How to fix a slippery garage floor is a topic that comes up frequently each winter. Once that first snow falls or the rainy season sets in, the surface of some garage floors can resemble an ice rink when walking on them. With that in mind, we decided to list some quick remedies, as well as some more permanent solutions to make your garage floor less slippery and safer to walk on.
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Quick fixes to a slippery garage floor
One of the first solutions we recommend for those living in snowy climates is to use a containment mat. They are incredibly effective at collecting water, snow, road salts, and deicing fluids that can dowse a floor and create a slippery mess.
They do a great job of keeping your garage floor dry, they are easy to use, and can simply be stored away until the following winter. This one here is our favorite.
All snowmelt and water are contained within the mat instead of spreading out over the garage floor. This keeps the rest of the garage floor clean and dry. You can learn more about containment mats here, including which ones we recommend.
For rainy climates or areas with light snowfalls, non-slip garage floor runners are very popular to use. You can line them up right next to your car. This provides a safe non-slip surface to walk on. You can even create a path to the house door.
One of our favorites is the Armor All Garage Floor Runners by Drymate. They are thin carpet-like mats with non-slip waterproof backing. Each runner will hold gallons of water and not allow it to leak onto the concrete and spread.
Each mat is 29″ wide with a choice of 9′ length or 18′ length. They can easily be trimmed to fit if needed with sharp scissors or a utility knife. You can find them here on Amazon.
A garage runner like this can be a good inexpensive solution to a slippery garage floor. Like a containment mat, a runner can easily be stored away until you need it again next winter.
One drawback with the Armor All runner that some people don’t care for is that it can take a few days or more to dry out if it has been completely saturated with water. You can easily accelerate the drying process though by sucking up the water with a shop vac or pulling it out onto the driveway during a sunny day to dry.
For those of you who don’t want to deal with a carpet mat that takes time to dry, there is always the easy option of non-slip runners made of synthetic rubber and PVC vinyl. These are very popular for garage floors that get slippery from a lot of water and snow. We recommend a couple of options by Rubber-Cal.
The first is a simple black pebbled synthetic rubber mat. It provides a nice non-slip surface that is 1/8” thick by 4 feet wide and is available in a variety of different lengths to fit your needs.
The surface dries quickly and it is easy to clean. Once winter is over, it can be rolled up and stored until it is needed again. You can get the current pricing here at Amazon.
The second choice we recommend that Rubber-Cal offers are their Coin-Grip floor runners. These are nice because they offer a more custom look and are available in three different colors to choose from.
Like the black pebble mat, they provide a nice non-slip surface to walk on in the garage. They are 4 feet wide and available in a variety of lengths to choose from. You can view the current pricing here at Amazon.
Something to consider with the Rubber Cal runners is that they will not contain water like a containment mat or the Armor All runner. Water can run off the mat onto the garage floor.
Permanent solutions to slippery garage floors
For a more permanent solution to a slippery garage floor, you need to consider garage flooring options that will create a non-slip surface. These will virtually eliminate the need for non-slip mats, carpet runners, and in some cases even containment mats.
The first of these would be garage floor paint or an epoxy garage floor coating with anti-slip media added. The anti-skid additive is applied to the mix of the final coat to create a surface that is soft enough to walk on in your bare feet, yet gritty enough to prevent slip/fall accidents in slippery conditions.
Painting your garage floor and adding the anti-slip grit is the least expensive alternative. The drawback, however, is that painted garage floors are not the most durable and need to be redone every year or so.
An epoxy garage floor coating on the other hand can last for years depending on the system you choose. It is the more expensive alternative of the two though.
A nice option that falls between these two is applying an acrylic sealer with the anti-skid added to provide a sealed, anti-slip garage floor. You can find a good example of this product in an article that we wrote here. Just add the anti-slip in the final coat to provide a nice slip-free garage floor finish that is fairly inexpensive to apply.
Another option that will provide a permanent solution to a slippery garage floor is interlocking garage floor tiles. These are an easy DIY installation that delivers an anti-slip surface. Plus, it is a custom flooring option that will last for years.
The most popular interlocking tile type for winter garage floors is the self-draining tiles. They provide the best garage floor traction and allow for water and snow to fall through or melt to the garage floor below.
And finally, you have the option of covering the entire floor with garage floor mats. Our favorite for both looks and function is the Small Coin mat by Better Life Technologies. These are priced right and the small coin design makes for a nice anti-skid surface to provide for a garage floor covering that won’t be slippery during the winter.
Creating an anti-slip surface makes for a safer garage environment and provides for a more functional garage during the winter months and wet seasons. So whether you have a single or multi-car garage, use these tips and solutions for a slippery garage floor to create the safest floor according to your needs.
Wow! First time I’ve seen an article like this. It’s a big problem (slipping and falling on garage floors) I hear about it way too much being in the flooring industry. We install a lot of garage floors and I feel that a good texture on your floor is the only way to go.
I like the mats and carpets as a temporary or seasonal solution, but have seen them cause damage when left down permanently, as well as them holding dirt and debris. I good spring cleaning should take care of that winter salt and sand though.
What happens when water gets under the mats and freezes…slippery again!
Hi Sue. Yes, that can happen. If your garage sees a lot of water in the wintertime, we recommend using a mat that absorbs a lot of liquid and does not let it penetrate through. This will usually allow enough time for the weather to pass and dry out the mat.
Suggestion on a mat for a two car garage in upstate NY? Lots of lake effect!
We recommend using a containment mat for your vehicles Sue. When you park your car on them they will hold all the snow melt, chunks of snow, and road salts that drop from your vehicle. You just line up the end of the mat near the door so you can squeegee everything right out the door. Our favorite is the Auto Floor Guard containment mat. You can find them here at Amazon with free shipping. We did an article about how they work here.
These are great for keeping your garage floor dry so you don’t have the worry of slippery fluids that can freeze up on the floor.
Our carport floor is several years old. It is concrete that has a coat of paint over it. When it rains it becomes very slippery. After reading your info. I really don’t know where to start to fix this problem. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Dean
Hello Dean. If you have actual paint and not a resinous coating, your only good option is to remove it and apply something else. Most people use an MMA acrylic sealer with anti-slip granules added for applications outside on driveways and carports. It breathes so it will not be affected my moisture and it will not yellow from U.V. exposure. Mats are not the best for outside and can look unsightly to some. Epoxy is not a good choice either because it will yellow badly from the U.V. exposure. If you want color, you can tint the acrylic or you can go with a polyurea like this one. Of course it’s mandatory to add the anti-slip to give you good grip.
We just purchased a new home and requested the garage floors to be epoxied. While they look great, our first rain my husband was getting out of his vehicle and took a terrible fall because the floor was so slick. We just had these floors done so we’re not wanting to spend a ton more money. However, we live in the Midwest which sees its fair share of rain and snow which scares me. I’m looking for the most cost effective permanent solution to this. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Hello Maria. The solution is to apply 1 coat of clear polyurethane with an anti-slip additive mixed into the polyurethane. This will provide more grip to the floor so that it isn’t slippery. It will require roughing up the current surface with 100 grit sandpaper first before applying the polyurethane.
Hi there. Have an old garage floor that is bare concrete and super slippery. We get lots of rain and as we are getting as old as the floor, I am becoming more concerned about falling. I thought we could paint the floor with something non-slip, but am reading reviews that say the paint comes up easily under tires. Thoughts?
Hi Kathryn. You are correct about concrete paint coming up with the tires. You would need to apply a quality resinous coating such as epoxy or polyurea in order to avoid that. We can make some suggestions if you don’t mind the floor prep (etching) that is required before it is applied. Another option would be a quality carpet parking pad / mat for the entire garage. Though more expensive, they are easy to install. We just did a review on this one here and it should last for years.
I’m 25 and I live in London with my sister and this is an issue we suffer from in the winter time especially. We have a very shiny garage floor, slippery with even a trace of water. I’d say it’s probably even worse than an ice rink in some circumstances. Carrying the shopping bags from the car when it’s raining means often even my sensible loafers and flats I have to wear to work are struggling to maintain traction and my rubber soles are useless and just end up squelching and sliding all over the place. I’ve had instances where my tyres have spun too. It’s not a good surface for rubber to adhere too at all, me being the more “girly girl” of the sisters means I have more frequent problems with it but we both agree we need to apply some sort of cover to it. We haven’t had an experience with snow yet, but I will have to wear some rather extreme footwear for my humble office job, and probably put some towels down under my tyres.
Hi Sarah. The easiest solution would be a garage flooring mat similar to the ones we discuss in this article here. You can choose a size slightly larger than the vehicle or the larger rolls to cover the entire floor. You just trim to fit. We are not familiar with the vendors available to our neighbors across the pond or we would point you in the right direction of where to purchase them.