The Hallway Runner Slides at Night: Tack It Down Yourself or Call a Floor Installer?

The hallway is stop three on the night walk, and a runner that slides or curls there can catch a foot just when she is moving fastest toward the bathroom. The question is whether you can fix it yourself or whether it needs a floor person.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Check the runner first

Walk the hallway at night in her usual shoes or slippers, with the light on the way she uses it. Look for the places where the edge lifts, where the back slips on the floor, where the ends curl, and where a gap opens between the runner and the wall. Note the exact spots, because a runner that slides at one place often has a cause you can find.

Check what is under it. A rug pad that has broken down into crumbs, or tape that has let go, is a simple problem. A runner sitting on a raised metal transition strip, a loose floor board, or a sloped floor is a different problem and may need a person who installs floors.

Do it yourself when

A double-sided rug tape or a non-slip rug pad cut to the runner size will hold most runners that are simply sliding. Clean the floor first, let it dry, and lay the pad before the runner. Keep the pad flush to the edges so no lip is left for a foot to catch. If the runner is worn thin or the edges have curled hard, a new pad will help, but the runner itself may need to go.

Hire it out when

Call a floor installer when the floor under the runner is damaged, when the runner is attached to tack strip that is loose, when a metal transition edge is raised, or when the hall floor slopes. Ask each installer to name the work before you agree: removing old adhesive, setting the pad, checking the transition, and whether they will leave the floor level at each edge.

What to write down

Write down each spot where the runner slid, the time of day, what she was wearing on her feet, and whether the light was on. Write down what you did, whether it holds on the next walk, and who you called if you did. Then walk the hallway again at night after the fix and note any new lift or gap. A fix is done when the walk is clean on two nights, not when the tape is down.