Furniture sliders
I am not reviewing a specific product in this review, rather taking a look at the pros and cons of how these work in general.
You may be wondering what is a furniture slider?
They are shapes or discs with a hard slippery surface on one side, which goes against the floor and a grippy or soft upper surface that goes against the item you are wanting to move e.g. legs of heavy furniture.
They are completely different from furniture pads which are designed to protect the flooring or furniture grippers which do exactly the opposite and create a non-slip surface.
How do you use them?
You can use them on hard floors and carpet, but you choose different types for different surfaces.
You tilt the furniture so you can insert a slider underneath at corners. There are some TERRIBLE videos out there of people lifting one handed in really unhelpful postures, so think about your posture before you start.
You can put them under furniture that sits directly on the floor or under legs, but under castors doesn’t work well! Some brands also supply ‘lifters’ – think of them as levers not lifters as the whole point is not to lift.
Plan the number of people you need for the manoeuvre - tilters / pushers etc. Sometimes the sliders get left behind, so a ‘runner / spotter’ is also really useful!
Once you have slid the heavy item to where you need it to be, decide if the sliders are saying in place or coming out…
You might want to leave them in place if it's just a temporary move, or if they look ok. Just don’t leave them if the object is likely to move e.g. a washing machine on spin cycle!.
Why use them?
The advantage of pushing and pulling over lifting is that you are not taking the full weight of the load and can use your body weight and momentum.
In general, push rather than pull, because typically you maintain a more neutral posture.
When you pull, your body is often twisted and you frequently use only one hand, increasing the possibility of injury.
If this has got you interested, there is detailed guidance from HSE on assessing the risks of pushing and pulling.