Indoor stairs - which tape should I choose?

What are the stairs made of?

Which type of tape to choose depends somewhat on what the stairs are made of, and whether you mostly walk on the stairs with bare feet, stocking feet or with shoes on.

Are the stairs raw uneven wood?

If your stairs are made of uneven wood, I would recommend that you consider giving the surface a primer before you start installing a non-slip tape. Tape usually does not stick super well directly on raw, unpainted wood as it is a natural surface with many pores that work with cold / heat. It is therefore a good idea to start with a round of primer that is suitable for the task. All our tape types can be mounted after treatment with primer, provided the surface is not uneven. For uneven surfaces, we recommend our malleable tape.

For ordinary wooden surfaces, I would recommend using 3M Scotch Weld 83

For rougher surfaces / with deep veins I would recommend using 3M Scotch-Weld 2141 Contact Rubber

Both types of primer make marks on the wood, so it is important to only use primer where non-slip tape is to be fitted afterwards.

Are the stairs made of varnished wood?

Non-slip tape on painted surfaces is absolutely no problem, you just have to be aware that the adhesion will not be better than the contact of the paint with the substrate. However, this is usually not a problem and here we can recommend all our tapes.

Are the stairs covered with vinyl / linoleum?

If you have a staircase with vinyl / linoleum, there may be a chance that the adhesion is not optimal, as some of these floor types are very "greasy" on the surface and therefore prevent adhesion. However, you can try sticking regular clear tape on (what you use for wrapping Christmas presents), if the clear tape sticks well to the surface, then non-slip tape will also be able to stick to it.

Which non-slip tape for bare feet, stocking feet and shoes?

Stairs where you walk with shoes.

For most of us, an indoor staircase means no shoes. (this applies to most private homes anyway) but should you still have a staircase where you can only walk with shoes. Yes, you can actually use all types of non-slip tape.

Stairs where you walk with bare feet / stocking feet.

Bare feet - Be aware that non-slip tape can be hard for bare feet to walk on due to the rough surface of aluminum oxide, therefore it can be an advantage to use our easy-to-clean non-slip tape for barefoot areas as this has a surface of embossed vinyl that are not abrasive and are therefore not so hard on your feet.

Stocking feet - With regular non-slip tape (here we mean tape that has grain on the surface) there is a chance that the tape CAN grab hold of stockings and nylon stockings. therefore, our easy-to-clean tape will also be good for places where you wear socks.