Sure Footing: Preventing Slips, Falls, and Trips in and Around the Home

Organizing your space and taking proper preventive measures will ensure you can move through your home with certainty and comfort. fizkes/Shutterstock

We all spend much of our time on the move, mostly without thinking about safety. Some simple adjustments can help everyone stay on their feet.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 3 million people are treated in emergency rooms every year for falls. No matter one’s age, many easy changes can be made to and around the home to better ensure safety, along with some traction enhancers and other preventive measures.

The easiest way to get started is to organize. Arrange furniture so there’s plenty of room for walking. Clear clutter from the floor (that pile of magazines by the easy chair would look so much better in a magazine stand), make sure the kids pick up their toys, and clean up food and drink spills immediately.

Also, put extension cords away after each use. If the cords need to be out for a while, such as for Christmas lights, run them behind furniture or under shrubs outdoors, or cover them with a specially designed cover that’s higher in the center to cover the cord and tapered on the sides to reduce tripping. For enhanced protection, secure the cover to the floor with double-sided tape. This also gives holiday décor a more finished look.

Floors and Stairs

Clean up food and drink spills immediately; a wet floor is a dangerous floor. Similarly, don’t walk on newly washed, slippery floors until they are dry. Unless the house is completely carpeted, don’t walk around the house in socks. For those who can’t stand wearing shoes inside, consider a pair of non-slip slippers, or at the very least, grip-soled socks.

Wood floors add a traditional warmth to a room, but they also can be as slick as an ice-skating rink. An anti-slip floor finish is a liquid solution that contains tiny particles to add friction to the surface yet isn’t visible to the naked eye. These are available as paint or as a clear coating.

Modern tiles offer various levels of slip resistance, but what if you have an existing floor you love? No worries; there are non-slip treatments for everything from tile to polished marble and natural stone.

Loose carpets or area rugs are the cause of many accidents. Secure them with gripper tape or Velcro, or place rubber waffle pads or even inexpensive rubber shelf liners underneath to help prevent them from sliding. For bathrooms, choose non-skid mats with rubbery bottoms.

Add anti-skid tape to wood or tile stairs. Bright colors and luminous tape are available for dimly lit locations, such as basement stairs. Another option is to use adhesive-backed, non-slip carpet stair treads for a traditional, decorative look. For wood (interior) or concrete (exterior) stairs, use non-slip aluminum stair nosing, which covers the edge and a bit of the front of the step, or a tread and nosing combination, which covers the entire step and provides a high level of safety. Both are available for indoor and outdoor applications, pre-drilled and ready to screw securely into place.

Check that all handrails and grab rails are properly secured, and get in the habit of using them. pikselstock/Shutterstock

Further Risk Reductions

Check that all handrails and grab rails are properly secured. Ideally, stairs should have handrails on both sides, but what’s even more important is that they be used. Get into the habit of holding onto the handrail when going up and down the stairs, even if it’s just a light grip. This is especially important when carrying packages, which should be held such that they don’t block the view of the stair treads.

Keep essential items at hand. This may involve purchasing a second set of key items such as reading glasses, toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc., with one for each level to lessen the need for trips up and down the stairs.

Older adults should consider adding additional grip rails at key danger points, including inside and outside tubs and showers and next to toilets. Whether one is 80 or 18, frequently used items such as pots, pans, kitchen utensils, laundry essentials, and basic tools in the garage should be kept within reach to reduce the use of a step stool or step ladder.

Bright Ideas

Despite the most vigilant efforts, a slip, trip, or fall condition can occur, whether it’s an item set down and forgotten or an older carpet that begins to lift at the edge. The best way to protect against unanticipated problems is good lighting.

Increase a room’s wattage, upgrade fixtures, or re-aim lighting when appropriate, particularly near doorways and in hallways and staircases. Light switches should be placed at convenient locations. If they’re not, consider adding motion detector light switches that turn on the minute you enter a room. Add nightlights throughout the house, choosing models that turn on automatically after dark.

Lastly, always keep a charged flashlight near the bed in case the power goes out. Proper visibility reduces risk.

Add anti-skid tape to wood or tile stairs. FOTOGRIN/Shutterstock

Outdoor Spaces

A home’s exterior dangers can be largely mitigated by keeping walkways, steps, porches, and decks free of snow, ice, or pooled water.

Hold On

Use handrails when walking up and down stairs or a sloping walkway. Consider adding a grab bar by the front door that provides balance when opening the door in inclement weather, along with a non-slip doormat to ensure firmer footing.

Slip-Proof Concrete

When laying a new concrete walkway or steps, add silica sand to the sealer to improve slip resistance. One trick for new or old concrete is to spread rock salt, allowing it to etch the surface. Or opt for a less aggressive, instant traction product such as Traction Magic.

Balanced Choice

Sometimes, there’s no way to avoid walking on ice or slippery snow. In these cases, it’s time to walk like a penguin. Point your toes out, bend your knees, and walk flat-footed, taking small, waddling steps with your hands out for balance.