Everybody loves new shoes. But indoors or out, slippery soles can make you walk wobbly, twist an ankle, or even make you fall flat on your face. Slip and fall injuries lawyers do a brisk business in finding liability in products that can cause you to lose your footing.
Plastic and leather are the most slippery materials for soles. Ice, rain, and wooden floors are the slipperiest surfaces to walk on. The dance floor is a trade-off between surfaces that let you glide and still provide enough grip for you to stay upright.
You don’t have to trade sexy for safety. Here are a few tips that will let you keep strutting your stuff on the sidewalk or the dance floor with confidence and class.
Things You Will Need
You will need your brand-new shoes, of course. In addition, get a rag, some medium-grit sand paper (available at any crafts or hardware store), a pair of scissors, and some shoe grips, sold at all shoe stores.
Slip-fixing steps
First, wipe down the sole of your shoes with the rag. This will get rid of any dirt that may be embedded in the sole prior to sanding.
Second, rub the sand paper along the entirety of the sole in little circles. Pay close attention to the area right under the balls of the feet and the heels.
Next, holding the shoe firmly in one hand, carefully score a pair of big crosses into the soles using the tip of the scissors.
Finally, ensure that the non-slip shoe pads fit the soles of the shoes before emplacement. Trim the pad with the scissors beforehand if necessary. Then peel the backing away from one shoe pad. Place it directly onto the sole and press down firmly. Repeat with the other shoe.
You can visit a shoe repair shop and have them place protective rubber guards on as well, but that may be an unnecessary time and expense.
Scuff the soles
If you want to do it the easy way, just take a few minutes to scuff your new soles on an abrasive surface. Rough concrete, gravel, rocks, and metal grates work well. You can even take your shoes off and just rub them against a brick wall.
Emergency tips and commercial grips
A little spritz of hairspray on the sole of your shoes will make your shoes less slippery in a pinch. Or try a couple of pieces of masking tape.
There are also some commercial products made specially to solve this problem. Gripalicious is a favorite of runway models and for good reason. They work, and they will prevent scuffs on the soles in case you need to return them. They can only be used once and are self-sticking.
Kung Shoe Grip are self-adhesive grips for the edges of your sole to keep your footwear from shooting out from under you. They can also be put inside the shoe to keep moist, sweaty feet from sliding around inside.