When visiting a tennis court, you are sometimes required to wear shoes with white rubber soles to avoid unsightly dark marks appearing on the court surface.

I propose they use the same white rubber in place of the black rubber footings and stoppers on the 'feet and hands' of a folding ladder. This would, presumably, cut down on the dark scuff marks that show up on walls when using a folding ladder in the 180° extension, and also when 'clanging down the hall' with the unwieldy equipment swaying out of control.
-- not_only_but_also, Apr 19 2014

What if you have black walls?
-- pocmloc, Apr 19 2014


I think the white rubber is the natural color. To get black ladder rubber that makes scuffs you have to add carbon black. This might help against UV, but I don't recall any warnings about white wall tyres perishing, so I doubt this would be a significant factor in ladder rubber.

Seeing as there's (perhaps) nothing added to white rubber, maybe it wouldn't make marks, or might make more benign and wipeable marks. [+]
-- skoomphemph, Apr 19 2014


As with automotive tires, the carbon is added for longevity and the black color is deepened by vulcanization, or something along those lines.

You can get a variety of non-scuffing ladder bumpers from McMaster-Carr and Gempler's. It would be nice to have them come standard, however.
-- Alterother, Apr 19 2014


Perhaps we should all redecorate using black rubber wallpaper?
-- pocmloc, Apr 19 2014


Inflatable black rubber wallpaper!

But that's a different idea again, isn't it?
-- skoomphemph, Apr 19 2014



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