How to Stop Slip on Shoes Slipping | Tread And Grip Fixes

Stop shoes from slipping by matching the sole tread to your floor type, keeping soles clean, and replacing worn footwear before traction fails.

Whether you’re walking a slick restaurant kitchen floor or navigating a wet parking lot, the fix for slipping shoes starts with understanding why they slip. The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which studies workplace slips extensively, says two things matter most: the tread pattern and the sole compound. Neither “oil-resistant” labeling nor a shiny brochure photo tells you whether a shoe will actually grip your floor.

What Makes Shoes Slip On Different Floors?

Slip resistance isn’t a fixed property of a shoe — it changes with the surface and what’s on it. The HSE’s guidance identifies two distinct situations:

• Indoors with fluids: A softer sole with a close-packed tread pattern works best with water, oil, and grease on smooth floors.
• Outdoors or with solids: A more open tread pattern with wider spaces handles dirt, gravel, and other solid contaminants better.

Shoe manufacturers follow this logic. Skechers Work builds its slip-resistant line with rubber outsoles designed for restaurant, hospital, and construction workers, while BIRKENSTOCK’s Super Grip range states its shoes are tested to EN ISO 20347:2012 standards. The common thread is a sole engineered for a specific environment — not a universal “non-slip” formula.

How Do I Choose Truly Slip-Resistant Shoes?

You verify the claim with data, not marketing. The HSE’s procedure for selecting footwear is straightforward and applies to anyone buying work shoes or boots:

1. Identify your specific surfaces. Name the exact floors you walk on (tile, concrete, vinyl) and the contaminants involved (water, grease, oil, dust).
2. Ask for test data. Request the manufacturer’s slip-resistance test results and coefficient of friction (CoF) values. The HSE notes that higher CoF means better slip resistance, and suppliers must be able to prove performance through testing.
3. Trial the shoes in your real environment. The HSE explicitly advises testing trial pairs in the actual workplace, not relying on lab results or descriptions alone. This is the step most people skip — and the one that matters most.

If you’re comparing options for everyday wear or work, you can also check whether a shoe carries a recognized standard. BIRKENSTOCK cites EN ISO 20347:2012 for its Super Grip line, and many safety footwear brands reference EN ISO 20345 for protective footwear. On the US side, ASTM F2913 — developed in 2012 — measures dynamic coefficient of friction for footwear, and the newer

When you’re ready to buy, it’s worth checking our roundup of the best athletic slip-on shoes for grip — a tested list of options that handle slick surfaces without sacrificing comfort.

The 3 Biggest Mistakes That Make Shoes Slip

Even a well-chosen shoe fails when basic maintenance is ignored. These three errors account for most slipping incidents:

• Assuming “oil-resistant” means slip-resistant. The HSE warns about this directly. Oil-resistant refers to the sole’s ability to withstand degradation from oils, not its grip on a wet or oily floor.
• Letting treads clog. The HSE says tread patterns should not become packed with waste or debris. If your soles collect dirt, switch to a design with wider, deeper tread spaces and clean them regularly.
• Wearing shoes past their prime. The HSE states footwear should be checked and replaced before it becomes worn and dangerous. Once the tread pattern flattens out, the shoe’s slip resistance drops dramatically.

A final word from the HSE: older shoe models might never have been tested for slip resistance, so confirm testing status with the supplier before buying. The right shoe, clean soles, and a good tread pattern will keep you upright — but no shoe is slip-proof in every condition.