Rocking chairs are for rocking and not for walking. However, when you rock in some rocking chairs, you will notice that they are moving forward or side to side. This behavior is referred to as walking, a common issue with rocking chairs.
Rocking chairs turn to move mostly when one of the chair’s rockers is worn out or smaller than the other or if there is insufficient contact between the chair and the floor.
If you notice these issues, you may wonder how to stop rocking chairs from moving. Well, there are several methods of preventing rocking chairs from moving.
Here are some methods of preventing rocking chairs from moving:
- Find Out the Problem
- Fix the Defective Rocker
- Insert a Non-slip Pad
- Attach Felt Strip To the Chair’s Rail
- Attach Self-adhesive Non-slip Strips To the Chair’s Rails
- Attach a Velcro
- Place A Rug Under the Rocker
- Put a Furniture Grip Pad or a Non-slip Carpet on the Chair’s Rails
- Keeping a Clean Floor
This article outlines and explains some steps you should take to prevent your rocking chair from moving. All these methods help to keep rocking chairs stable when you rock in them.
Nine Ways of Preventing Rocking Chairs From Moving
A rocking chair, also known as a rocker, enables users to rock back and forth by shifting their weight or lightly pressing their feet against the floor. Although the rocking chair is meant for rocking. However, the chair sometimes turns to move around while you rock in them.
These rocking chairs turn to move around due to factors such as one of the chair rockers being smaller or more worn out than the other. Therefore, whenever you notice your rocking chair moving, follow the detailed steps outlined below to prevent it from moving around while you rock in them.
1. Find Out the Problem
Identifying the cause of a problem is key to finding a genuine solution. Without knowing the cause of the issue, taking action might lead to misdirected attempts that save time and money. However, you can develop ownership by examining the issue’s root cause carefully.
Therefore, It is always a good idea to look out for the cause of the problem. For example, rocking chairs can move when you rock in them due to a slippery floor, a worn-out rocker, or one smaller rocker.
Finding out the cause of the problem Is very important and will help you know how best to stop your rocking chair from moving. It will also help you to determine whether to use a permanent or a temporal solution to stop the chair from walking.
2. Fix the Defective Rocker
Fixing the defective rocker is the best and most permanent method of preventing a rocking chair from walking. A rocker is considered defective when one is larger than the other, which is one of the primary reasons why rocking chairs slip.
Therefore, fixing the defective rocker can help to prevent the chair from moving when you rock in them. To fix the defective rocker, flip the chair over and observe to see which of the rockers is larger. Then plane the larger rocker till it matches the smaller one.
3. Insert a Non-Slip Pad
Inserting a non-slip cushion between the chair’s rails is one of the easiest ways to prevent a rocking chair from slipping. In addition, the non-slip pads help prevent the rockers from moving, keeping them in one place.
The thickness of non-slip pads varies. Polyester mesh is used to make thin non-slip pads. Polyester mesh performs well for flat carpet weave surfaces, hardwood floors, tile, and laminate.
Vinyl makes thick non-slip pads, which are excellent for rocking rockers on thickly carpeted floors. Choose the appropriate non-slip pad while keeping in mind the sort of floor that you will place your rocking chair.
To install the non-slip pads on your rocker, flip the rocker over or onto its side, apply glue on the rails of the rocker, then add the non-slip pads and trim the pads to size the rocker. After which, you can flip the rocker back.
4. Attach Felt Strip To the Chair’s Rail
Another method of preventing rocking chairs from moving is creating friction between the floor and the chair’s rail. The lack of friction between the floor and the rocker’s rail is one of the reasons why rocking chairs move when one rocks in them.
Therefore, attaching felt strips to the rocker’s rail will help create friction, preventing the rocker from moving. To attach felt strips to the chair’s rail, flip the chair over or to the side and apply an all-purpose glue to the chair’s rail. Then, add the felt strips to the rails.
Then cut the felt strip to size the rocker’s rails. After applying the glue, allow the chair to dry off completely before use.
5. Attach Self-Adhesive Non-slip Strips To the Chair’s Rails
Attaching self-adhesive non-slip strips can also prevent rocking chairs from moving when you rock in them. Primarily, self-adhesive non-slip strips help to prevent kitchen chairs from sliding. However, these strips are also useful on bigger furniture, like a rocking chair.
The non-slip strips are easy to use and do not require any glue; hence these strips are self-adhesive. Furthermore, you wouldn’t have to wait a specific amount of time before using the rocker.
6. Attach a Velcro
Attaching a velcro material to the bottom of the rocker can also prevent rocking chairs from moving. Velcro fabric Is another material that can prevent rockers from moving by creating friction between the floor and the chair’s rail.
To attach velcro to the rocker, firstly, you will have to flip the rocker over or to the side, then cut it into the proper length and glue them to the rails of the rocking chair. Furthermore, ensure to give the glue adequate time to properly before you can use the rocker.
7. Place A Rug Under the Rocker
Another method of preventing rocking chairs from sliding is placing a rug under the rocking chair. Putting a rug under your rocker helps to increase friction between the floor and the rocker’s rails, which stops the rocking chair from moving or sliding.
However, the level of increase of the rug friction depends on your floor type. For example, some rugs grasp perfectly on hardwood floors, while some hold perfectly on laminate, tiling, and vinyl floors, which can cause the rug to slide around when placed on an uneven floor.
Therefore, you should add a rug pad under the rug or carpet to improve the grip of your rug on the floor. The rug pad under the rug creates a balance between the conventional rug and the floor.
8. Put a Furniture Grip Pad or a Non-slip Carpet on the Chair’s Rails
Putting a furniture grip pad under the rails of your chair’s rockers is another method that can help to prevent rocking chairs from moving. These grip pads are rubber-like fabrics and are thicker than felt pads.
Grip pads are mostly used for holding furniture permanently to the floor. However, you can also place a non-slip carpet under the chair’s rails. The non-slip carpet provides a grip for the rocker and is usually invisible under the rocker. All these will help create additional friction between the rocker’s rails and the floor, preventing the rocking chair from walking.
9. Keeping a Clean Floor
Another common way of preventing rocking chairs from moving is by keeping a clean floor. When there is any debris, such as solid or liquid, on the floor, it can increase the chances of their rocker slipping.
Floors such as wood and laminate floors are likely to harbor dust, which reduces friction between the floor and the rails of a rocker, causing the rocker to move around. Therefore, it is important to keep the floor clean and dusted.
However, this solution can be tiring and partially effective; hence a clean floor can still be slippery. Therefore, ensure to use other more effective methods to prevent your rocking chair from moving or slipping.
Conclusion
Rocking chairs are meant for rocking and not for walking. However, when you rock in some rocking chairs, you will notice that they are moving forward or side to side. This behavior is referred to as walking, and it is a common issue with rocking chairs.
Rocking chairs can move when you rock in them due to several reasons, such as a defective rocker, a slippery floor, a worn-out rocker, or one rocker smaller than the other. Fixing the defective rocker is the best and most permanent method of preventing a rocking chair from walking. The non-slip pads help prevent the rockers from moving, keeping them in one place. You can also attach self-adhesive non-slip strips that prevent rocking chairs from moving.
Well, I hope you found this article helpful. I also hope you understand how to effectively stop rocking chairs from moving. Remember that closely using the methods recommended in this article will ensure the solution to this problem.
