We’ve all been there: you’re walking into the kitchen in your home, and in an unfortunate slip of the floor, you take a nasty fall. The hardest thing about these mishaps is how frequently they happen. Everyone has experienced that moment when they catch their foot on an unexpected change in texture or elevation of their linoleum, tile, or hardwood flooring. Sometimes slippery floors aren’t something you can prepare for. What if you have brand-new wooden floors? How do you make your new wooden floor less slippery? Read on to find out more!
How To Make Wooden Floors Less Slippery?
Install Grip Tape
If your wooden floor is already slippery, installing grip tape can help reduce the risk of falls. Grip tape is an adhesive tape designed to increase traction in slippery areas such as factory floors and stair rails. Install the tape by covering the entire floor area with the tape, including the sides and the ends of the boards. Make sure the surface has been sanded and cleaned before application. The hot melt adhesive used in the tape is safe to use on wood and will not damage it. Two-sided tape is best for uneven floors.
Change the Flooring
If your wooden flooring is already installed and you can’t find a solution to make it less slippery, consider changing the flooring. This can be costly and time-consuming, but it’s a great solution for the long-term prevention of falls. You can also opt for a less expensive solution of installing special non-slip mats or strips on the most slippery areas of the floor. You can find small mats or large strips with an adhesive backing to apply to any type of wood flooring. You can also lay a non-slip rug over the entire floor to add traction. Choose a rug that’s made of synthetic but looks like real wood. When choosing the rug, you may want to choose a rug that has a built-in non-skid backing so that you don’t have to purchase any additional products.
Add a Coating of Spray Paint
Strawberry baskets and wooden pallets are often used in the kitchen as decorative pieces. Sometimes they are used to store fruits and vegetables. They are often placed on wooden floors or shelves, but the bottom surface of these baskets is not non-slip. You can easily solve this problem by painting the bottom surface with non-slip paint. The paint is available in the local store and comes in different colors and textures that can match the surface of the wooden floor. The advantage of using this technique is that you can use the same basket for years without any problem.
Lay a Non-Slip Rug
When the floors are smooth and polished, they are more slippery than a rough surface. So, for a non-skid floor, you can use a woven rug. The rug must be thick enough to prevent the feet from slipping. Choose a rug that is made of synthetic material that is similar to natural fibers. The rug should not be too thick; otherwise, it can be difficult to clean it. Choose a color that matches the floor and the furniture. The rug should extend at least 2 inches beyond the furniture. This will prevent the furniture from getting soiled by rug fibers. If you have a wood floor that is very slippery, you can lay a large rug on the floor as an area rug.
Install Wood Floors That Are Slippery When Wet
These are engineered wood floors that are designed to be non-slip when wet. You can also find non-slip flooring for bathrooms, kitchens, and other areas with high humidity. Wooden floors that are slippery when wet can be installed by a professional. However, you can also install them on your own by purchasing wood tiles with an anti-skid finish. Before installing the tiles, sand the surface and clean it thoroughly.
Lay Carpet Overlay
For a long-term solution, you can lay a carpet overlay that is non-skid and can be easily cleaned. Choose a synthetic carpet that is made of nylon or polypropylene. The carpet must be thick enough to avoid the foot from sinking into the fibers. It is better to choose a thicker carpet that can be easily maintained by cleaning it with a vacuum cleaner. The carpet should be long enough to cover both sides of the baseboard and extend 2 inches beyond the furniture. This will prevent the dirt from collecting on the edges of the carpet. You can also opt for a slip-resistant rubber or vinyl carpet that is specially designed for high-traffic areas.
Why Are Wooden Floors Slippery?
- Wood is a natural composite material, which means it is made of organic and inorganic materials. This makes the wood very porous, which means that it can absorb liquids and moisture from the air. The wood will absorb water from the air and become slippery when wet.
- The wood flooring is not sealed or finished properly after manufacturing. This makes the floor more slippery than it should be.
- Wood floors can be installed over concrete or tile floors, which are usually not level due to uneven surfaces in your home or office building. When you walk on these floors, they are more likely to slip than a wooden floor because of the uneven surfaces on top of them.
- The most common mistake homeowners make when installing wooden floors is applying too much glue to fasten them together into one solid piece of flooring material. Sometimes, this will cause the wood to swell and become slippery when wet because of the extra moisture that has been absorbed into it from its surroundings (i.e., your home).
- The flooring material is not installed properly on the subfloor, which creates a smooth surface for the wooden floor to slide on.
- The wood flooring is not installed in the proper direction, which makes it slippery when wet. When you install the wood flooring slanting slightly away from the wall and toward the center of your room, it will reduce friction and make it less likely that you will slip when walking on it.
What You Can Do To Make Your Floor Less Slippery?
- You can install a rubber or vinyl underlayment (also called a transition strip) underneath your existing carpet. This underlayment is made of a non-slip material that will help you keep your wooden floor from becoming too slippery when it’s wet.
- You can make sure the flooring material is installed in the right direction to reduce friction. You can do this by laying down pieces of plywood or wood planks on top of your existing carpet and matching the edges to each other. Then, you can use an electric saw to cut through the edges so they are flush with each other (do not cut through the wooden flooring).
- You can make sure that the wood floor is installed over a level surface (when possible). For example, if you have a concrete slab in your home, you can install wood floors over it instead of putting down cement on top of it and then installing wood floors on top of that layer of cement. If you do not want to install wooden floors over concrete, you can put down rubber pads on top of it instead, which will help absorb some of the moisture from humidity in your home and prevent them from becoming too slippery when wet.
- You can apply a floor finish to the wooden floor that will reduce friction and make it less likely that you will slip when walking on it. The best type of floor finish for this purpose is a laminate, which is a type of hardwood that’s made from pressed wood fibers instead of solid boards. Just be sure to use proper installation instructions and follow them carefully so the finish won’t become damaged or discolored over time.
Conclusion
Wooden floors are a beautiful feature in any home. While they can look stunning, they can also be a little bit too slippery, especially when they’re new or have been finished with a high-VOC product. To solve this problem, you can employ any of the methods we’ve outlined above.
