Flotex flocked flooring, made in Derbyshire

Forbo describes Flotex as "a unique textile floor covering that blends the durability of a resilient floor with the warmth and comfort of carpet". The mechanism behind that claim is electrostatic flocking: up to 80 million straight nylon fibres per square metre, standing upright on a waterproof backing, rather than looped or tufted through it.

The consequences are unusual enough to be worth listing plainly.

• Completely waterproof. Not water-resistant. The backing is impervious.
• Genuinely washable. Forbo calls it "the only truly washable textile floor covering on the market", with 4–6 hour drying against roughly 24 hours for carpet.
• Releases soil rather than trapping it. Because the fibres stand separately rather than looping, Forbo publishes 76% soil release after vacuuming, against 46% for loop pile.
• Allergy UK Seal of Approval™. Forbo states Flotex is the only textile flooring to hold it.
• Slip resistant when wet, and warm and quiet underfoot — 19 dB impact sound reduction — in a way no hard floor manages.

Forbo's own summary is the neatest: "feels like a carpet and cleans like a resilient." That combination is why Flotex keeps appearing in healthcare, education, care homes and food service, where a specifier would otherwise have to choose between comfort and cleanability.

The designs are digitally printed before flocking, which is why Flotex carries visuals — marble, timber, woven textile, gradients — at a resolution no tufted carpet construction can reach.

How flocked flooring is made, in detail →