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How to Keep Your Feet Warm at Home: 8 Easy Ways
The quickest way to keep your feet warm at home is to stop them losing heat to the floor. Wear thick or thermal socks, add a slipper or sock with a proper sole, get your feet off cold tiles or laminate when you sit down, and deal with draughts at floor level. Keeping the rest of your body warm matters too, because your feet are the first place your body cuts back on warmth when you are chilly.
Below, we explain why feet get so cold indoors and go through the fixes that make the biggest difference, starting with the cheapest.
Why do my feet get so cold at home?
Most cold feet indoors come down to three things.
- Cold floors. Tiles, stone, laminate and uninsulated solid floors draw heat out of your feet by direct contact. A room can feel comfortable at head height while the floor surface stays much cooler.
- Draughts at floor level. Cold air is heavier than warm air, so it settles low down. Gaps under doors, around skirting boards and near older windows tend to hit your ankles first.
- Sitting still. When you sit for long spells, especially with your feet on the floor, less warm blood reaches your toes. When your body is cold overall, it also keeps warmth for your core and lets your hands and feet cool down first.
Once you know which of these is the main culprit in your home, it is much easier to fix.
Eight ways to keep your feet warm at home
1. Never go barefoot on hard floors
It sounds obvious, but bare feet on a kitchen or bathroom floor lose heat very quickly. Keep socks and slippers by the bed and the back door so you are never tempted to pad around without them. Age UK's advice on keeping hands and feet warm makes the same point.
2. Choose thick or thermal socks
A thin everyday sock does very little against a cold floor. Look for thicker knits, fleece-lined socks or wool blends, which trap more warm air around your feet. Make sure they are not tight around the ankle or calf, as anything that squeezes can make your feet feel colder rather than warmer.
3. Add a sole between you and the floor
Soft socks are cosy on carpet, but on tiles or laminate you also need something underneath your foot. A slipper with a solid sole, or a floor sock with a tougher base, puts an extra layer between your skin and the cold surface. It also helps with grip on smooth floors.
4. Keep your feet dry
Damp socks lose their warmth quickly. If your feet get wet from the rain or the school run, change your socks as soon as you get in rather than letting them dry on you. If your feet tend to sweat, switching to a fresh pair mid-evening can make a noticeable difference.
5. Get your feet off the floor when you sit
When you settle on the sofa or at a desk, rest your feet on a footstool, a folded blanket or a thick cushion. Lifting them away from the coldest air and the coldest surface in the room is one of the simplest changes you can make.
6. Put down rugs where you stand and sit
A rug under the sofa, at the kitchen sink or under your desk insulates you from a hard floor. You do not need to carpet the whole room; covering the spots where you spend the most time is usually enough.
7. Block draughts at floor level
Draught excluders along the bottom of doors, foam strips around frames and a cover over the letterbox all help stop cold air pooling around your ankles. They are cheap and quick to fit. Do not block air bricks or vents, which are there to keep the house ventilated.
8. Keep your core warm and keep moving
A warm body is more willing to send warmth to your feet, so wear layers on top as well. Getting up and walking around every hour or so helps your circulation. GOV.UK's guidance on keeping warm and well suggests heating the rooms you use most, such as the living room and bedroom, to at least 18°C, wearing several thinner layers and trying not to sit still for more than an hour or so.
Thermal socks, sock slippers or slippers: which is best?
Each option suits a slightly different situation, so many people end up with more than one.
| Thermal or fleece-lined socks | Sock slippers | Slippers with a solid sole | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Wearing all day, inside shoes or slippers | Lounging on the sofa or in bed | Walking on tiles, laminate and stone |
| Warmth | Good, especially fleece-lined | Very cosy, and longer styles also warm the legs | Depends on the lining; the sole stops heat loss to the floor |
| Grip | Usually none unless the sole has grips | Look for a non-slip sole | Usually the best |
| Things to watch | Avoid tight cuffs | Can be slippery without grips | Can be bulky and hard to wash |
If your main problem is a cold kitchen or bathroom floor, a sole matters most. If you mostly feel cold sitting down in the evening, soft sock slippers and a footstool will probably do more for you.
How to keep your feet warm in bed
Cold feet can make it hard to drop off. A loose pair of bed socks is the easiest fix. A hot water bottle can help too: fill it with hot rather than boiling water, wrap it in a cover and use it to warm the bed before you get in. Avoid resting it directly against bare skin for long periods, particularly if your feet feel numb, as you may not notice if it is too hot. An extra blanket folded over the foot of the bed also helps.
Cosy options from our winter range
If you are looking for something to wear around the house, our fluffy sock slippers are made from soft, thick polyester and come up over the knee, so they warm your legs as well as your feet. The listing gives a fit for shoe sizes 5 to 10 and describes a non-slip bottom for smooth floors.
For harder floors, our thermal fleece-lined floor socks combine a soft velvet upper with a PU leather sole and an anti-slip base, which gives you a layer between your foot and the floor. They are unisex, one size (listed as 39 to 44) and come in black.
You will find both, along with gloves, socks and other cold-weather pieces, in our winter collection. We offer free standard delivery, with an estimated delivery time of 5–8 business days, or fast delivery for £8, with an estimated delivery time of 1–2 business days. Full details are on our shipping policy page.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my feet cold when the rest of me is warm?
Often it is the floor or a draught rather than the room temperature. Hard floors and cold air settling low down can chill your feet even when the air at head height feels fine. Socks with a sole, a rug and a footstool usually help.
Are slipper socks warm enough for tiled floors?
Soft slipper socks are warm, but on cold tiles or stone a thicker sole makes more difference. Floor socks with a tougher base, or slippers with a solid sole, keep more of the cold away and give better grip.
Is it better to wear one thick pair of socks or two thin pairs?
Either can work, as long as your feet do not feel squeezed. Two pairs trap an extra layer of air, but if they make your slippers tight, they can restrict circulation and leave your feet colder. One thick, well-fitting pair is usually the simpler choice.
When should I worry about cold feet?
Cold feet in winter are common. If your feet are cold most of the time even when you are warm, or they change colour, feel numb or are painful, speak to your GP or pharmacist for advice.
Warm feet, warmer evenings
Most cold-feet problems at home can be solved with a good pair of socks, a sole between you and the floor, and a few small changes to where you sit and how draughts get in. Start with the cheapest fixes, and add cosy layers from our winter range if your floors still feel chilly.