How to Stop Your Home Becoming a Mobility Health Hazard

Why you need to age-proof your home before it starts to pose a mobility threat

As time passes and get older, we start to encounter mobility issues and the homes we’ve lived in for years and years can start to trip us up – literally.

The stairs that you were once able to climb in seconds, now pose an uphill struggle of immense proportions, causing you to sit up and pay attention every time you see a stair lift ad on TV.

The deep, luxurious bathtub that you loved to relax in isn’t so relaxing anymore, as it’s just so difficult to get in and out of without slipping.

Even getting through the doorways in your home could be proving a struggle if you have mobility issues and use a cane, walker or wheelchair.

So, what’s the solution? None of us can stop the passing of time and loss of mobility, but what we can do is to age-proof our homes, so that we can enjoy them for as long as we want to.

Make changes sooner rather than later

It’s so important to age-proof your home before it causes you to fall or slip. Preventing falls is the key here, so take a good long look at your home and look for areas that could pose a threat or that already cause you problems. Don’t leave it too late to make these changes. It’s so much easier to improve the accessibility in your home before you start to struggle. Prevention is better than cure when it comes to falls.

Light up

Your home needs to be well-lit and accessible, so if there are any dark corners or hallways, light them up – it’s a super easy way to really amp up the safety in your home and it won’t cost you much either.

Dangerous Doorways

Are your doorways a safe width for anyone using a cane or wheelchair? Get out your measuring tape and check whether your doorways are between 32-36 inches wide. If they aren’t, it may be worth considering widening them.

Safe Stairs

You definitely don’t want to take a tumble up or down your stairs, so when you start to feel that climbing the stairs is getting to be too difficult or too tiring, it is probably time to install a stair lift or home elevator. Nowadays, both solutions fit seamlessly into homes and won’t affect access for the more able-bodied members of your family.

Bathtub Solutions

The bathroom is the place where a massive number of accidents happen. It’s so easy to slip while getting in or out of your tub as you age. That’s where walk-in bathtubs come into their own. With a walk-in bathtub, you’ll be able to enjoy relaxing soaks, safely and independently, for as long as you live in your home.

If you’d like to learn more about our range of stair lifts, walk-in tubs and home elevators, please give us a call on 801-386-2408 or, better still, come down to see us in the Western Stairlifts’ Midvale showroom!