Savvy Senior: How seniors can make their bathrooms safer and easier to use

Dear Savvy Senior,

What tips can you recommend for making a bathroom senior-friendly? My 78-year-old mother has mobility problems and fell getting out of the bathtub last month. I’d like to modify her bathroom with some safety features that can help keep her safe.

Concerned Daughter

Dear Concerned,

Great question! Because more accidents and injuries happen in the bathroom than any other room in the house, this is a very important room to modify, especially for seniors with mobility or balance problems.

Depending on your mom’s needs and budget, here are some simple tips and product recommendations that can make her bathroom safer and easier to use.

Floor: To avoid slipping, a simple fix is to get non-skid bath rugs for the floors. Or if you want to put in a new floor get slip-resistant tiles, rubber or vinyl flooring or install wall-to-wall carpeting.

Lights: Good lighting is also very important, so install the highest wattage bulbs allowed for your mom’s bathroom fixtures and get a plug-in nightlight that automatically turns on when the room gets dark.

Bathtub/shower: To make bathing safer, purchase a rubber suction-grip mat, or put down adhesive nonskid tape on the tub/shower floor. And have a carpenter install grab bars in and around the tub/shower for support.

If your mom uses a shower curtain, install a screw or bolt-mounted curtain rod, versus a tension-mounted rod, so that if she loses her balance and grabs the shower curtain the rod won’t spring loose.

For easier access and safer bathing, consider getting your mom a shower or bathtub chair so she can bathe from a seated position. In addition, you should also have a handheld, adjustable-height showerhead installed that makes chair bathing easier.

If your mom has the budget for it, another good option is to install a curb-less shower or a walk-in-bathtub. Curb-less showers have no threshold to step over, and come with a built-in seat, grab bars, slip resistant floors and an adjustable handheld showerhead. While walk-in tubs have a door in front that provides a much lower threshold to step over than a standard tub. They also have a built-in seat, handrails and a slip resistant bottom, and some have therapeutic features like whirlpool water jets and/or bubble massage air jets.

Curb-less showers and walk-in-tubs run anywhere between $2,500 and $10,000 installed.

Toilet: Most standard toilets are around 15 inches high and can be an issue for taller seniors with arthritis, back, hip or knee problems. If your mom has trouble getting on or off the toilet, a simple solution is to purchase a raised toilet seat that clamps to the toilet bowl, and/or purchase toilet safety rails that sit on each side of the seat for support. Or, you can install a new ADA compliant “comfort height” toilet that is 16-to-19 inches high.

Faucets: If your mom has twist handles on the sink, bathtub or shower faucets, consider replacing them with lever handle faucets, or with a touch, motion or digital smart faucet. They’re easier to operate, especially if she has hand arthritis or gripping problems. Also note that it only takes 130-degree water to scald someone, so turn her hot water heater down to 120 degrees.

Doorway: If your mom needs a wider bathroom entrance to accommodate a walker or wheelchair, an inexpensive solution is to install some swing clear offset hinges on the door which will expand the doorway an additional two inches.

Emergency assistance: As a safety precaution, you should also consider purchasing a voice-enabled medical alert system like Get Safe (GetSafe.com) for her bathroom. This device would let her call for help by simple voice command, or by pushing a button or pulling a cord.

You can find all of these suggested products at either medical supply stores, pharmacies, big-box stores, home improvement stores, hardware and plumbing supply stores, as well as online.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.