5 Crucial Safety Features to Consider for Your Bathroom

Your bathroom should be a restful place that helps you to stay healthy. It should be a restorative environment. It shouldn’t be one that is filled with dangers waiting to result in a serious injury.

Yet, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 200,000 people each year are treated in emergency rooms for injuries that happened in the bathroom. Though the elderly are more at risk of injury, they are not the only ones injured. Anyone can suffer a serious injury after a slip or because of a sudden bout of dizziness.

You should consider adding safety features to your bathroom to keep your family safe. Here are five crucial features you should consider adding:

Non-Slip Mats

The bottom of your bathtub or shower can be very slippery. Besides the water, the soap scum can build up on the bottom and make it even more slippery. Even if you don’t have a problem with your balance, you can make a wrong move and easily slip and fall. You could hit your head, break a bone, or more.

The easiest way to make the space safer is to purchase non-slip mats to put on the bottom of the tub or shower. Rubber mats with suction cups are the most common option. You can also stick non-stick strips on the dry surface.

You should consider putting these strips around your sink also, which you might grab for balance and then slip again. Todd’s can spray a non-slip textured coating on the floor surface of your tub or shower and additionally offers imported bath mats for better traction.

Grab Bars

If you slip in the shower, what are you going to grab onto in order to stay upright? The only thing that’s there is likely your shower curtain, which will come crashing down with you. You might be able to grab the shower head, but that’s unlikely. Even if you do grab it, it will probably break off and fall down with you also.

You can install grab bars in Mesa that will give you something to grip if you feel yourself slipping or falling. Grab bars can be installed vertically, horizontally, or diagonally in your shower or bath, and they can be drilled directly into the tile or wall. You can even attach a grab bar to your tub if you or someone else in your family needs help getting in or out of the tub.

Also consider replacing any towel bars near the tub or shower entry with a Grab Bar. Often when in danger, people reach for whatever bar is nearby. A towel bar will pull right out of the all, whereas a grab bar will provide them the support they need. Grab bars are also very effective on the side walls of the toilet. Todd’s Bathtubs both sells and installs these grab bars to help give you the safety you need.

Bath Bench

A bath bench sits on the edge of the tub, eliminating the issue of climbing over the sides to get in or out. You simply sit on the bench and then put your legs over the side. Then you lower yourself into the tub slowly. Use the bench with a grab bar to make getting into and out of the tub safe.

A bath bench is portable, so it can be used as needed. You can have it available in case of an injury, as well as if you need to welcome an elderly relative into your home.

Shower Chair

Sometimes, standing upright in a shower is too much of a risk. A shower chair allows you to sit safely while you take your shower. You are high enough to reach the water flow, but you have a solid surface on which to sit so you don’t lose your balance.

Again, use your shower chair in conjunction with a grab bar and non-slip mat for maximum safety. The shower chair is portable like the bath bench, so you can use it as needed and store it when you don’t.

Raised Toilet Seat

Balance isn’t the only issue that can lead to problems in the bathroom. You may have a hard time standing up or sitting down, which can make it hard for you to use the toilet. This can be caused by an injury or a degenerative condition.

A raised toilet seat can make it easier for you to use the toilet without hurting yourself. The seat reduces the distance you have to lower yourself, and it includes grab bars on the sides. It is portable, so it can be used when you need it and stored when you don’t.

Making your bathroom a little safer for everyone in your family doesn’t require that you invest in an expensive remodel. However, if you have more extensive needs, you should talk to a bathroom contractor near Mesa about additional changes you might make.

Todd’s Bathtubs can help if you have an older bathtub or shower that has cracks or a peeling finish, both of which can pose a safety hazard in certain circumstances. Our Mesa bathtub refinishing experts can make your tub look as good as new again. We can perform bathtub chip repair, shower crack repair, or total refinishing. No job is too big or too small. Contact us in Mesa today to talk to a bathtub refinishing expert about your needs.

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