We just pulled the carpet up on our stairs and put down hardwood. Initially, I was planning to put a runner on the hardwood(thinking that it would be safer and more slip resistant). After a week of using the wood stairs, however, I am not certain if there is any difference in slip resistence. I am curious what other peoples' experience has been.

Mine has been horrible! I fell all the way down my oak stairs years ago and thought I'd die from the pain. It was also very difficult for my dogs to navigate them, especially going down. I have a Karastan runner on mine and feel very safe now, and the dogs can run up and down with ease.

we've had no carpet on ours stairs for a couple of years now and have not had any issues(I'm probably jinxing myself now). I too thought my kids would be sliding all over the place, but it's been fine.

my3dogs:Ouch, that is what I am afraid of! Could you describe what kind of finish is on your wood? Were they prefinished? My stairs are white oak, with waterlox site finished. The stairs don't seem as slippery as I thought they would be -- but I am still assessing this.

15 years with uncarpeted treads and no problems so far!

Never liked carpeted stairs. Well carpet in general. It never felt clean. So we took it all out and replaced it with hardwood and travertine.
House feels much cleaner. Easier to maintain.

I somehow felt unsafe with carpeted treads. something about not being flat and solid. I much prefer stone or hardwood treads. it feels solid. we have gloss finish on it but does not feel slippery.
they are waterloxed. every three years or so i put another coat on and it looks like new again.

delta,

My house is an old Cape built in 1937. The stairs are oak, and had a semi-gloss finish, just like the matching LR floor. They are the originals, and I always found them loud, also. I much prefer mine with a nice runner.

I hate this picture because it doesn't show the wall color correctly at all. It's Ben Moore Wythe Blue, and it matches the little bit of greenish blue in the runner. That's Sam at the top inspecting it!

THIS is the true wall color.

Just had new staircase installed about a year ago-oak treads,,, and will never have carpeted stairs again! and we have 2 big dogs..

the sound issue is the only reason i would consider a runner.

We resanded all the floors, so right now we don't have a runner on the stairs either. I keep going back and fourth about putting one on. We sealed the floor and stairs with waterlox and the stairs aren't slippery because it's a low sheen finish. The upstairs is our daughter's domain, so mostly kids climb the stairs and so far no one has slipped at all. They seem so easy to clean sans runner too, just swifter, mop and move on.

I went from carpeted stairs to hardwood treads about 4 years ago. There have been no issues with slipping. I'm especially cautious since I broke my wrist at work a couple of years ago, but no problems. Also, the carpet would become incredibly filthy fast, especially in bad weather, and I don't miss constant the cleaning.

I would just like to mention that having a runner up one's stairs does not necessarily mean that it is 'incredibly filthy'. Bad weather has never made my runner any dirtier than good weather.

Personally, I take pride in keeping my house clean, and keep my runner clean also.

we put hardwood on our stairs about 2 months ago and have two dogs (small terriers, jack russell and wire fox).

I haven't noticed any slippage change, but then again I fell down the carpeted stairs a few times...carpet burn all the way down your back hurts!!!

Ours is semi-gloss..and the dogs did slow down a few days, but after that my jack russell is back to his old routine, right back leg stuck straight out behind him and running down the stairs! It reminds me of when you're a little kid and taking the stairs as fast as possible...

I have wood stair treads (no carpet). I have a Dobie and an AmStaff that do just fine going up and down on a daily basis---it's not slippery at all. I also have two bends in my staircase which I think helps prevent the dogs from racing head-first down a straight shot.

I wonder who originally created the 'slippery-hardwood-treads' myth? carpet industry ;)

I removed the carpet from mine 2 years ago and have had no problem. When they were carpeted I slipped on them quite often. I actually hurt myself pretty badly when I slipped on the carpeted stairs while going down them with a ladder. I had a bruise that covered my entire thigh for a very long time.

In the two homes I've had stairs, they've been uncarpeted. This house actually has the double whammy of open treads and no carpet. I don't find them problematic. I HAVE slipped down the stairs, but I've also slipped down carpeted stairs as well. My husband has slipped once, but he was wearing socks and going down the stairs.

My four year old has never slipped down the stairs, knock on wood ;)

I had carpet removed from my stairs about 6 months ago. I have not noticed the stairs being more slippery than they were before but I almost always hold the rail going down! I have noticed that they are a LOT noisier. I have a teenage daughter and when she comes down the stairs in hard soled shoes it is noisy! I also worry about them scratching because the kids drag suitcases, etc. up the stairs! I have to make them work on that!

We added a runner several years ago and it's been a huge improvement for us. We've got the standard colonial 13 step staircase and my husband and I have both fallen UP the stairs a few times which is very rough on the knees! The carpet also eliminates the echo-ey noise in the stairwell. When we carpeted our old living room there was enough carpet left over from the piece for a runner so we had it bound and installed.

One of the things I've enjoyed about having bare stairs is that they are easier to keep clean than carpeted stairs. I have two cats that shed like crazy. The stairs are noisier uncarpeted. I don't have little kids so it' not much of a problem for me, but I could see how it could be with lots of traffic.

Thanks everyone, you've given me a lot to think about!

Peonies, we never realized that we had hardwood steps until more than 15 years ago when we had the carpet removed. We have never had any accidents nor has anyone else since the carpet removal. I love the hardwood stairs. It's also on the stairs leading to the lower areas, and no problems. Of course, now that I have wordart on the upper ones--there will be no runners for sure. Glad you liked it.

Funny thing....

After posting this my bf almost took a head dive down the stairs last night...he fell on his bottom about three stairs after slipping while wearing socks. I laughed my head off! Note to self: Don't get in a hurry down the stairs when only wearing socks!

He caught himself luckily!

I consider the non-carpeted stairs to the second floor one of the best decisions we made when we built our home 20 years ago. I don't regret not carpeting them at all. They are not slippery and are easy to keep clean. The steps to the finished basement are carpeted and I wish they weren't. Carpeting on stairs seems to wear out quickly. Good luck with your decision.