Malaga finally finds solution to avoid slippery streets from candle wax during massive Easter processions

The tests carried out by Malaga city council and experts from the department of chemistry of the University of Malaga in recent days have finally found a solution to prevent slips caused by the anti-wax product that municipal cleaning company Limasam uses to clean central streets after each procession of the Holy Week. After testing the addition of different mixtures to the cleaning product, which has been supplied by AB Laboratorios since 2017, the latest tests have given a positive result.

The two formulas of the anti-wax liquid, which is now also anti-slippery, were tested before the councillor for festival activities, Teresa Porras. The city council opted for the alternative, which involves the application of a protector to the city centre's stone pavement, which makes it rougher.

According to UMA lecturer Francisco Ignacio Franco, this protector will provide a non-slip effect to the ground for any liquid, whether rainwater or the anti-wax product. It will be applied during the morning and midday of each day of the Holy Week, once the cleaning operation has been completed. Its effect is expected to last throughout the afternoon and evening of processions, although the 100% efficiency of this method cannot be confirmed until the first day of processions.

However, Limasam and UMA managers have stated that the protector considerably reduces the slippery effect of the anti-wax liquid once it is applied on the first layer of varnish. It might take some time to dry, but it remains adhered to the pavement, where it leaves an effect similar to that of a kind of grit, which is visually imperceptible.

The UMA has ensured that this protector is easy to purchase on the market, responding to concerns that there are very few days left before Palm Sunday - the first day of processions along the official route. The protective liquid is also harmless to human skin, which is of key importance, as many of the procession participants walk barefoot.

The city council first started to look for this solution following complaints voiced by religious brotherhoods and a large part of the public. The slips caused by the anti-wax cleaning product culminated during last year's Holy Week, when Rafael Retana of Cofradía de la Humillación, who carries a senior rank in his brotherhood, slipped and fractured his left wrist during the procession.

A few days ago, the city council considered the option of sticking long strips to the streets, similar to those that are sometimes placed on the steps of stairs. The idea was for the strips to provide roughness to the pavement every few metres, but it was rejected by the president of the Agrupación de Cofradías, José Carlos Garín, and then also by Limasam's managers.

However, the Agrupación de Cofradías seeks the substitution of the anti-wax product altogether, as it stains the underside of the Nazarenes' tunics and its application with a canister and a sprinkler in front of each guide cross is somewhat unsightly.