There may come the point in your life where you may need to think about providing yourself and your household with a more accessible-friendly property. Maybe it’s because of an accident that makes it harder to climb the stairs, and therefore, you dealt with the matter legally. Or perhaps it’s simply to make your lives a little safer. Here are some tips to make your home more accessible.
Install A Stairlift For Steep Stairs
Steep stairs can be dangerous even for the most able-bodied. The steep staircase may have been simply the design of your home, and there’s not a possibility of you being able to rebuild or knock a wall down or order to redo it. That would also likely cost you a considerable amount of money, and that’s perhaps something you don’t want to do. So to compromise, installing a stairlift can be a suitable option for avoiding steep stairs and taking the more relaxed route up to the next floor. Stairlifts have certainly advanced over the past several years, and even though you may be looking at over a thousand dollars to get one installed, it’s definitely worth considering. Especially now, as many can be slim and well designed so that they don’t like bulky against the rest of the staircase. Even if you don’t intend to use it straight away, it’s good to have for future use.
Replace Your Shower With A Step-In
A lot of bathrooms now by default have slightly raise separate showers or a step-in one. Step-in showers are really handy, particularly if you have some mobility issues with your legs. As a general use, it can be easy to use for all your household, and the added space that comes with these showers is going to be much more functional than traditional showers. Be sure to put down a shower mat, regardless of whether it’s a step-in shower or bathroom and shower combination. This can often be the contribution to slips and falls in the home, so it’s good to be safe where you can and to put preventative measures in place.
Install Grab Bars
Grab bars are something that helps keep you supported and to aid you in getting in and out of the bath or shower. They are also sometimes to the side of the toilet to help you stand up from the seated position. There may come times where you do not need it as an access user, but perhaps you’re sick with the flu and being a little delirious, you’re all over the place. These grab bars will provide that much-needed support to keep you upright but to also keep you from slipping. You may need to think about providing yourself grab bars where they’re needed, and they should be positioned on the wall by the bathtub or in the shower. You’ll appreciate them there because you never know when you’ll need them.
Keep Cupboards Lower
Cupboards are certainly one of those things you forgot about not being accessible. When trying to grab food or items of kitchen crockery from the cupboard, it can be difficult when they’re high up. If you find yourself in a wheelchair or even too short to reach, these cupboards are going to bare no use to you because they won’t be used to store anything relevant to what you need. If you have the opportunity to change your kitchen design at any point, try to keep all your kitchen cupboards down below. Anything above the worktop can be a place to hang hooks where you can prop up saucepans or other cooking accessories. These open storage spaces are going to be much more manageable than cupboards. Cupboards are usually deeper, and you can often find things will get pushed or lost to the back of it, never to see the light of day until years later when it’s become rotten.
Widen Door Frames
And finally, a structural adjustment that you can make to your home is in relation to your door frames. As anyone who uses crutches or a wheelchair will tell you, a lot of doors are traditionally too narrow to go through. So if it makes sense and you have the ability to do, so try to widen the door frames to a size that is suitable for the average wheelchair.
Making your home more accessible will not only make you feel comfortable but for those who may have disabilities and access requirements and are visiting your home.
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