The Slipperiest of Slopes

September 26, 2022 7:05 PM

We have two sets of very steep, polished wooden stairs in our house. Every one of us has taken a tumble down the stairs at some point since moving in. As winter arrives and I like to wear warm wool socks, I know this will get slipperier. What kind of non-ugly, unobtrusive solution can I apply to the stairs to avoid going ass over teakettle? No, I will not be putting rubber treads on my handknit socks, it’s got to be the stairs.
posted by Liesl to Home & Garden (14 answers total)

We got grippy black carpet pads for ours. A significant improvement!
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 7:12 PM on September 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: We had similar problems (ok, mostly I had similar problems as I wear wool socks year-round - but I carry small children so everyone was on board with fixing it). I put Eden Products clear stair treads on a few years ago and love them so far. They look quite unobtrusive but have saved me a bunch of times. I suspect the brand doesn't matter; there are a bunch of essentially-identical ones.
posted by cogitron at 7:42 PM on September 26, 2022 [3 favorites]

We got clear sandpaper stickers. Not pretty but I haven’t fallen since.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:43 PM on September 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

2nd the sandpaper tape. Cheap and easy to install. Our elderly dog was having a hard time and the tape made a huge difference. I recommend the darkest colour available.
posted by brachiopod at 7:52 PM on September 26, 2022 [2 favorites]

If you are interested in throwing significant amount of money at this, depending on how many stairs you've got, but want a solution that isn't permanent and can be really visually appealing:

https://oakvalleydesigns.com/

(they also have an etsy shop)
posted by sm1tten at 7:55 PM on September 26, 2022

3m makes non-slip safety tape, clear and grey. Also black, but yuck.

I hope you have a strongly mounted handrail, mine saved my head a few times.
posted by Marky at 12:08 AM on September 27, 2022

I would recommend using black tape so that the stair edge is visually clearer.
posted by coberh at 12:58 AM on September 27, 2022

I put these Eden Products treads on our very-slippery stairs last December. Nobody has fallen since then. The "Latte" (tan) color actually matches our oak stairs very well & I barely notice them.
posted by belladonna at 3:39 AM on September 27, 2022

We used to have adhesive carpet strips but they got gross. Replaced them with these and we're all happy - including toddler and clumsy dog.

https://a.co/aOiq784
posted by cranberry_nut at 3:52 AM on September 27, 2022

I like a runner, we used a rug from dash and Albert and installed it ourselves.
posted by sulaine at 5:44 AM on September 27, 2022

If you're looking for something more permanent and maybe a bit more finished/permanent-looking than adhesive tread strips, consider adding non-slip stair nosing.
posted by pullayup at 7:50 AM on September 27, 2022

Best answer: I put these Eden products transparent treads down on all our stairs after our older dog started slipping. It’s been over 2 years and they are still holding up well. These transparent versions are almost invisible except when light hits at a certain angle. We have a lot of stairs (oak), so it took me a while to do them all but definitely worth it. Clean, mop, and dry the stairs first before putting these down using their provided applicator roller.
posted by thewildgreen at 8:48 AM on September 27, 2022

These are less cheap but it's worth noting that depending on your style you can get some really neat looking stair tread rugs. I have these and while they're not easily removable in the nicer weather, they feel good on the feet and they fit the rest of the aesthetic in my house.
posted by jessamyn at 9:12 AM on September 27, 2022

I think you're covered on stair treatments, and I know you said you didn't want rubberized socks, but you might also consider house slippers or slide sandals with a rubber sole, which will work for any slick surface in your house, not just the stairs.
posted by Aleyn at 2:01 AM on September 28, 2022