A bathroom is the most dangerous place in the house. If you have any elderly people, it becomes more dangerous for them. You should take a few extra steps to ensure the safety of these elderly in the bathrooms. Worry not, today we will guide you regarding the precautions and the safety equipment that you may install/use in your bathrooms to prevent any uncalled accidents. A little care and renovation in your houses will ensure bathroom safety for the elderly at home.
5+ Best Bathroom Safety Products for Seniors
The first thing that will help you accomplish this safety is ensuring the availability of certain aid products and fittings within the bathroom. These nifty tools will help the elderly to keep their balance and support their tread in the bathroom by preventing any falls or slips. Following is a list of bathroom safety products for seniors:
Grab Bars
Nonslip strips
Another nifty trick is to add nonslip mats on the floor. Water splashes and moisture accumulation can be an easy source of causing a grave fall in the bathrooms. Adding these rugs to the shower space and bathtub will make the bathroom safe for senior citizens. Plus this is a good tip if you are low on budget but cannot compromise over the safety. Otherwise, if your budget allows you; you can opt for nonslip tiles in the bathroom.
Raised Toilet seat
Toilet seat raisers or simply a raised toilet seat will prevent the chances of falling when the elderly are using the restroom. If the bathroom is shared, you may choose the option of using seat raisers, if not, then simply the installation of a raised seat would do. Seniors often time face difficulty in lowering themselves to the regular toilet seat, these raisers will aid them greatly and prevent any slips.
Shower Chair
A shower chair is another great option for seniors who face difficulties to maintain stability when showering. Elderly often face problems in maintaining their balance, a shower chair will help them to enjoy a shower while sitting, curbing any threat of falling when doing so. You can find a wide variety of shower chairs in the market, including transfer benches and shower stools. Make sure whatever choice you make; the sitting has sturdy legs, rubber studs to prevent slipping and firm sidebars for maintaining balance and grip.
Handheld Shower
The last safety product we will discuss is a handy shower head, another tool that will make the bathroom safe for seniors. As a bonus to the shower chair, this handheld shower is a luxury for the elders to enjoy their bath. Plus these showers come in many settings, which allow the users to set the water levels to their comfort.
4+ Safety Tips for Bathroom Safety for Elderly
Now that you have an idea of some of the best bathroom safety products for elderly seniors, let’s give you some additional tips that will come in handy to make the bathrooms safe. These tips are easy to implement and they only need you to make minor changes to the bathroom spaces. So what is the wait, implement them and ensure the safety of your loved ones. Plus some ideas mentioned below also allow you to make these spaces look livelier, so give them a try!Clear floor
Clean floors save a lot of hassle, whether it’s about hygiene or simply about ensuring safety inside the bathroom. Therefore make sure you keep the floor free from any debris or pieces of cloth that may be a cause of fall. Additionally, also make sure that the floors are kept dry at all times. This will curb the chances of slipping due to moisture or soap remnants.
Proper Lighting
Another key thing to make bathrooms safer for seniors is by making sure that the lighting is proper. Dim or poor lighting will cause visual problems and will hinder proper movement within the bathroom space. And the situation may become worse if seniors are concerned since they are most likely to suffer from poor lighting. Therefore make sure that the path between the bathroom and the bedroom is well lit. Plus the lighting in the bathroom should be adequate too so that it can comfortably be used by the seniors. You may choose from a variety of lights available in the market for this purpose. Nightlights are also a good option for lighting up the way between the bedroom and the bathroom.
Keeping essentials in reach
Getting your shower essentials with just a swing of hand is bliss! Give this bliss to your elderly by keeping their essentials within their reach at all times. Seniors find it hard to stretch or bend, so it comes in handy to lace their toiletries within close reach in the shower. A shower caddy will do the trick. Have this installed at an arm’s length within the shower so that it can be easily reached by the seniors. You can load them with soaps, gels, shampoos and other essentials.
Plus they will give your bathroom a new outlook, you may choose the caddy with different styles and colours to adorn your bathroom space and make it more enjoyable for your elderly.
Install a Telephone
For seniors living with caretakers, this addition to the bathroom is another safety measure. This is a good addition as it allows the seniors to call for help in time of need. Another option is a waterproof alarm system, which can be installed in the bathroom for the elderly. This safety layer goes off in case of emergencies to alarm the caretakers that the elderly needs help. So you might consider installing these systems in your bathroom spaces and have tons of features to ensure the safety of your loved ones.
These small steps and measures if taken care of will reduce the bathroom accidents for the elderly and provide them comfort and leisure.
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Pat is the former Luxury Sales Specialist of Groupe Deschenes. He has experience of 15+ years in the home improvement industry. He is now the Senior Sales Officer at The Rubinet Faucet Company.