October 08, 2024
During the winter months, and depending where you are in the UK, you may tend to see a fair amount of rain, sleet and snow. This weather can make travelling quite difficult, especially on foot! As the rain and snow settle, that's where the ground can get a bit icy, creating a very unsteady and slippery surface! If you're braving the cold weather, you need shoes that can cope with these conditions. Snow boots are the obvious choice, but there are ways you can make your other shoes and boots less prone to slipping too!
But it's not only harsh weather conditions that cause us to slip and slide when out and about. Some shoes are naturally slippery themselves and we usually don't realise, until they've been worn in, that they're likely to cause slips and falls.
There are many different ways that we can reduce the slipperiness of our shoes - here are just some of them...
If your shoes have a plastic or leather sole, the chances that you'll be slipping around are quite high. Many believe that simply wearing your new shoes out and about is the way to make shoes slip-proof, and they're not wrong, although you will be sliding around until your shoes have worn-in a bit. So, if you find yourself slipping and sliding about, then take a look at some of the best hacks to make shoes less slippery, below.
One of the easiest, do-it-yourself ways to make your shoes slip-resistant is to scuff the soles with sandpaper, a nail file, or something else with a rough surface, such as brick, gravel or rock. Simply rub the rough item on the sole of your shoe until small grooves appear. For the best all-over, slip-free surface, a very fine sandpaper is your best option as it'll not only add tiny grooves to the base of your shoe, but completely remove the coating from the sole.
In some cases, the slipperiness of your shoes can be from being worn too much as opposed to shoes that have hardly been worn. In this instance, a textured grip pad applied to the sole of your shoe will give them the extra life that they need.
Another easy, and potentially extremely affordable, way to make boots less slippery is to use spray-on coatings. You can either purchase a 'grip spray' which you simply lightly cover the entire sole of the shoe to add a tackiness, or you can use hair spray which will, more or less, do the same job. These aren't as permanent as using grip pads and sandpaper, and will need a little more maintenance but they'll do the job for a limited time. Explore our full range of men's and ladies boots.
Another temporary solution for those pesky soles is to apply masking tape in the shape of a cross on the sole of your shoe. The cross needs to cover the entire sole with the tape overlapping in the middle. This is very much an end resort as the tape loses its stickiness rather quickly.
It's important to make shoes less slippery in winter to ensure you're fully prepared for whatever the great British weather will throw at you.
Some of the slippery shoe hacks mentioned above, including using hairspray and scouring the soles with sandpaper, are great (and affordable) ways to make shoes less slippery on ice. However, these are not always permanent solutions, and a lot of these hacks work best on dry surfaces.
For ice, it's a good idea to push the hacks above up a notch by physically gluing sand or salt to the soles of your shoe. Rock salt works brilliantly for this.
If you're out in the snow and ice a fair bit, for work or leisure, it might be worth investing in some ice grips that attach to the sole of your shoe. They're quite inexpensive and made from durable rubber with added spikes to ensure the maximum possible traction.
Take a look at our winter shoe hacks blog post for more winter-proofing tips!
Heels can be very slippery as the surface area of the sole is much smaller than on flatter shoes.
To make the bottom of your heels less slippery then we'd suggest the classic sandpaper method. However, as there's less grip in a heel sole than a regular sole, we'd also recommend carving a couple of large X's into the base with sharp scissors to ensure maximum slip-proofing.
Another great trick for stopping heels slipping on floors is to rub the sole of the shoe with sandpaper and then apply industrial-strength glue, in lines, along the base of the shoe and heel. Let the glue dry and you'll be lift with a great, rubbery non-slip sole.
If your shoes are too well-loved or too expensive for you to even think about doing any of these steps yourself, we'd recommend heading to a trusted cobbler. Even though this will usually end up costing you more money, you'll be left with a professionally gripped shoe with the results lasting longer than DIY hacks.
Whether you're scouring the internet or wandering around shops, finding the perfect shoe often takes a lot of time and patience. Once found, care and maintenance of your footwear should be high on your agenda to ensure you get the most out of your shoes.
Finding out that your beloved shoes are too slippery to wear can be disheartening but by trying out some of these hacks, you'll be back on your feet in no time. Make sure you take extra care with your soles over the winter months as already slippery shoes will become a nightmare when paired with ice!
At shoezone, we've got a huge selection of winter footwear for all the family. Stylish, comfortable and, most-importantly, warm, our winter shoes and boots are just the ticket for the colder weather. Take a look!
Check out the shoezone blog for more style tips and footwear suggestions for every occasion.