Did you know?

  • Every 13 seconds, an older adult visits an emergency room for a fall related injury
  • One in three adults over 65, falls each year
  • 68% of non-fatal bathroom injuries happened in the bathtub or shower

Are these statistics stressing you out? After following a few tips to make it safer, you’ll once again, be able to relax in your bathtub. Here are 4 tips to make your bathtub safer:

  1. Grab Bars. The top tip for improving bathtub safety, is to add grab bars. It’s a quick and easy solution that has a huge impact. Almost every person knows that horrible feeling in your stomach when you slip even a little bit getting in or out of the tub. Installing grab bars in strategic locations around the tub and at the entrance provides stability while you get in or out. Adding bars lower on the wall will help while sitting in the tub or getting back up. Freedom Grab bars are available in a wide variety of sizes and attractive styles to accessorize your whole bathroom. Grab bars need to be installed properly into wood-backed walls or studs to provide the full benefit of secure hand rails. Improperly installed bars can cause more harm than having no grab bars.
  2. Tub Seat. Even if you are just showering, being able to sit in the tub is important. Older adults may tire easily or the heat can rapidly lower blood pressure causing dizzy spells. Having a tub seat in the bath is extremely beneficial. Wall mounted seats are the safest, so there is no chance of the seat moving or slipping. Tub seats can be folded up against the back wall when not in use. These tubs seats the lay across the edges of the tub. Use a bath seat while showering, or as a transition seat for getting down into the tub. You can also use them as a transfer seat for getting your legs over the tub edge by sitting on the bench from outside the tub and swinging your legs over one at a time. No matter how you use them, tub seats greatly reduce the chances of falling.
  3. Change plumbing fixtures. Having safer plumbing fixtures is also important to improve safety in the bathtub. A height adjustable handheld shower kit can replace a fixed shower head, or be installed with a diverter so you have the option to use either. The shower head rests in a bracket that easily slides up and down a glide bar, which can also be used as a grab bar. That way you can set the height of the shower head to suit your needs, whether you are standing or sitting on a bench. It also has a 60” hose, so you can hold the shower head, instead of having to move under the water flow. A pressure balanced mixing valve will also eliminate sudden changes in water temperature when a toilet is flushed or dishwasher is running. It can be very dangerous if the water suddenly turns hot. Older adults or someone with limited mobility may struggle to move quick enough to avoid getting scolded. Sudden movements increase the chances of slipping in the tub. A pressure balanced mixing valve keeps the flow of the hot and cold water even.
  4. Renovate. The best and safest solution is to renovate for long term accessibility and aging in place. You can either:

a. Replace your standard tub with a walk in tub. They are taller‚ so you can sit on the molded bench and still be immersed in the water. They have a water tight door for easy entrance‚ and are available in sizes that would fit in any bathroom. You can also accessorize your walk in tub with air jets, water jets or both for a luxurious home spa. Or…

b. You can replace the tub with a walk in shower. Step in showers are available with an easy step 3” or 4” threshold, or you can install a barrier free shower, which can accommodate a wheelchair or walker down the road. Showers can be outfitted with grab bars, folding shower seats, an end drain to match existing plumbing, the pressure balanced mixing valve and the height adjustable hand held shower kit.

Bathroom safety should be your main concern as you or your family members get older.  Making a few changes in the bathroom will help keep yourself and loved ones safe, but renovating for long term safety and aging in place is always a good idea.

Thank you for reading. Have you ever slipped getting in or out of the bathtub? If you have any other safety tips for the bathroom, tub or shower, please share below.

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