Shower Benches

People with severe mobility problems often have to redesign many rooms in their home to make objects accessible and easy-to-use. In many locations, this can be achieved by adding a ramp or lowering the height of essential tools. For areas such as the bathroom, however, a complete remodel is often considered.

This invasive step is obviously a last resort, so it is crucial that you weigh all of the viable options before breaking ground. Lift chairs, for example, can often resolve many of the issues inherent with limited mobility. A lift chair will allow a person to easily get in and out of the tub and often can save the hassle and cost of completely redesigning the entire bathroom.

Installation of a tub rail is another way to make your bath experience safer. Tub rails are available in many materials and many sizes and are used to provide the leverage needed to get up and out of the tub or to get up off of a shower bench.

Perhaps one of the best features of a tub rail is that it is portable and usually offers tool-free installation. This means that the tub rail can travel with you and make a hotel bathroom or relative’s bathroom just as safe as your own.

Tub rails are available in standard metal hospital grade designs, adjustable high/low models, or even some very stylish styles by designer Michael Graves. Rail heights range from 7 inches to 16 inches and many are adjustable to accommodate different tub wall thicknesses. All of these tub rails have been developed to limit scratching of the tub surface. You don’t need to worry that your tub will be damaged and need repairs in the future as a result of using the rails. These rails are an inexpensive fix for increased bathroom safety.

Tub rails offer you just enough of a helping hand to stay independent longer.

A few days ago, my eight year old son was showering after wrestling practice and his dad asked him if he was singing in the shower. He said, “Singing leads to dancing, and dancing leads to slipping, and slipping leads to falling and that’s no good!” I cracked up, but it is all too true. The lather of the soap and shampoo, and the moisturizers in the conditioner, mixes with the water to create a real hazard. A fall in the shower can lead to minor bumps and bruises or broken bones. There is even the possibility of skull fracture.

You don’t need to have a fall to the floor of the tub or shower to do serious injury to yourself. My chiropractor told me years ago that a little slip, and the act of bracing yourself or trying to catch yourself, can actually throw your back out. Sometimes the injuries when nothing is broken are harder to recover from than an actual fracture.

Don’t put yourself at risk for injury when there are many safety options available to you. Buy a bath mat. Install a grab bar. Use a shower bench and you’ll be able to tap your foot to the rhythm of your favorite shower tune.

Most accidents in the home occur in the bathroom. Soap and water don’t mix well with common bathroom surfaces such as ceramic tile, porcelain tubs, and even vinyl or linoleum floors. You don’t have the money or the time for an expensive bathroom overhaul, so here are five steps to make your shower safer:

1. Install grab bars.

2. Use a shower bench or shower seat.

3. Use a bath lift if you love to bathe but don’t have the strength or mobility to get out of the tub on your own.

4. Dry your feet before leaving the shower.

5. Place a shower mat where you enter and exit the tub.

Use these few easy steps to make the bath experience a safer one for every member of your family. These low cost fixes will enable you to relax and enjoy your bath with no worries!

I like to get a good deal as much as the next guy, but I would never consider buying a used shower seat. You’ll see them at local yard sales or listed on Ebay. They may even be available at estate auctions, but think about it. This is an item that people sit on, while nude, to take care of their personal hygiene. I come from a family of women who hover over the commode in a public restroom if no toilet seat cover is available. There is no way I would sit on a questionable stool in the nude for ten minutes in the shower! There is just not enough Lysol and Mr. Clean in the world to make that a comfortable option. And while most shower seats are fairly easy to keep clean, why take the chance just to save a couple bucks.

The whole point of using the shower seat is to make the shower safe and to help you get clean. Have you ever seen those forensics shows on TV? When they look at everyday items under their UV lights, they find all sorts of gross things. The most sanitary way to get a sturdy, quality shower seat is to buy a new one from a reputable supplier. There is also no price for the comfort of knowing that your item is brand new and belongs exclusively to your family. Shower seats are available in many different price ranges and materials. There is one to fit every budget.

The Bellavita is a new ultra modern automatic bath lift. Ease in transportation and its ability to stow away, makes it ideally suited for use in the home or while traveling. The Bellavita Auto Bath Lifter is the lightest bath lift on the market at only 20.5 lbs. which means that almost anyone can handle it with ease. Being able to be submerged as low as 2.3″ from the tub floor, the Bellavita is the lowest bath lift available on the market today. The seat height reaches a record 18.8 inches, which makes it fantastic for deeper model garden tubs. The backrest reclines to a market leading 50 degrees at its lowest position, and the completely water tight hand control floats, making it easy to access the control buttons while bathing. You never have to worry about having the right batteries as an easy-to-use quick charge lithium-ion battery is located in the hand control and can be easily unplugged from the lift for charging in an outlet. What a great and green idea!

The Bellavita has completely tool free set up, making it easy to install and operate. Two piece construction makes the lift easy to assemble/disassemble for transport, and when not in use, the back easily folds down for space-saving storage. The padded seat and backrest provide added comfort. There are even washable hygienic covers available in white, blue or grey to complement your decor. Additional features include built-in safety controls and 4 quick release suction cups. Optional equipment includes two additional suction cups for the anti-slip bath base and a headrest. Check out the latest innovation in bath safety.

For seniors, a simple activity like taking a shower can be dangerous if the proper precautions are not taken. It’s important to have handles, bath mats, and a shower chair in the bathroom the senior uses to bathe. Installing these safety features is quite simple, and doesn’t require professional help. Handles should be installed on the side of the shower (whichever side the senior uses to get in and out) and also on the inside of the shower. It’s also a good idea to have a bath mat both in and out of the shower to reduce the chance of the senior slipping. For seniors that have trouble standing for extended periods of time, a shower chair is a great option.

By implementing the necessary bathroom safety features, you can feel confident that you have reduced the risk that your senior will fall.  In addition, all of the installation can be done without professional assistance!

A Shower Stool can be used for more than shower safety. We all know by the now the benefit of having the extra stability at shower time, but we find ourselves using our shower stool for so much more. Our kids carry the shower stool from the bathtub to the sink and climb up on it to help them turn on the water faucet. Our daughter has used the shower stool for her tea parties when her friends come over to play. My wife has used the Shower Stool to reach items on the top shelf in the linen closet. I have used the Shower Stool to change light bulbs throughout the house. Most Shower Stools easily adjust from 13”-17” in height, weigh less than 5 pounds (a perfect weight for women, kids, or the elderly), and have a weight capacity of 300 lbs or more (perfect for the mom and dad too busy to hit the gym). A Shower Stool is a great tool for safety and so much more throughout your entire household.

A Transfer Bench is a device that allows a person seated in a wheelchair to access the shower, by sliding from the chair onto the bench and into the shower/bathtub area. Transfer Benches come in a variety of forms. A one piece transfer bench is very portable and compact so a caretaker would be able to move it out of the way easily after the shower is completed. Some transfer benches have an actual sliding mechanism built into the bench so that you and the seat slide at the same time, increasing comfort as you enter the shower. Some models also come with a commode for extra comfort and the ability to eliminate multiple benches cluttering the home. These transfer benches have rubber stops to stabilize the bench to the tub and prevent scratching. Bench style transfer benches can have plastic or padded seating and also have been modified for bariatric use.

A shower bench is a device used in the shower or bath tub to allow comfort and mobility for people unable to stand for long periods of time in the shower or who are unable to exit the tub from the tub floor. Shower benches can be either built-in or portable. Shower benches come in a variety of materials, sizes, shapes, and colors.

Essentially, a shower bench is a level seating area used to allow you to sit in a comfortable position while in the shower. While built-in benches are one option, they only offer a fixed height position which may not accommodate all the members of your family. Portable shower benches offer the flexibility to accommodate the entire family regardless of height and the capability to be moved to any bathroom in the house. These portable shower benches can travel with you and increase the feeling of comfort when staying at a hotel or even at a relative’s house.

Shower benches are not only good for those with mobility issues, they can also be helpful to the lady of the house when she is attempting to shave her legs. The extra stability allows for fewer slips and falls and fewer nicks and cuts. When finished with her shower, she can then store the seat in a closet for later use and free up the full shower or bath area for the rest of the family’s use.