This is not simply a design update. It is a rethinking of how drainage systems behave in real-world conditions.
The innovation lies in two key areas, how the product is designed, and what it is made from.
As Vanessa Delair, EMEA Innovation Manager at Aliaxis explains:
“Traditionally, drainage systems have been designed around flow and durability. What we’ve done here is rethink the role of the product within the environment. It’s not just about removing water efficiently, it’s about how the system behaves in use, and how it can help support hygiene between cleaning cycles.”
Supporting Cleaner Environments at the Source
One of the most distinctive features of this system is its closed-surface grille design.
Unlike traditional open grilles, this design eliminates direct openings above the water trap. The result is a significant reduction in retro-splashing during use, helping to limit the movement of contaminated droplets back into the surrounding environment.
This is particularly relevant in environments such as healthcare facilities, where maintaining high hygiene standards is essential.
At the same time, the grille and its supporting components are manufactured from a PVC material that incorporates antimicrobial technology. This enables the surface itself to reduce the growth of microorganisms over time.
Testing carried out in accordance with ISO 22196 has demonstrated a significant reduction in microbial growth on treated surfaces compared to untreated equivalents, including common strains such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus .
Rather than relying solely on cleaning regimes, the material contributes to maintaining the product’s condition between cleans.
Hygiene Without Compromising Performance
Importantly, this focus on hygiene has not come at the expense of performance.
The system retains all of the functional characteristics expected from a high-quality drainage solution, including high flow rates to prevent blockage, robust chemical and mechanical resistance, and compatibility with multiple installation configurations.
The grille design also simplifies cleaning. Its smooth, non-perforated surface reduces areas where debris can accumulate, allowing for faster and more effective maintenance.
This balance between hygiene and performance is what makes the solution particularly relevant for modern building design, where both are equally critical.
Built-In Product Protection
A key aspect of the product’s design is that the antimicrobial technology is integrated directly into the material during manufacturing.
The grille incorporates Biomaster antimicrobial technology from Addmaster, which is embedded within the PVC. This means the functionality does not wear off, wash away, or rely on surface coatings.
Instead, it becomes a permanent feature of the product, helping to protect the material and inhibit microbial build-up on the surface over time.
From a design perspective, this approach aligns with the broader shift in the industry of moving from reactive hygiene practices to proactive material selection.
Paul Willocks, Global Marketing Director for Addmaster adds:
“What’s important is that our antimicrobial technology becomes part of the product itself at the point of manufacture. It’s not applied retrospectively meaning that is doesn’t diminish over time. It works continuously in the background, supporting the material and helping it maintain its hygienic properties throughout its lifecycle.”
Designed for Real-World Environments
The system has been developed with demanding environments in mind.
It is suitable for use in healthcare settings, collective housing, and hospitality spaces, where hygiene, durability, and compliance all play a critical role.
Features such as anti-splash geometry, barefoot-safe openings, and compliance with NF EN 1253 standards reinforce its suitability for public and semi-public spaces.
At the same time, flexibility in design, including multiple colour options and material choices, allows the system to integrate seamlessly into a wide range of flooring applications.
A Shift Toward Smarter Materials
What this development ultimately represents is a shift in how products are designed. Rather than treating hygiene as something that happens after installation, solutions like this embed it into the material itself.
For manufacturers, specifiers, and designers, this opens up new possibilities. It allows products to actively contribute to the environments they are part of, supporting cleanliness, durability, and long-term performance in a way that is consistent, reliable, and unobtrusive.
As expectations around hygiene continue to evolve, particularly in high-use environments, attention is turning to areas that have traditionally been overlooked.
Drainage is one of them.
By combining intelligent design with antimicrobial technology, Aliaxis has created a solution that not only performs its core function effectively, but also responds to the realities of how these environments are used.
It is a clear example of how innovation can have a meaningful impact.
To find out more about Aliaxis products visit CLICK HERE
To find out more about Biomaster antimicrobial technology visit CLICK HERE
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