Do Slider Pads Work on Wood?

Features

• Wood furniture and wood floors are durable but can be damaged. When furniture slides across the floor, furniture is damaged when trim edges or legs catch on rough spots and chip or splinter. Wood-to-wood contact, due to weight and pressure, causes furniture to scratch the wood floor. Moving furniture with slider pads cushions the weight of the furniture and provides a smooth surface that does not damage the wood furniture or scratch the wood floors. Slider pads are temporary, resting under furniture only during moving, or permanent, resting under furniture at all times.

Styles

• Available in disc, oval, rectangular or strip designs, slider pads are thick pads with foam or rubber bonded to a hard plastic surface. The hard plastic surface slides easily over carpet. For wood floor contact, slider pads are equipped with fabric or felt pads to prevent wood damage. Pads surfaced with fabric or felt on the underside are quiet and reduce friction so that heavy furniture slides easily over wood floors. The felt or fabric is attached with adhesive to the pad underside. When the felt or fabric wears or is contaminated with grit, it is replaced with a new adhesive surface pad. Many home improvement, moving supply, hardware and flooring stores carry slider pads.

Use

• Slider pads placed under wood furniture absorb small jolts and shocks, protecting the wood from vibration damage. Because the wood furniture rests on the pads and not the floor, its bottom edges are just above the floor and are not damaged from direct floor contact. For moving or rearranging furniture, slider pads slip under each corner. Some sliders are slightly curved upward at the edges, cushioning corners and preventing furniture from slipping off the pad during movement. The slider pads act like casters under heavy or awkward furniture.

Considerations

• Placing slider pads is typically a two-person task, with one person tilting or lifting the item while the other person slides the pad in place. This minimizes back injuries caused when one person tries to lift the weight and place the pad at the same time. Furniture or heavy items move more easily when the pads are placed under the four corners instead of the edges. Watch for obstacles, as the moving furniture may bump into a door sill or other impediment, jolting the furniture off the slider pads.