Easy Peasy 5 Minute Safety Tip

There are several home safety tips that most of us already have covered. We keep a first aid kit about, a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and make sure to stay away from hot ~~pants~~ pans. But one place you might not have thought about making a bit safer is something that most likely gets quite a bit of use. We have a quick and easy tip that can help keep your balance in tricky situations! Click through to see what we mean!

If your step stool is anything like ours, it takes a great deal of use (and abuse). We use it at least once a day to get things out of our closet, hang artwork or get a cookbook down. One thing we'd never thought about is helping those 4 little feet we entrust our life to keep their grip.

We took some "grippy"-shelf liner we had lying around (this would also work great with a piece of vegetable bin liner or no slip carpet pad) and cut it to the same size as the bottom of the feet. Next we spread a small amount of glue with our finger on each foot making sure to leave only a thin layer. The step stool was ready to flip over in 5 minutes and the glue was cured 100% in 30 minutes.

It's a great way to assure that when you're on that top step, you'll stay there. It's a great thing for kids and outdoor chairs as well!

PS, sorry for the whole "easy peasy" thing. We've been watching a lot of Jamie Oliver lately.

(Images via Sarahrae)

Comments (5)

great idea!

posted by ilovebc on April 9th 2009 at 12:38pm
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If you drive a nail through the base of each plastic grip, it will surely never slip off in the future if the glue ever dissolves.

posted by iroh on April 9th 2009 at 12:46pm
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A very good non-slip tip. I love little stools and kitchen stools. Too bad the grocery stores no longer give out trading stamps. Every one in my generation obtained a kitchen stool with Green Stamps :) (or Gold Bond, or Gunn Brothers)

And permit me to elaborate on keeping a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Do NOT keep it in the kitchen, but keep it just outside the kitchen. A fire in the kitchen can easily keep you from reaching the fire extinguisher.

posted by SunnyBlue on April 9th 2009 at 1:06pm
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@SunnyBlue, if the fire's big enough to keep you from reaching the fire extinguisher, you'd do well to get the heck out. If it's bigger than a waste paper basket, get out, don't try to fight it.

I suppose at some point I should get a step ladder instead of using the chairs all the time.

posted by Tiamat_the_Red on April 9th 2009 at 2:07pm
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I don't think putting a nail on the base is a good idea. It might pop out a bit and scratch your floor.

What kind of glue works on vinyl? I would try using double side tape or carpet tape instead.

posted by webherring on April 10th 2009 at 7:19am
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