If you’ve just had a new floor laid, had an existing floor refinished, used ineffective floor protectors in the past and looking for something better or simply have little or no knowledge about floor protection and what products to use this article is for you.
The most common items of furniture that will need floor protectors are chairs. Now you might be wondering what are the best floor protectors for chairs?
There are several options and I will go through the good the bad and the ugly of each one.
But firstly!!
Why do I need Floor Protectors?
Furniture is by far the most common cause of damage to hard floor surfaces. Most furniture will generally have ineffective or no form of floor protector attached to it at all, so when it’s moved it causes scratches, gouges and other expensive problems and damage.
Fitting good quality floor protectors will dramatically help to eliminate these problems.
Which floor protectors are right for me?
Choosing the right floor protectors can be worked out by asking yourself the following questions:
- Do I want a long term or short term solution?
- Do I want premium, budget or in between?
- How easily do I want my chairs to slide?
In order for you to answer the first 2 questions you’ll need to know the difference and I’ll explain below.
There are a many choices on the market but I’ll explain 3 of the Slipstick Foot Brand.
Slipstick Felt Floor Protectors are your short term and budget solution.
Slipstick Gorilla Floor Protectors are a middle of the road and effective floor protection solution especially for chairs.
Slipstick Foot Floor Protectors are your long term and premium solution
Felt Floor Protector Uses
Felt Floor Protectors are designed to be used under chairs, bar stools, tables and most furniture pieces to protect timber, vinyl and tile floors.
Felt floor protectors are:
- Self Adhesive.
- Ultra Heavy Duty.
Upside of Felt Floor Protectors:
- Protect floors.
- Slide easily & makes furniture easier to move.
- They reduce noise.
- Are suitable for most types of furniture especially chairs.
- Easy to fit.
- Can be used on most floors.
Downside of Felt Floor Protectors:
- Can peel off easily.
- Need to checked regularly for wear.
- Can flatten out when carrying heavy weight.
- Need to be cleaned on a regular basis to avoid lint and dirt build up which becomes very abrasive.
- Short lifespan.
- Can come off unexpectedly.
- Need to clean and sand under the feet of the chair before fitting.
Slipstick Gorilla Felt Floor Protectors
Specially designed to eliminate the problem of traditional felt products coming off and damaging floors. The sliding heavy duty felt base material on these feet are the perfect choice to easily yet subtly protect floors while allowing chairs & barstools to slide quietly and easily.
Upside of Slipstick Gorilla Felt Floor Protectors
- Simple, tap-in design provides a long lasting, permanent hold.
- Will not peel off.
- Slide smoothly & quietly
- Easy to fit
- Heavy duty
- Guaranteed for 12 months
Downside of Slipstick Gorilla Felt Floor Protectors
- Limited sizes
- Slightly harder to fit than standard felt floor protectors
- Need to be cleaned on a regular basis to avoid lint and dirt build up which can become very abrasive.
Slipstick Foot Floor Protectors
If you are looking for, long term floor protection products, that won’t come off, and last a long time, than you cannot go past a product called, “Slipstick Foot” plastic and specially formulated rubber floor protectors
They have a comprehensive range of “furniture sliders” for chairs and barstools, a range of “furniture grippers” to stop your furniture moving and a range of
“castor cups”, and “furniture movers”.
All designed around durability and multiple uses for most types of furniture.
Upside of Slipstick Foot Floor Protectors
- Never peel off they are attached with a super strong adhesive and screw.
- Easy to keep clean. Just wipe with a damp cloth.
- Each foot can hold up to 250kg
- Specially formulated “O” ring will protect all floor coatings.
- Easy to follow fitting instructions are on the back of every Slipstick foot packet.
- Long lifespan.
- Slipstick feet are backed by a 5-year Free Replacement Warranty (Commercial Warranty 1-year).
Downside of Slipstick Floor Protectors
- More expensive than felts
- Slightly harder to fit than felt
- Will not slide as freely as felt
Now that we have identified the difference between each type of floor protector the easiest way to go from here is to answer the following:
Whether you decide to use the Felt Floor Protectors, Slipstick Gorilla Floor Protectors or the Slipstick Foot Premium Floor Protectors you still have one last thing to do.
Obviously calculate how many you will need and then measure the size of the legs on the chairs or bar stools that the protectors will be fitted too.
Note: You can use round floor protectors on round or square chair legs just make sure they are kept inside the overall diameter of the leg.
