There are many, many benefits to having a hardwood floor. For one, it is one of the most beautiful choices that you have for flooring. At the same time, there are a lot of problems that can arise when you have such a slick flooring.
For instance, there might be the issue that your furniture never stays in one place. If, every time you try to sit down on your couch, it moves away from you, there’s a chance that there is something that you can do to fix this.
Understanding what the problem is will help a lot when it comes to solving the issue. Generally, furniture that slides on hardwood, laminate, or vinyl floors does this because it doesn’t have a good grip on the floor.
If the bottom of the couch’s legs cannot grip the floor properly, it is going to move around any time someone puts their weight on the couch.
With that being said, there are a few ways that you can go about preventing this from happening and minimizing the damage that this does to your floor.
1 – Dust Your Floor
With hardwood floors especially, you are going to need to stay on top of dusting the floor weekly, or even daily. Dust can make sliding furniture even more prone to sliding around, and it can make it harder for products that prevent sliding to do their jobs properly.
If you want to reduce as much of the issue as you can, you will want to make sure that you are dusting your floor on the regular.
Keep in mind that the more dust there is, the more wear and tear some of the rubber pads and grippers are going to experience. If you plan on using these products to stop your furniture from sliding around, you are going to need to make extra sure that your floor is as dust-free as possible.
2 – Use Rugs
One of the easiest and least strenuous ways that you can keep your furniture from sliding around as much is investing in a good rug. Rugs can provide the same amount of grip for your furniture as a carpet flooring would, preventing it from sliding around as much as it otherwise would.
A large rug is going to be the best solution if your couch is near a lot of other furniture that slides around whenever there is weight applied to it.
One thing that you are going to need to keep in mind when you are choosing a rug is that there is a chance some of them might not have non-stick padding on the bottom. If you are having an issue with slippery furniture, you are going to want to make doubly sure that you purchase a non-slip rug, even if that means forgoing some style options.
Likewise, if you really prefer one style over another, you can also consider purchasing a non-slip pad that fits underneath the rug.
This will prevent your furniture from scuffing up the floor, and it will add a touch of color and design to your room, which is something that many people can appreciate. There are enough rugs out there that you will surely be able to find one that suits your room well.
3 – Use Rubber Pads
This is likely going to be one of the least expensive and most versatile options that you have in terms of stopping your furniture from sliding around. Rubber pads, as the name might suggest, are rubber ends that you can put onto your couch’s legs to provide that grip that they do not have.
Rubber pads can be found at just about every home improvement store out there, and they come in a number of different shapes and sizes. You can also easily find multi-packs online, such as this 16 piece set from amazon.com.
If you are planning to go down the route of choosing rubber pads, remember that they are separated by the size of the furniture that they will be put on. This means that to get the rubber pads that are best optimized for your couch, you are going to want to measure the area of the legs of the couch.
Once you purchase the rubber pads, you can simply place them on the ends of the legs and see the difference that they make.
4 – Use Furniture Grippers
If rubber pads are considered to be the least expensive go-to option to keep your couch from sliding all over the place, then you can consider furniture grippers, like these ones, to be a step above that in terms of quality and usefulness.
While rubber pads will certainly get the job done in most cases, furniture grips have a considerable more amount of versatility and customization options available, allowing you to tailor them to your couch’s needs.
Furniture grippers, unlike rubber pads, can be customized to have different textures. These textures can provide benefits ranging from a better grip on the floor to a promise that no scuff marks will be left when you remove the furniture grips.
There are even some companies out there that specialize in making furniture grippers custom-made for your specific couch.
Again, to be as inconspicuous as possible, you will want to make sure that you measure the legs of your furniture. This will allow you to choose the best size possible for your furniture grippers.
With a good set of furniture grippers, all you will really need to do is place them underneath the legs of the couch and it should be able to stop it from moving.
Because there are so many more options to choose from, you can rest assured knowing that you will absolutely find something that suits your couch, no matter how slippery your floors might be.
5 – Use Stop Blocks
This solution works best if your only problem is that your couch moves backwards every time you try to sit in it, and it doesn’t move in any other direction. This method can either involve purchasing something from the store, or creating your own stop blocks, allowing you to save a considerable amount of money in the process.
Stop blocks, as the name might suggest, are blocks of wood (or another sturdy material) that you place behind the legs of your couch, between the wall and the couch, to physically prevent it from sliding backwards.
While this won’t stop miniscule scratches and scuffs from appearing on your floor, it will stop the immediate problem of having a couch that slides every time you try to sit in it.
If you want to handle this project yourself, all you will really need to do is trace a block of space between your couch’s legs and the wall, and then cut out a wood block that matches this tracing. If you want to get fancy, you can add little wings on the sides of the stop block to keep your couch from moving sideways.
If you are not in the mood to try and manufacture something yourself, you can consider purchasing a stop block at the store. As with many other things, you will need to make sure that you have the measurements handy so that you can pick out the right material.
Stop blocks tend to be more expensive than both furniture grippers and rubber blocks, meaning that you should consider if this is the best option for you.
No matter what option you choose, you can rest assured knowing that you will be able to stop your couch from sliding all over the place and ruining your beautiful flooring. Read more to see how to fix your sinking or sliding couch cushions.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Film/Video/Media Studies, as well as an associates degree in Communications. I began producing videos and musical recordings nearly 15 years ago. I am a guitarist and bassist in Southwest MI and have been in a few different bands since 2009, and in 2012 I began building custom guitars and basses in my home workshop as well. When I’m home, I love spending time with my three pets (a dog, cat, and snake) and gardening in my backyard.