A Senior-friendly Home: 5 Foolproof Ways to Make Your Home Elder-friendly

Sure, age is just a number. However, it’s a number that you need to seriously when you’re living with the senior members of your family. By that, it’s essential to take the appropriate steps to make sure that your home is a safe environment for the elder people living with you.

Home is a place of relaxation and comfort. As such, it’s important to make it as safe and secure as possible, so that you and your family can have the happiness and pleasure while aging at home.

Before starting on making some changes for the elderly, you should first evaluate your home and the way your life is changing. There are tons of simple improvements that you can integrate into your home to make it more accessible, comfortable, and safe for your loved ones. To know more, read the ways below.

Sure, age is just a number. However, it’s a number that you need to seriously when you’re living with the senior members of your family. By that, it’s essential to take the appropriate steps to make sure that your home is a safe environment for the elder people living with you.

Home is a place of relaxation and comfort. As such, it’s important to make it as safe and secure as possible, so that you and your family can have the happiness and pleasure while aging at home.

Before starting on making some changes for the elderly, you should first evaluate your home and the way your life is changing. There are tons of simple improvements that you can integrate into your home to make it more accessible, comfortable, and safe for your loved ones. To know more, read the ways below.

Shower Grab Bars

Almost eighty percent of accidents, particularly falling and slipping, happens in the bathroom, as stated by the National Institute of Aging. Perhaps the easiest and simplest solution is to install grab bars in the bathroom to make the coming in and out much more accessible.

Of course, there’s no definite height requirement for installing grab bars and all of us has different needs. But according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) acquiescent shower rooms, you should install the grab bars between 33 to 36 inches off the floor.

With the risk of having scrupulous shower heads, slippery floors, and broken faucets, installing grab bars will, without a doubt, lessen the probability of a fall. Moreover, you can also choose to install grab bars near the toilet for convenience and peace of mind.

A Well-lit Place

A well-lighted home is a must for elderly. For the most part, elderlies are not capable anymore of seeing things in a precise manner. On that note, it can hinder them from doing their daily tasks and can eventually lead to severe accidents.

So, it’s of the utmost importance to make sure that your home is well-lit, most especially in spaces like hallways, bathrooms, stairs, and entrances. Also, both the front and back doors so that it’ll make it easier for them to open or unlock the doors. It’s an excellent idea to set up lighting fixtures that contain two light bulbs in these areas, in the event where one bulb dies out.

Furthermore, make sure to install some lighting in your driveway, or to any aisles leading to your backyard or front door. Think about installing nightlights in the bathrooms, bedrooms, and in the hallways to make it a lot easier and safer to move around at night.

For a more modern lighting system, consider installing motion-stimulated light fixtures. It allows you to brighten up the essential areas of your home without requiring you to flip a switch.

Lastly, opt to install some task lighting fixtures in your bathroom cabinet, kitchen, dressers, and even bookshelves to make it easier for the elderlies to perform a task. You can buy different lighting fixtures in any online stores such as BlackMango.

Slip-Resistant Flooring

To lessen the danger of slipping and falling, consider applying anti-slip coatings to your floors, especially in the toilet, and get rid of rugs to avoid tripping. Most of the time, elderlies can trip on carpeting or fall if the floors are too glossy or smooth.

Keep in mind that selecting a flooring material for the seniors doesn’t have to be difficult and complex. You first have to know the type of flooring material you should use and where you will use it.

For the bathroom flooring, it’s very important to go for a non-slip flooring option or material that’s uncomplicated to walk on and should be easy to clean and preserve. For the entrances, you should always think about the ease of travel, while in the living room, comfort and relief should be on your top consideration.

Easy-to-open Doors

To make your home senior-friendly, it usually requires broad and extensive doors than normal. Why? It’s because older adults might need to walk with support like a wheelchair. So, if it’s possible, consider installing wider doors in your house.

Ideally, pocket doors are the most excellent option for elder-friendly homes because they take up less space and are very simple to use. On the other hand, a double door is preferable than a single entry because they’re easy to use and are much lighter.

Keep Cords Out of Sight

Tucking wires or cords out of passageways will lessen the risk of a fall or trip. Tacks, grommets, wire ties can undoubtedly help you tie up any messy wires or cords. Keep in mind that organizing your cords won’t cost you a fortune either—tacks, grommets, and wire ties will not cost you a thousand. So keep your home safe by keeping the cord out of walkways.

Takeaway

If you’re living with your senior family members, then it’s important that you look after them by making your home as safe and secure as possible. Luckily, there are many modifications and adjustments that you can do to make your home a senior-friendly one. Those mentioned above are some of the important things to consider.