Design Ideas for Accident-Free Bathrooms

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The bathroom is often the most used room and has the highest traffic among all rooms in the house. Why not? Everyone just needs to go to the bathroom several times a day. However, this also means that most accidents happen inside the bathroom, with it being relatively small, dim, and wet most of the time. While accidents may happen to anyone, elderly people are the usual victims of bathroom accidents.

People who have less mobility need to have an easy access to the bathroom. This is true among the seniors who need to maintain their quality of life by means of simplifying the most common tasks. One of these tasks is taking a bath. A senior may find it difficult to go into the bathtub or sit on the flush toilet. This is why it is very important to that bathrooms should be designed to prevent seniors from getting into accidents and acquiring injuries, especially when one of your family members needs to conveniently access the bathroom to maintain proper hygiene.

Here are some smart ideas on how to make your bathroom more elder friendly.

  1. Anti-slip floors: One of the most common accidents that seniors experience is when they slip on wet tiles. Hence, it is very important to check your tiles and see if they do not cause any accident. In case you have budget constraints, you can make your tiles anti-slip by using nonskid mats. If your beloved senior uses a walker, the best action is to install low-pile carpeting.
  1. Well-lighted bathroom: Elderly may have blurred visions, and a dim bathroom may cause accident to happen. Make sure that the whole room is properly lighted by installing more fixtures or getting your lights replaced with a brighter lighting structure.
  1. Doorknobs or levers: Levers are a better choice when it comes to creating elder-friendly bathroom. When the senior has a painful case of arthritis, every movement becomes painful – including the simple task of turning the door knob. Thus, levers can make life easier for them. You may want to consider using lever on faucets, as well.
  1. Adding grab bars: Grab bars are helpful, especially when the elder has to stand-up from the bathtub. It prevents slips especially when there is no one to assist the elder after taking a bath. Grab bars need to be installed near the flush toilet, bathtub, and shower rooms.

These are just some of ideas for accident-free bathrooms which do not require huge investment, just a little amount of effort to show that you truly care for your loved ones.