my tail bone hurts just looking at them.

ive seen things that can go on treads, i googled "slippery stairs solution" and there are lots of ideas, have a look see for your best option.

Funny you should say that... I'm sitting on an ice pack right now... I took quite a tumble this morning, which was the impetus for the question. Thank you!

Is there something on the wood that makes them slippery? I know that some substances that are used for the wood floor cleaning can make the floor very slippery. I have wood floor and stairs in the entire house and I've never had a problem. The only time I had a problem was when I was wearing some wool slippers that did not have any rubber on the bottom. Socks are not a problem.

What is the rise/run? They look too steep. The entire stair requires a handrail also. I think your issues aren't due to the materials but rather the failure of the design.

I think that a fun runner on the stairs is the only really safe and nice looking solution.

You safety is what matters here, not having a runner you love. Have a plain colored runner put down for now, and keep your eyes open for something more suitable in the future.

My sister didn't want to cover her lovely front hall stairs that they recently stripped, etc. - until my brother in law fell. You don't have to use a pre-made runner with limited designs...regular carpeting can be cut so your choices are truly endless. Look at runners on Houzz, which may be easier to help with imagining what they would look like and bring the picture to the carpet store.

I looked up ideas "nonslip" under staircase. There they showed stairs painted where texture had been added to the paint, carving done to the wood in the stairs, and steel added to the edge of the stairs as in this photo.

Along the lines of Hayley's thinking, you could consider the various non-slip stair-tread products. Not the most gorgeous solution, perhaps -- though they can look attractive -- but a very good way to keep you safer until you decide on a long-term solution. The ebay page below gives you a fair idea of what might be available out there. Sala kahle. That's "stay safe" in isiZulu.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Stair-Treads-/175517/i.html

i'm so sorry about your ice pack, i clicked like because there wasnt an "ouch" button.

our back stairs are slippery, like yours. i only use them when i'm wearing non-skid slippers or indoor shoes. they DO get less slippery over time, thats when you need to be careful cuz you think you've outsmarted them when really they are just lying in wait....

Maybe its the photo, but the stairs do seem steeper and narrower than normal.

op says they are for the basement, lots of basement stairs are steeper, that ive been familiar with.

Wood experts chime in, please. Looking at the pic, I see it seems to be only the edges -- a couple of inches -- that show the shine so attractively. So I'm wondering whether some kind of resurface of the step to that point might not look just fine? The wood equivalent of an acid etch. I'm sure there is one, aside from the clumsy expedient of sandpaper. Or is it clumsy? Matt-to-shine can look wonderful.

PCmom, that's beautiful.

Sand.

Using masking or painters tape, tape off an area about 1 inch from the edge of the tread. You're making a skinny rectangle with the tape on each tread. 1 inch by your stair width. Use a good polyeurthen and lightly fill in the taped area, and then sprinkle with a bit of fine grit sand. Remove the tape as you go to avoid any obvious hard lines. You'll hardly see the result, but you won't fall anymore!

You should put railing on both sides,and really it's only slippery when you have socks on as long as you are aware of this you should be ok kids on other hand if you have them then I don't need to explain

Get your money back from the contractor for doing a non code compliant stair. Then have a different contractor do it correctly. As you've discovered, it's a major safety issue that putting a bandaid of sand or a runner on won't fix. It needs to be rebuilt correcty, less steeply, and with the proper hand rails. Not to mention being permitted and properly inspected!

Go to a catalog company Cal Improvements. They sell great washable stair runners that do not slip. Perfect!!

Wood can be slippery, but that looks like it is actually a laminate or at least an engineered flooring with an EXTRA slick surface. I think you meant to say that you finished the stairs by putting a cap on the treads instead of carpet, and didn't actually rebuild the entire staircase?

The handrail needs to go from landing to landing on at least one side.