Increasing traction on hardwood stairs

[deadwing]

My house is entirely hardwood flooring.  In particular, my stairs and second story are in really great shape.  The first floor hardwoods are just OK and will require refinishing at some point.  The first floor also includes 3 steps from the back door up to the main floor.

Is there a non-damaging way to add traction to the stairs?  I'm pretty sure the answer is no.  I'm not really picky if the traction comes from carpeting or something else.  I don't care about damaging the 3 steps by the back door.  It's the main stair case that I'd like to preserve.

I've recently added a three-legged puppy to my family (rear leg amputee). I know this dog will never be able to climb a full flight of stairs on her own.  I think if I can improve traction for her, she could do most of the work herself and I could provide support via a harness.  She's currently 25lbs but still growing (mixed breed, but I don't think she'll be over 40lbs).  I'm carrying her upstairs at bed time and down in the morning.  This works for now, but I don't know that it's viable forever.  She struggles with the back 3 steps, but can handle my 5 step concrete stoop just fine.  

Both sets of inside steps are mostly hidden from view, so I'll take any suggestions on products.  

[mouse]

I am interested to see what replies you get. Currently we have hardwoods on our main level, hideous carpet on the stairs and upper level. The current carpet needs to go. We want hardwoods in the bedroom, but my husband hates hardwood stairs for the safety aspect. We’re currently debating having carpeted stairs only - which are annoying to vacuum and I think would look weird, but might be worth it for traction/cushioning in a fall. He was saying maybe steps that are only carpeted on the tread and not the riser but personally, I think that looks worse and is more expensive.

[deadwing]

I make it a rule not to do stairs without wearing shoes or slippers (with a good sole!). I have fallen down wooden stairs and hurt myself (minor) twice, have 2 friends who have had breaks requiring multiple surgeries, and a friend-of-a-friend died from falling down stairs. So, safety is a good point.

[lightbulbsun]

I added a runner to my wood stairs in my previous house, but you have to staple it to the steps, so there is some damage. I think they sell carpet pieces just for the treads that can supposedly be removed, but I'm not sure if I would believe that. There's also a spray you can use to make surfaces less sticky, which I used on my front steps. Not sure if it would have a filmy look indoors, though.

[Susie]

Nov 11, 2021 15:05:22 GMT -5 mouse said:

I am interested to see what replies you get. Currently we have hardwoods on our main level, hideous carpet on the stairs and upper level. The current carpet needs to go. We want hardwoods in the bedroom, but my husband hates hardwood stairs for the safety aspect. We’re currently debating having carpeted stairs only - which are annoying to vacuum and I think would look weird, but might be worth it for traction/cushioning in a fall. He was saying maybe steps that are only carpeted on the tread and not the riser but personally, I think that looks worse and is more expensive.

That's where we are by default right now, and I think we're going to keep it that way (but replace the carpet itself).

We took out the carpet on the first and second floors and put in hardwoods, but ran out of time to do the stairs before we had to move in.  My kids are little, my dog is aging, and my dad (with two more dogs) could foreseeably move in with us in the future.  Wood stairs are pricey and don't offer a lot to this situation.  The most economical and practical answer I think is to replace the old and stained carpet, but keep it carpeted.

From the first floor, I don't think it will look all that different from HW downstairs / carpeted stairs + upstairs, which I think is a pretty common thing to do.  I don't think people spend that much time on the first floor looking up at the sliver of flooring you can barely see at the very top of the stairs.  Where you get a good view of the stairs as being basically an island of carpet is the top of the stairs, but the only people who see it from that angle are us, and we have our reasons.  I'm ok with that.

[sacattack]

YHL did a post on a DIY runner: www.younghouselove.com/diy-sisal-stair-runner-install/
They also liked these stick on treads: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K82K27L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?tag=younghouselov-1-bg-20

[deadwing]

Nov 11, 2021 15:22:14 GMT -5 lightbulbsun said:

I added a runner to my wood stairs in my previous house, but you have to staple it to the steps, so there is some damage. I think they sell carpet pieces just for the treads that can supposedly be removed, but I'm not sure if I would believe that. There's also a spray you can use to make surfaces less sticky, which I used on my front steps. Not sure if it would have a filmy look indoors, though.

Stapling sounds like less potential damage than adhesive... My main stairs have a slight turn at the bottom, so this might be tough to DIY without looking like garbage... but I'll look into it!

The bottom of the stairs looks like this picture - no bend at the top.

[boiler717]

I would do a runner. We have all hardwood floors (minus bathrooms and basement) but our main staircase has a natural fiber runner and it looks great.

[af1212]

We have always had tread rugs in our stairs. They sell an adhesive tape that you put down and then out the carpets on top.

We have removed them before - definitely does not damage the wood in any way but is a slow and tedious process to remove the adhesive.

If you were just changing out the carpets it would be easy peasy. But if wanted to remove and have nothing just be aware it’s time consuming.

Example - www.plowhearth.com/p/38418%20TN?aff=6443&aff=6443&gclid=CjwKCAiAm7OMBhAQEiwArvGi3PXUF9D7V7U8xoPD4VZvhp5Hlufv05_Fl4yVZHZUimRCWNEZFSxDyBoCncgQAvD_BwE

[expectantsteelerfan]

I bought these to add to our basement stairs to help my dogs with traction. I haven't tried to take them off, so I have no idea how much damage they will do, but I think if you really took your time to peel them off slowly, you could get them off without doing damage and then use cleaner to remove any sticky residue.

I was really impressed with both how much they help with traction and how not-noticeable they are. It took my dh a week to notice them.
smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C6GJ1LK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[laterz]

I bought rubber-backed stair treads from wayfair. Not the sexiest things out there, but they're soft, do the job, and aren't going to ruin my stairs.

[deadwing]

Nov 11, 2021 18:43:27 GMT -5 laterz said:

I bought rubber-backed stair treads from wayfair. Not the sexiest things out there, but they're soft, do the job, and aren't going to ruin my stairs.

This sounds like it could be what I need. Rubber backing - I feel like I should have thought of this!

[juliej]

We added these to our basement stairs after my husband slipped last summer and dislocated his thumb really, really badly: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082BJ3KXV/

They work great, but I don't love the design. I kinda want to try those clear ones.

Other that his fall, we've never had a problem on wood stairs, but we normally traverse them barefoot; he slipped wearing his crappy flip flops that had no tread. I slip much more often on carpeted stairs.

[mrspez07]

We installed these (or similar) for our aging pup. They stay really well, aren’t very visible and have worked great.

Anti Slip Stair Treads, 32"x4" PEVA Stairs Traction Tape, Safety Grippers for Kids, Elders and Pets, 15 Pack Pre Cut Strips to Prevent Slippery smile.amazon.com/dp/B08P5PGCKZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_TWH5KMPGFFH4W70ZYMJH

Unfortunately I have no idea how the wood will look when we pull them off (we have laminate), so I only partially answered your question ;-)

[sakura]

I cut a couple non-skid kitchen floor mats into strips when it became hard for my old dog to do stairs.