Five Ways to Keep Furniture From Sliding That Don't Suck

Wood, laminate, and tile floors are a dream for your home. They’re easy to clean, look good, and last a long time.

The problem?

They can be a bit slippery for your furniture. From dining chairs to couches, and everything in between, it can be a pain to have furniture sliding around on your floors.

Not only that, but it can also be dangerous too.

There are lots of different solutions to this household problem. Some of them good and some of them not-so-good.

We’ll go over the 5 most popular solutions and evaluate them carefully, from how effective they are to how much they cost.

Let’s do it.

Five ways to stop furniture from sliding

Before you go bulk ordering furniture grips, read through this list of solutions. Fair warning: we're biased about rug pads. (You may be too, in a minute)

Our main goal here, though, is to help you find a floor protector that works for you. So we go through the realistic options and what they entail so that you can find something that holds your furniture in place without damaging your floors.

1. Use a rug with a rug pad

Cost: Medium
Effectiveness: High
Ease of Installation: Easy
Damage Risk: Low
Longevity: Long-term

Putting a rug beneath your furniture may help increase the friction between the furniture’s legs and the floor, which can help prevent your furniture piece from sliding around.

But this sometimes only leads to your rugs sliding around like vinyl on a record player.

The degree to which a rug increases friction depends on the floor. Most rugs hold well on hardwood floors, but they don’t have a perfect grip on tiling, laminate, and vinyl flooring.

To enhance the grip, add a rug pad beneath a conventional rug or carpet. It's important to mention, however, that not all rug pads are created equal. Most rug pads are made with PVC (polyvinyl chloride, a synthetic plastic material), which erodes over time and can seriously damage your hardwood floor.

Natural rubber rug pads, on the other hand, are eco-friendly, last longer, and do not damage your floors. Instead they function both as gripper pads and floor protectors.

Here are the benefits of natural rug pads:

1. They don’t scratch or stain most floors, unlike PVC.
2. They’re free of plasticizers, which is commonly found in plastic padding, so your family won’t be exposed to harmful toxins.

One of the main drawbacks of using all natural rubber pads is that you should really place them under a rug or carpet. If you don't have either of those, then you may not want to use this kind of non slip pad for your furniture.

2. Use silicone chair leg caps

Cost: Low
Effectiveness: Medium
Ease of Installation: Easy
Damage Risk: Low
Longevity: Long-term

Chair leg caps that fit onto furniture feet are one of the most popular and affordable solutions to sliding furniture.

There are a few types of rubber pad caps:

1. Peel-and-stick pads
2. Cup pads
3. Screw-on caps

Peel-and-stick pads have adhesive tape that attaches to the bottom of furniture legs. In contrast, cup pads and screw-on caps are designed to fit furniture legs exactly like socks on your feet.

Note: Cap pads and screw-on caps are best to use on furniture that’s used and moved often, such as with dining chairs and coffee tables.

To install, simply lift the furniture and fix the pad to the table or chair legs.

The benefits of using screw-on rubber pads are:

1. You’ve got the freedom to choose from different types, shapes, and sizes. So you can select the option that aligns best with the legs of your chairs, sofas, and tables.
2. They’ve got a low risk of causing damage to your floors and carpet.

The drawback is that they can be a little unsightly, may not be that effective, and lose their elasticity.

3. Use furniture grippers

Cost: Low
Effectiveness: High
Ease of Installation: Easy
Damage Risk: High
Longevity: Long term

Furniture gripper pads stick to the bottom of your furniture legs. The side of the grip facing the floor is textured and slide-proof.

To attach, cut it to size and stick it to each furniture leg.

The main benefit of using furniture grippers is that they don’t overpower your furniture’s aesthetic and often come with a felt pad layer, providing a little extra cushion.

The main drawback is that they can discolor your hardwood floors, thanks to the low quality rubber and adhesives used in these kinds of products.

4. Use stop blocks

Cost: High
Effectiveness: High
Ease of Installation: Medium
Damage Risk: Low
Longevity: Long term

When it comes to heavy furniture, like recliners and beds, stop blocks can help prevent sliding.

If you’re a DIY enthusiast, then you can easily make them yourself. Cut wooden blocks according to the size and shape of your furniture legs. Then place the blocks between the furniture and wall.

These blocks are advantageous because they’re a permanent fix. They almost seem like part of the furniture.

However, their major drawback is that nobody actually sells anything like this online and they can be pretty ugly. But many home design bloggers recommend it so it's worth mentioning here too.

The other major drawback is that raw wood on an floor surface, whether a laminate floor, tile floor, vinyl floor, hardwood floor, or WHATEVER can cause damage. Some kind of felt bad could help prevent damage, but that would then sacrifice the grip. So we wouldn't recommend this option, if you're serious about a long-term solution that won't damage your floors.

5. Keep a clean floor

Cost: Low
Effectiveness: Low
Ease of Installation: Easy
Damage Risk: Low
Longevity: Short term

Any debris - liquid or solid - on the floor increases the chances of slipping.

Laminate and wood floors are prone to harboring dust, which can reduce friction and make your furniture slide around. So it's helpful to keep your floors dusted and clean.

The benefit of keeping a clean floor is that it reduces furniture slippage and also makes for a clean home.

And the main drawback of this solution is that it can be tiresome and isn't fully effective, as even a clean tile floor will still be somewhat slippery. Plus, you don't want the stability of your furniture to depend on your cleaning habits...

Non-slip solutions by furniture type

Okay, now that we've gone over all of the different ways to keep your furniture piece in place, let's talk about the different types of furniture and what works best for each. After all, different kinds of furniture require specific non-slip solutions as each type of furniture leg and weight will affect what kind of non slip pad will work best.

How to keep a sofa from sliding

A sofa can slip out of position when you simply sit or lean on it. Depending on your floor type, it can easily slide across the floor when weight is put on it. To help the sofa stay in position, lay a heavy-duty rug under the sofa.

Alternatively, you can attach a furniture grip pad or fix screw-on rubber caps on each leg of the sofa. Be careful, though. Not all furniture grips are made equal and some may discolor your floors, so do thorough research on whatever furniture grip pad you're shopping for.

How to keep a bed from moving

Over time, your bed slides out of position as you hop in and out of it. Before you know it, it can shift its position entirely.

To keep the bed from sliding, you can either use stop blocks on the side facing the wall or you can attach rubber pads to the legs.

Another option is to lay a carpet in your bedroom. The advantage of using a carpet is that it’ll also make your bedroom cozier. If you have a wooden floor in your bedroom but love the sound of a cozy feeling under your feet, then a stylish rug with a thick rug pad underneath will do the trick.

How to keep a sectional couch from sliding

Sitting on one side of a sectional couch can make it slide. What’s worse, each section slides in a different direction, leaving a hole in the joint area.

To keep the sectional couch in place, lay a carpet on the floor and double up with rubber pads on each couch leg.

If you prefer to DIY, you can physically join the sections. Drill matching holes on the sectional’s legs and then insert a long bolt and secure it with nuts.

How to keep a recliner from sliding

As you lean back and forth on a recliner, it’s likely to slide against the floor.

One of the best solutions is to place the recliner on a round rubber gripper. It holds the recliner in place and prevents it from moving. Subsequently, you can sit and adjust the chair without any slippage against the floor.

Non-slip furniture solutions by flooring type

Non-slip solutions are unique to the type of floor on which the furniture sits. Namely: laminate flooring, hardwood, or tile floors.

Why?

Because the material used in each flooring type varies and reacts differently to rubber, PVC, silicone, or felt. No worries though, we've got you covered. Here is a breakdown of the best solutions per flooring type.

How to keep furniture from sliding on laminate flooring

Laminate floors are famous for their affordability and ability to mimic wood floors.

But the soft and smooth texture of laminate flooring causes a lot of slippage.

To prevent furniture from slipping on laminate flooring, the first step is to keep a clean floor. Then you can:

1. Add a heavy-duty area rug and rug pad.
2. Use rubber pads.
3. Use furniture grippers.

How to keep furniture from sliding on wood flooring

The friction between a wood floor and plastic, metal, or wood furniture is relatively low.

So, if you want to keep your hardwood floors exposed while at the same time preventing furniture from sliding, there are a few solutions you can try.

1. Attach furniture grippers.
2. Use rubber furniture feet.
3. Use carpet pads underneath a stylish rug.

The installation process for both is easy. Simply lift the furniture and attach the grippers or rubber feet to each leg of the couch, chair, stool, or dining table.

How to keep furniture from sliding on carpet

Furniture slides on the carpet if the carpet material is too light or if the floor is too smooth.

To prevent slippage of furniture on carpets, you can:

1. Use a rubber rug pad beneath the carpet.
2. Invest in a heavy-duty carpet.
3. Use rubber pads on each furniture leg.

How to keep furniture from sliding on tile

Our favorite solution will always be a quality rug pad with a stylish rug (. We know it works, won't damage your floors, and lasts a long time.

But if you're not interested in adding a rug to your flooring, then these are the best solutions:

1. Use furniture grippers
2. Use silicone chair leg caps

Whether you have a laminate floor or vinyl floor (or the coveted hardwood floor), your furniture will likely slide around the floor surface. While this may not seem like a big deal, it will be especially annoying when your chair glides across the floor just as you're about to sit in it.

It can also happen with heavy furniture too. Depending on the sofa leg or bed frame you use, some can be exceptionally more mobile than others.

Given the solutions above, you should be able to find what will work best for your incorrigible furniture. Good luck!