Do walking pads stain or scratch floors?

From our Kickstarter updates of 7 August, 21 August and 4 September 2026.

The Feet Stain the Floor

This is the most critical issue right now, and it caught me completely off guard.

I told the manufacturer explicitly and repeatedly that the rubber feet must not stain or discolour surfaces. They confirmed it. The dark feet arrived a few weeks ago, I attached them, and a few days ago I noticed marks on the floor.

The feet do stain. And these aren't marks you can rub off! The colour has genuinely soaked into the floor and can't be removed. Here a close up:

That's simply not acceptable in a finished product, so I need to find an alternative material or manufacturer quickly, most likely somewhere in Europe. Nobody should have to worry about their Office Walker leaving permanent marks on their floor.

The Feet Problem Is Solved

Good news on the most critical issue from the last update. I found a new manufacturer for the feet, and they'll be using a material that definitely doesn't stain floors.

The catch: a new injection mold has to be made for it. The guaranteed lead time is five weeks but I placed the order a week ago already, and they told me they'll probably manage it faster than the guarantee. If they do, the feet shouldn't hold anything else up. No guarantees, of course, but this problem is solved in principle.

The New Feet: Faster Than Promised

Remember the staining feet and the five-week guaranteed lead time for the new injection mold? The manufacturer worked impressively fast: the mold was already finished shortly after the last update and I received the sample parts on Monday. They work very well, no staining.

I've placed the order and production has started. So I'm very optimistic that the feet won't cause any further delays.

Johannes

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