In the past, hospital socks used PVC as a non-slip material. .They be round or striped white particles. Since 2015, many brands have begun to use silicone to replace these PVC materials, which is determined by the different characteristics of silicone and PVC.
Silicone is sticky, but PVC does not. Silicone has good water absorption, so they have some adsorption to the floor, which gives hospital socks a better grip. Especially in wet ground, the friction of PVC anti-skid adhesive is greatly reduced. Under the same circumstances, silicone has a very obvious advantage over PVC.
Silicone is more resistant to washing. The corrosion resistance of silica gel is much better. If you have tried PVC hospital socks, you will find that these non-slip particles will fall off very quickly, especially after you have washed them several times. Because PVC materials are easily damaged by laundry detergent, they quickly age and fall off. The performance of silica gel is much better, if you can avoid trying to wash them with high temperature water, they will hardly fall off, even if you wash them many times.
Silicone is softer. Silicone is softer to the touch than PVC. You can clearly feel the presence of PVC anti-slip particles when you walk on the floor. If it is a non-slip strip made of silicone, these materials will not cause a foreign body sensation at the bottom of the socks, just like wearing ordinary socks.
So now more and more brands use silicone instead of PVC, because the performance or comfort of silicone is much better. How to distinguish between silicone and PVC? The white and black non-slip strips are PVC, and the transparent ones are silicone.
