Adding Traction to Stairs

Falls account for the majority of deaths inside your home, so keep safety in mind when you're decorating your house. Stairs can be a dangerous falling hazard, especially if they get wet. To help keep you and your family from falling down stairs, add traction with different types of stair treads. With some designed for indoor use and some for outdoor stairs, you can find a stair tread to fit your needs and your decor.


Carpet is one of the most common ways to add traction to your stairs. For indoor stairs, you can decide between covering the steps fully with carpet, hiding the wood beneath, or a stair runner that sits in the middle of the steps and leaves the outer edges uncovered. For outdoor stairs that are wood or concrete, use an outdoor carpet as a runner or with full coverage. Outdoor carpet doesn't have to be the traditional, bland green; it comes in a variety of colors and patterns that can dress up your stairway.

Tread Tape

The easiest traction tool to install, tread tape comes in a variety of colors and sizes, although the most common color is black. To apply the tape, cut it to fit the width of your stairs and peel off the adhesive backing. Press it onto the step to complete the job. For narrow tape, it's best to use at least two rows on the step for the best traction. These work indoors or outdoors, although the adhesive can remove paint and finishes from wood steps when you're ready to take off the tape.

Rubber or Plastic Treads

These treads offer many choices to fit your needs. There are treads that are more like rubber tiles so you can cut them to fit, and some arrive cut to size for your stairs. These are usually neutral colors, such as black, brown and tan, but they also come in clear and some designer colors. Some wrap around the bullnose edge of your step, while others only take up part of the area on the top of each step. Many come in self-adhesive styles that allow you to peel off the backing and press them into place, although others require you to lay epoxy flooring adhesive to glue the treads to the stairs.

Carpet Treads

Designed mostly for indoor use, carpet treads are an attractive alternative to the rubber treads. They usually sit in the middle of your step without wrapping around the bullnose of the stair. These treads often use double-sided carpet tape to stick to your steps, which makes them simple to install. Although the tape may affect the finish of your steps when you remove it, it's less likely to than other options, such as the epoxy adhesive on the rubber treads. These help your house look less industrial as you incorporate the color and pattern of the treads with your existing interior design. The beauty of the wood in the staircase still surrounds the treads.