At any age, people may have issues with mobility due to accidents, illness, surgery, or advancing years, impairing their movements. In most homes, the bathroom is one of the most accident-prone areas because the floor could be wet and slippery.
If there are people with impaired mobility in your home, it is necessary to make bathroom adaptations. Also, consider making changes that would provide some freedom and privacy to the users.
You can ensure the safety of family members by installing mobility aids in your bathrooms. With these features, your bathroom becomes more accessible, even for people who need a wheelchair to move around.
Here are some of the available fixtures you can add to support different areas in your bathroom.
Grab rails
Grab rails are quite popular, and they are simple and effective because you can position them anywhere that will suit the specific needs of people who need support when they walk or stand. The most common places include bathtubs, shower cubicles, and bathroom walls. They come in different colours, materials, and shapes to easily match your bathroom décor.
Assistance poles
In some areas in the bathroom, you can install an assistance pole for floor-to-ceiling support. You can install these by the bathtub or toilet to make it easier for a person to lift themselves up or down easily.
Walk-in baths
Most people today who live with their older family members prefer to install walk in baths for the elderly, which give them freedom and privacy when bathing. With a low entry threshold, getting in and out of the bath becomes easier. You can purchase a left- or right-handed door that opens and locks securely.
Bathing cushion
Even if the walk-in bath has a built-in seat, you can still purchase a bathing cushion to help people who need to elevate their upper back. You can inflate a bathing cushion remotely.
Bath lift
For people who can barely walk, it will be safer to install a bath lift. However, even if your bathrooms have walk in baths and showers, access for people with limited mobility can still be a problem. A bath lift is a battery-powered seating device fixed to the tub, which helps lift a person safely in and out of the bath.
Slip-resistant mats
Condensation could make bathroom floors slippery. Using slip-resistant mats on slippery surfaces such as bathroom floors, shower trays, and bathtubs can help people move around the bathroom securely and freely. These mats are affordable, easy to install, and effective, so they protect every family member.
Sliding doors
If you have family members with limited mobility, it is easier for them to enter the bathroom with sliding doors, which are easier to open.
Wider doorways
Another way is to make it easier for people with mobility problems to enter the bathroom easily, particularly for people in wheelchairs. Ideally, you should widen your bathroom door by 102cm or 122cm.
The things you need to make your bathroom more accessible to people with mobility issues will depend on your needs. Some people may need more technologically advanced fixtures, such as dry toilets, automatic bidet wash, height-powered toilets, and height-adjustable basins.
