Question from Mary
Hello Debra,
I would like your input…..we are removing carpet & putting in hardwood flooring . The challenge for me is the stairs. I feel somewhat unsteady when I think of hardwood , not carpet on the stairs…a little too ‘slippery’.
A frind suggested we put a runner on the stairs….but I am not sure how this would be any safer ( as in not slipping).
My husband says, ‘just put new carpet’, however, we have not researched the non-toxic avaiablitly of carpet.
any suggestions for a healthy AND safe treatment for our stairs ?
thanks…as always!
Debra’s Answer
I’ve never lived in a house with stairs, so have never had to address this myself.
You can research natural and less-toxic carpet at Debra’s List: Interior Decorating: Carpet.
But there may be another option for you. Skidding is a big problem in workplace safety and there are many products designed to make surfaces anti-skid and anti-slip. You can explore them at http://www.noskidding.com and other sites. They are probably sold at hardware stores too.
I don’t know anything about the toxicity of these products, but I can’t imagine they are any worse than new carpet.
Readers, any other suggestions?
