Indoor stairs - which tape should I choose?

What is the staircase made of?

Which type of tape to choose depends on what the stairs are made of and whether you mostly walk on the stairs with bare feet, socks or 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 very well directly to raw, unpainted wood as it is a natural surface with many pores that work with cold / heat. Therefore, it is a good idea to start with a coat of primer that is suitable for the task. All of our tape types can be installed after treatment with primer, as long as the surface is not uneven. For uneven surfaces, we recommend our moldable tape.

For regular wood 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 leave marks on the wood, so it is important to only use primer where non-slip tape is to be installed.

Is the staircase 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 to the substrate. However, this is usually not a problem and here we can recommend all of 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 it (the kind you use for wrapping Christmas gifts). 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 on.

For most of us, an indoor staircase means that you don't wear shoes there (at least that applies to most private homes), but if you still have a staircase where you only wear shoes, then you can actually use all types of non-slip tape.

Stairs where you walk with bare feet/stockinged feet.

Bare feet - You should 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 may be an advantage to use our easy-to-clean non-slip tape for barefoot areas as it has a surface of embossed vinyl that is not abrasive and therefore not as 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 onto stockings and nylon stockings. Therefore, our easy-to-clean tape will also be good for places where people wear stockings.