If you have family members or close friends who have a disability, it’s important to ensure they can safely access the bathrooms in your home. Luckily, there are ways you can update your bathrooms to make them more accessible to those with mobility concerns who will use it. Here are a few helpful ideas for adjusting your bathroom to better accommodate their needs:
Expand the Doorway
First things first, your loved one needs to be able to enter the bathroom in the first place. Interior doors in residential homes can be as narrow as 24 inches in width. For those who use wheelchairs to get in and out of the bathroom safely, the door should be widened to at least 32 inches. To accommodate for turning wheelchairs, the ADA recommends widening a bathroom doorway to upwards of 38 inches.
Adjust the Height of the Toilet
If your loved one uses a wheelchair, toilets should be accessible from the seated position. The ADA states that toilet bowl rims need to be 17-19 inches from the finished floor for this to be a reality. This oftentimes means that homeowners need to replace their original toilet base with a longer one or add to the base beneath the toilet.
Install Grab Bars
Grab bars are a simple addition to any bathroom that can make it easier for those with mobility concerns to perform bathroom activities comfortably and without risking harm. This mobility equipment can be installed virtually anywhere in the bathroom, including:
- Near the doorway
- Inside the shower
- Outside the shower
- Near the toilet
Install Handheld Shower Heads
This is often overlooked when thinking about making your bathroom handicapped-friendly. The traditional wall-mounted shower head isn’t ideal for someone who is safer and more comfortable showering in a seated position. That’s why a handheld shower head is so important. With it, a person with chronic pain or other mobility concerns can have control over where the water flows.
Let Us Help You Make Your Bathroom Handicap-Friendly
If you’re looking to improve the accessibility of your bathroom, Freedom Mobility can help you do it. We’re your best resource for Hanover, MD mobility equipment and our specialists can help you find the right solutions for your home. Contact us today to learn more.