Prepare Your Bathroom for Growing Older

Hi everyone,

Welcome to our article on tips to prepare your bathroom for growing older. This week focuses on changes you can make in your bathrooms to create a safer and more comfortable space while designing a beautiful room to enjoy.

Bathrooms:

Here are some useful ways to make your bathroom more comfortable to use now and in the future. If you’re having trouble getting up and down when using the toilet, add a steel toilet safety frame with arms to help you lift and lower yourself. You can find them at home improvement stores that sell medical aids.

If you don’t like the look of the safety frame, install a grab bar on the wall next to the toilet. You can find grab bars in stylish finishes and designer colors and even LED lights to match your bathroom’s décor.

An amber night light can be added to the new toilet compartment. It doesn’t stimulate our circadian clock and wake us when we get up in the night.

For a more comfortable solution, though a bit pricier, swap your old 14-inch-tall toilet for a new “comfort-height” model with a seat that’s 17 to 19 inches from the ground, which is more like the height of a chair. Consider adding a washlet or bidet. A bidet is a standalone fixture that resembles a toilet. It uses water with a retractable or separate hand-held sprayer, faucet or direct spray from the bottom of the bowl. A washlet is a toilet seat with integrated bidet functions.

Grab bars in the bathroom were once associated with disabilities. That’s not the case anymore. People of all ages and abilities are buying and installing them. In addition to the grab bars next to your toilet, place one or two on the shower walls. They’ll help you hang on if you lose your balance. Your visitors will use them for the same reason.

Pro tip: Before installing grab bar(s), consider how you will use it. One that’s positioned horizontally will give you the best leverage as you get out of the bathtub or stand up from the toilet. Choose one that is 24 inches long and place it 33 to 36 inches above the floor. If you’d like to add a bar on the same wall as the showerhead, it should be at least 12 inches long.

Keep in mind that an angled bar is handy if people share the bathroom.

The angled grab bar might be easier to install because wall studs are placed are placed 16 inches apart. A 24 inch bar installed at a 45-degree angle will allow you to screw the bar into those studs easily. You need to anchor the grab bar to a wall stud or with a toggle bolt that has a guaranteed weight rating. Otherwise, it could pull right out from the wall and send you flying if you lean or pull on it. Plus, most building codes require that grab bars be secure enough to stay in place even under the pressure of a 250-pound load. That means that you must screw the bars into wall studs. If the wall studs don’t match the length of the bar, then reinforce the wall with plywood, and screw into that.  

Many people use their shower far more than their bathtubs, especially if they no longer bathe children. Therefore, consider replacing your tub with a curbless shower. Have a bench and a hand-held spray installed at the same time, so that you can sit while you shower. If you’re still stepping over a curb to get into the shower, you could trip. And if you need to use a wheelchair down the road, rolling into the shower will be easier. Better to make those changes now when it’s not a urgent need.

Most people want to live independently, no matter what their age is. Making a few future-minded improvements to your home now can help keep you comfortable and safe for years to come.

Enjoyed this article? Check out more of our blog posts here or learn more about aging in place bathroom ideas here!