Why do people put tennis balls on the end of their walker?

So they don't cause a racket

They wear out and need replaced. It's actually not recommended because it makes them slide easier so they can come out from under you if you are relying on them for support because your legs are too weak to stand, but people like them because it's easier to maneuver and doesn't require the effort to fully lift them up when they're already struggling to lift themselves up.

I’ve seen tennis balls made just for walkers at Walmart in that aisle near the pharmacy with all the canes and stuff like that. They’re even bright yellow-green but maybe not as big and already have a slice in them. They’re so you don’t scuff the floor, and I assume since these were purposely for walkers and still the same color as tennis balls, visibility may also factor into this hack.

Makes the walker glide instead of having to pick it up every time you take a step.

It’s also a noise reducing trick

I believe the tennis balls help the walker to slide.

it's to make them easier to use. a lot of older people have a hard time picking up the walkers bc of the knobs on the end of them sticking to the floor.

so the tennis balls make them glide but you also risk them slipping and falling easier.

Easier to move and less noise. We had them on our chairs in school from K-12 for the same reason

The little rubber things that come on walkers make it so you have to physically pick it up. Tennis balls help it slide even on a rug

Teachers use old tennis balls on the legs of desks and chairs. They slide more easily to reconfigure the room and can do so quietly.

The original rubber feet wears out. Tennis balls are a cheap and efficient replacement

Pretty sure more tennis balls are used for walkers than for actual tennis each year

scuffing.

shyt wears out, if was built in, then what you going to do? Besides, the Medical industry expects the person to be able to pick the walker up, move it forward, put it down, then walk forward, then repeat. Something that would be exhausting after a while for a fully healthy person. Much less an Elderly Person!!!

Same reason furniture sliders exist

So they can throw a ball for Doug and Kevin's babies.

It helps the walker to slide along the floor better.

Shocker absorber, and a cheap fix at that!

They glide more easily on floors and they manage small ledges better than the factory rubber grommets do, which can catch on small lips/edges.

If they keep them anywhere else, they cause chafing.

Because they usually come with rubber endcaps on them. Rubber sticks firmly to the floor and has to be lifted to move. It's more secure. But some older people are weak and have difficulty lifting the walker to move it. So they put tennis balls over the rubber because the felt material of the tennis ball slides along the floor more easily without having to lift the walker.

Without tennis balls walkers snag on rugs all the time

So it’s easier for them to make their way up to the presidential debate podium.

Looks cool.

They come with rubber feet and you can buy new ones. Or you can spend 1/3 as much and buy tennis balls instead.

I often thought about this too. Like it's obviously needed yet the people making the walker drop the ball and don't design the walker the way people like it.

I just had to use a walker for a few weeks after a hospital stay. I put tennis balls on it because the original pads would get rocks in them and scratch the floors in the house.

To act as sound dampeners. They are obnoxiously pound without them, I speak from experience

They're supposedly a real issue when training Golden Retrievers as service dogs for seniors.

Sometimes the sort of plastic sliders they put on the bottom of them can be a little too good on certain terrain types and slide a little too quickly and the tennis ball helps add a bit of grip in those scenarios

Stealth

My grandfather did it because it would prevent his from scuffing the floor.

They don't come with something similar by design because the basic walker is designed to be as cheap as possible. I don't mean cheap in the money the consumer spends, but it's cheap to produce.

Instead, they want people to pay for expensive alternative feet options like glides. But smart people just put tennis balls.

Little felt pads like you put on the feet of chairs would work, but would come off too easily the first time you went through a parking lot.

To pimp out their whip.

Thank goodness I read this question again because walker was wanker and I was like WTF 😂

Stops scuffing up of floors. Also helps the walker glide better on surfaces.

The walkers come with rubber end pieces that stop the walker entirely. Tennis balls provide enough friction for stability without stopping movement entirely.

Basically so they can glide slowly.

Side thought. If no one ever played a game of tennis again sales of tennis balls would only drop by ten percent…

I read the last word as “wanker” in the post. Saw it was in NoStupidQuesions. I was so confused

Because they have zero love

It's not usually actual tennis balls. They come made smaller and for the purpose, and are just colored to look like tennis balls

It’s to avoid the “nail on a chalkboard “ thing that happens when you have any weight on the back poles.

I needed them on mine because my back was killing from picking up the walker with each step. You know how crutches hurt your armpits? Walkers hurt other parts of your body to the same degree, just different places. The tennis balls will make you able to slide more so you can kind of tilt the walker instead of lift it. It definitely makes it a little less safe but you do what you gotta do.

We did because otherwise the plastic caps on the ends wear out and you have metal on carpet or floor. Actually we got slides for the front to keep them from catching, and to move better, balls on the back to save wear. The balls also slide differently. Dad couldn't hear and was frugal, so he definitely didn't do it because of the sound.

You can replace the tennis balls.

As an aside, in my experience, tennis balls are actually perfect for walkers - the friction with the ground gives control and also ease of movement, and they are cheaper than actual designed products that apparently don't work as well.

They are also super-durable compared to most other plastic or rubber caps.

They scratch the floor Some people can't lift them, and this helps them slide

Pretty sure so it doesn't catch on something and make the user trip, but noise reduction is another good one.

So they don't sink into the ground

Because they wear out

So that it slides easier

So that it will glide better on the floor

Because the balls wear out

There are a few kinds of walkers: 2-wheeled, 4-wheeled, rollators (with 4 wheels, brakes and seats), and pick-up walkers. 2-wheeler walkers and pick-up walkers are often given as temporary devices for people who are rehabbing from a surgery and just need a little extra support. But the process of getting a different kind of walker if they don’t fully recover is so cumbersome that a lot of people end up using them for a really long time. They put the tennis balls on them to make them easier to slide and use for support. 

There’s these alternative attachments that looks like skis which work a lot better: https://www.myrmsstore.com/products/rms-walker-glides

You never know when someone will want to play doubles

so the walker slides easier on smooth floors like around the house.

Because I have wood floors and my security deposit won't cover new ones. (Off the walker now but that sucked.)

Walker w/ built in tennis balls. Tennis Walker (tm)

Haha I'm in marketing...

One of the bennfits of the tennis ball thing is that they are easier. "Building them in" would defeat a major purpose why people use them.

I think the main reason is to keep them from catching on thresholds or small rises in uneven surfaces, and rugs.

They also make little plastic skis that serve the same purpose.

They tend to be more sterdy than the cheap wheels they put on certain walkers have you seen some of those walkers are made cheaply the grey and white one are the cheapest and they are for people with a lower budget because a nice walker can be expensive

There are also ski type attachments as well as wheels. Tennis balls allow it to slide forward but still have grip when weight is placed on it.

former Tennis 🎾 players!

Because sometimes that dapper egg wants to hit a spot of tennis.

In case you need to distract an army of dogs send after you by a mad explorer

Tennis balls actually defeat the purpose of a walker by making them slip. People just get tired of using the walker the correct way