Key Takeaways For Making Your Home Safe When You Have A Disability
Install grab bars in the bathroom for improved accessibility and balance.
Consider a walk-in shower or tub for a safer bathing experience for those with mobility limitations.
To enhance overall accessibility in your home, make hallway adjustments, such as adding ramps, widening doorways, or installing stairlifts.
Top Mobility Aids
Many aspects of life become more challenging when you are physically impaired. Whether your diminished abilities are a result of a chronic condition like arthritis or a sudden event like a stroke, you must take precautions to ensure the safety of your home.
Flooring dangers in the house. If tri often causes tripping dangers in the house, trip hazards are removed, and youards are removed, you may wear boots with Velcro straps and non-slip rubber soles, which are other precautions you might use.
Removing furniture like seats and tables might make it simpler to move about with a walker, cart, or wheelchair. It’s never fun, but in an emergency, you may have to rearrange your living room furniture to make way for a heavy dresser holding priceless belongings.
Making Your Home Safe When You Have A Disability Key Points
- Putting up grab bars makes it easy to make your bathroom more welcoming to those with mobility impairments.
- Adding a walk-in shower is an excellent upgrade for any accessible bathroom.
- Installing a walk-in tub or walk-in shower may make your home more convenient for those with limited mobility.
- Rather than using fixed-height desks, you could put height-adjustable workstations in place.
- If you want remote control over your blinds, lights, and televisions, installing a control system that you can operate through a mobile app or a dedicated panel may be more practical and require fewer alterations to your home’s structure.
Bathroom Adjustments
Put Some Grab Bars In The Bathroom.
Installing grab bars can make your home more accessible for those with disabilities without spending too much time or money. Putting up grab bars is easy, and it can also make your bathroom more welcoming to those with mobility impairments. These aids may be quite helpful if you have trouble maintaining your balance in wet environments, such as tiled bathrooms.
People who are less firm on their feet or have difficulty judging their balance may benefit from installing grab bars in the shower. To help people with limited mobility or strength in sitting and standing, or as a more temporary solution for those with injuries such as those using crutches, frames could be placed around the toilet in the same manner that grabs you may install bars on walls.
Foldable Shower Seat
A folding shower chair may assist if you have trouble standing while showering. If you need to sit down while you shower, you can use a folding shower chair instead of a bathtub. The seat’s flip-down wall mount makes it more sturdy than a freestanding chair and allows it to be stored out of the way when unused.
Constructing A Walk-In Shower Is An Option.
Adding a walk-in shower is an excellent upgrade for any accessible bathroom. With a shower above the tub, there’s no need to take a step up into the shower, so it’s safer for those with mobility issues and younger children. The shower is designed to accommodate those who have to stand or use wheelchairs. Walk-in showers, sometimes called level-access showers, are convenient since they don’t need a high tray, which could be difficult to enter and exit.
With all these benefits in mind and a few more, it’s easy to see why a walk-in shower is a terrific addition to a house modified for those with mobility issues. Such amenities may include a folding shower chair, handrails for support, non-slip flooring to lessen the danger of sliding, an easily adjustable temperature, and a glass or metal enclosure that you can clean quickly and easily.
Find Out Why A Walk-In Tub Is A Great Addition to your Home.
Installing a walk-in tub or walk-in shower may make your home more convenient for those with limited mobility. Watertight doors on walk-in tubs protect users from sustaining joint injuries inside and outside the tub. Even longer tubs are available for people who like to lie down while bathing despite the typical walk-in tub being designed for sitting usage.
You can use a walk-in bathtub with a lift without opening the door.
With its secure, non-slip surface, straightforward temperature controls, and helpful grab bars, a walk-in tub is a great choice for making your home more accessible for those with mobility issues.
Adjust The Water Temperature By Turning The Appropriate Dials And The Faucet Handles.
Those with limitations may have trouble using door knobs and faucets. Instead of round doorknobs, you should use lever-style door handles for easier door opening. The absence of a twisting motion in lever designs frees space for the user to pull with less power.
Hallway Adjustments
Instead Of Using Steps, You May Put In Ramps.
A ramp is a great alternative to stairs if you want to make your home more accessible to people who use wheelchairs or have walking problems.
Even if a ramp or railings aren’t required for wheelchair access, they may still be useful, so add them to the stairs. The first step in building a ramp is determining whether or not you have the legal authority to do so on your land in its current state.
When Doorways Are Widened, You Can Put The Resulting Space To Better Use.
Space constraints are a typical barrier to accessibility in the home. If your door is easier to navigate, those with mobility issues may be more likely to use your house. Many older British homes are narrower than modern homes because of their age.
Extending your entranceway might be quite a financial commitment. If the land has restrictions or covenants, you should know what changes you may make to your property.
One Feasible Alternative Is Installing Automatic Doors.
Although not as common as manual doors, automatic doors are available for people who want to bring their houses into the modern day. Their rising use in the workplace may mask the fact that they are very helpful to those who use wheelchairs. This is an option to think about if you want to save energy while travelling by avoiding the need to open doors constantly.
A Stairlift Is An Essential Addition To Any Multi-Story Structure.
Due to the prevalence of high-rise structures in the UK, locals may use stairwells more often than they’d like. If you or a loved one uses a wheelchair or has mobility issues that make using the stairs difficult, a stairlift would be an excellent addition to your home.
If mobility is an issue and you have trouble climbing the stairs, installing a stairlift might be a game-changer in your daily life. Stairlifts may be installed in a fixed location or moved easily.
Installing a stairlift should be simple if you can transfer into and out of your wheelchair without assistance.
Get Rid Of The Carpet And Put In Hardwood Floors.
Hardwood flooring installation may be a lifesaver if you or a family member have problems moving about due to a handicap. Rugs, especially those with a higher pile, maybe a tripping hazard for those who use wheelchairs or walkers or have trouble getting both feet off the ground. It is possible to swiftly and affordably replace your home’s flooring. Large rugs that aren’t properly secured might be dangerous if they move about.
You May Adjust Kitchen And Living Room Adjustments
How High Or Low The Counter Is To Meet Your Requirements.
Among the many tasks that may arise while adapting your home for people with disabilities is adjusting the height of your work surfaces. However, this might be a deal breaker if you or a family member use a wheelchair and depend on simple wheelchair access throughout the house. Two options are available to you when determining the height of your counters. The most noticeable change is a lower floor level, which greatly improves wheelchair accessibility.
Rather than using fixed-height desks, you could install height-adjustable workstations. This would be perfect for when many people of different heights need to enter the same space. Not only wheelchair users may benefit from having counters adjusted for height. Those who have trouble standing for long may still use the kitchen since they can sit on a chair at a lower benchtop and cook, prepare meals, and wash dishes.
Installation Of Motorised Blinds, Lighting, And A Television.
Smart home solutions may seem unfamiliar, but they can greatly enhance a home’s accessibility for people with disabilities. Installing a control system that you can operate through a mobile app or a dedicated panel may be more practical and need fewer alterations to your home’s structure if you want remote control over your blinds, lights, and televisions.
Summary For Making Your Home Safe When You Have A Disability
To make a home more accessible, you can make large and small alterations. The degree to which your house may be adapted depends on the handicap you are attempting to accommodate and your financial constraints. There’s a chance that making one’s home more accessible might make one feel safer and more at ease there, and it can undoubtedly assist in making one’s house a more pleasant and inviting location to spend time in.
Top Mobility Aids
Related Home Safety and Accessibility Articles
- Fall Prevention Strategies at Home – Essential tips to reduce fall risks and enhance home safety.
- Bathroom Safety – Discover ways to make bathrooms safer and more accessible.
- Bedroom Mobility Aids Tips – Practical aids to improve safety and comfort in the bedroom.
- Tips to Help the Elderly Stay Independent – Support independent living with these helpful tips.
