I have tried several things to cut down on the noise and marks created by my 4th graders scooting their chairs in and out. I have tried tennis balls. These are great, but often pop off and have to be put back on. Most of them have lost their ability to stay on by Christmas. I have also tried double thick felt rubber-banded on like booties. These lasted about 3 months before they started tearing. I was wondering if anyone has used the stick on carpet circles. The adhesive is supposed to be very strong. This might be a cheaper, easier alternative. I think I will try it this year unless someone has a better idea.
What about adhesive felt squares? I bought some at a fabric store to use on my dining room chairs. They are really inexpensive. You just cut out circles - or whatever shape you need - and stick them to the feet of the chairs.
I tried the tennis balls too. I seriously think I had one boy in my class that purposefuly took them off the chairs because nearly every week he would come up to me and literally stick one in my face and say "I got another one." I may try the stick on felt instead. Seems like it would be less work involved.
There are small tennis balls you can buy that are made especially for the bottom of chairs. I got a sample through a contact on here and used them on my non-rolling teacher chair. They worked fantastic all year. In fact, at the end of the year, I had to really work to get them OFF the legs of the chair. I don't know the name but there was a thread about them last summer.
I liked the tennis balls better than the stick on type. The trick with the tennis balls is to make them very tight to put on but...our school finally bought the professionally made little bootie thingy that has felt on the bottom...it is bliss but they are expensive.
my chair problems solved I had the same problem. Felt stick-ons fall off and stick on the floor. They are a total waste of money for that purpose. With all the movement of those chairs the felt is off in no time. The janitor ordered new feet for my chairs with a white plastic base. That did the trick - less noise and no marks. It was a lot of work for him removing and replacing all those feet but what an improvement.
I literally get sick looking at the gunk that gets stuck on the tennis balls. Ugh. But, that is what we use. They make these plastic glider things (look like mini skateboards) for senior citizens' walkers (my mother just got them) and they would be great, though very expensive.
I got these for my chairs. I've had them all year with NO damage, and they don't come off easily, and they keep the desks where you want them, but they slide easily. Floor Buddies
They look great, but no way could I afford 78 cents per leg! Tell me I'm wrong and that it's 78 cents for a set.
Our school department has tried many different commercial products to protect our floors and we also tried the tennis ball. None have been successful. The option posted by Ima looks interesting, but expensive. Good luck in your search. Keep us posted.
