These £9 chair socks rescued my hardwood floors from nasty scuffs

I’ve been on a long quest to protect my floors, and these little things are a gamechanger

They have ribbed cuffs, just like human socks (The Independent )

Ever since I moved into my new flat a couple of years ago, I’ve been trying desperately to keep my hardwood floors looking pristine. While a steam mop and a cordless vac were doing a good job at keeping them clean, my dining chairs were determined to cause death by a thousand scuffs to my rustic oak panels.

With my chairs screeching along whenever I pulled them out from under the dining table, I’ve been on a long-winded quest to soften the blow to my floors. I first started with these felt furniture pads (£9.99, Amazon.co.uk), which did stop my floors from getting scuffed. But after a couple of weeks, the adhesive would weaken, and they would start to fall off.

I kept applying new pads to my chairs every month or so, treating it like a monthly ritual to my furnishings. But when the huge pack of eighty ran out, I decided to try these deep felt floor cups (£14.99, Amazon.co.uk). They weren’t just more expensive; they were also more useless than the adhesive pads, getting knocked off my dining chair legs every single time I moved about. It was like I was sitting on a teacup ride at the funfair.

After repurposing the cups as dried lavender holders (honestly, they look really nice, but are absolutely hopeless at their intended job), my search finally led me to something I never knew existed – dining chair socks (£8.99, Amazon.co.uk).

Cute as a button, they’re like tiny fluffy knitted boots for your chairs, with soft felt pads at the bottom and elasticised ribbed cuffs to keep them tight. Dear reader, I only have one thing to say: My quest is over – these dining chair socks are a gamechanger.               

Chair leg socks, pack of 16: £8.99, Amazon.co.uk

(Alex Le//The Independent )

These khaki green chair socks are of a higher quality than the socks I buy for myself, lucky things (and lucky floors). They not only work better than adhesive pads, with zero scuffing against my floorboards and the ribbed cuffs keeping them pulled up tight, but they also look a whole lot better.

Made of acrylic fibre, They blend into the décor, and look just nice enough for people to comment on them if they notice the dining chair they’re sitting on is wearing socks. The soft felt pads are sturdy, letting guests slide out with ease, and if I want to lift them up to move them when I mop the floor, they don’t fall off. Staying put, like any pair of human socks. The issue I’ve had with both furniture cups and felt pads was that they’d fall off as soon as I moved my chairs even a little bit.

These, however, just stay right on. Best part? They only cost £9 for a pack of sixteen socks. That’s four dining chairs all socked up and ready to go. Hardwood floors, thank me later. 

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