When you’re at risk for falls, one way to ensure the floor has less of a hard landing is to use cheap foam tiles. Carpeting can be a no-go for folks who use mobility devices, yet hardwood or tile floors can be painful and injury inducing. Softening the floor can help reduce injury. One way to do that is with foam tiles.
I talked to Tracy in Texas who softened her floors on a budget with interlocking foam tiles. First, she pulled the carpet out to expose the concrete underneath, then she added the tiles. “They’re not expensive. I had the gray ones, but eventually, they wore out, they started warping, and by eventually, I mean after two or three years. I went in and I found these colored ones. They didn’t have the straight grey.” It give both her and husband peace of mind. “He enjoys the fact that it’s a soft mat. If he falls, it’s not as hard, and they’re nice to walk on. They’re much cheaper– covering my entire living room was less than $200, and you can do it yourself. Carpet, you have to have somebody come in with the right tools. With this, all I needed was an X-Acto knife. You moved the furniture out of the room, you lay this down, and an X-Acto knife cuts it, no big deal.”
To find them, you can search for interlocking foam tiles, foam flooring tiles, foam mat floor to find them in all kinds of colors and patterns.