Bathroom safety and accessibility become more critical as we age. Hence, walk-in tubs and accessories are becoming increasingly popular for Canadians. If you have senior parents, toddlers, or family members experiencing temporary balance issues due to pregnancy or medical treatments in your household, walk-in tub accessories such as grab bars are worth the investment.
Although bathtubs are often people’s main concern, due to the lifting and momentary loss of support, other features of your bathroom also pose risks for seniors’ physical well-being. That’s because most bathrooms aren’t designed with accessibility in mind.
Hence, if your seniors start having difficulty maintaining their balance, and you also have floor material that becomes slippery when wet, you may consider DIY walk-in tub accessory installations.
These accessories will help enhance your bathroom’s safety beyond a walk-in tub, preventing falls and injuries. Since you can often install them yourself, you won’t need an exorbitant budget to make your bathroom more comfortable for your parents and family.
4 benefits of walk-in bathtub accessories
1. They provide stability, support, confidence, and independence
One common issue that affects aging people is the progressive loss of independence related to loss of balance and other cognitive capacities. Walk-in tub accessories like slip-resistant coatings, mats, and grab bars can significantly help them increase their confidence and sense of independence when moving around their home, while enhancing bathroom safety.
Likewise, they can also help prevent falls, a prevalent concern for seniors and their families. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations and deaths in people aged 65 or older. Hence, if your parents or other family members are near this age, walk-in tub accessory installations can reduce the risk of falls and other fatalities.
2. They can increase your home value
Buy mobility bath accessories and boost your home’s value when reselling, especially if it’s located in a senior living community or neighborhood. Safety-focused features in your bathroom, like grab bars, walk-in tubs, and slip-resistant floors, make bathing more convenient and accessible for seniors and people with disabilities.
If you plan to resell your home, consider adding these walk-in bathtub accessories to provide extra home safety and attract potential buyers.
3. Increase home safety while maintaining style
It’s common to perceive walk-in tub accessory installations as unsightly and unfitting in your home decor. Industry-level grab bars can look out of place in the middle of your bathroom’s wall, and choosing a non-slip mat that matches your taste can be complicated. Luckily, modern safety features are designed to provide functionality and style, without disrupting your home’s visual appeal.
Most grab bars today come in several finishes to enhance design and support. For example, you can find grab bars in brushed and polished stainless steel, brushed and peened, or with painted coats. These finishes allow you to choose the best matches for your taste while enhancing your bathroom’s safety.
Likewise, with slip-resistant coatings, you don’t need to stress about matching colors and patterns. All you have to do is apply the coat on the desired surface, previously cleaned, with paint brushes, rollers, or low-pressure sprays, and give it about 24 hours to dry completely. With these walk-in tub accessories, you can quickly and affordably increase the slip resistance of your current floors, countertops, and walls.
4. Provide safety beyond the bathroom
Due to the increased risk of falls and injuries, bathrooms are the primary concern of seniors and their families. Still, DIY walk-in tub accessory installations can help improve their quality of life, providing support and confidence in other home spaces.
You can install grab bars at staircases, narrow hallways, and near the kitchen’s countertops to provide support and help seniors maintain their balance while doing routine activities such as cooking or cutting food.
Similarly, applying slip-resistant coats to your floors, especially on stairs, and other home surfaces will enhance safety and reduce the chance of slips and falls.
Hence, when looking to buy mobility bath accessories, consider their uses outside the bathrooms and how they help you improve your home’s safety in general.
The Step Through Store: your go-to for easy walk-in tub accessory installations
Committed to helping you improve your bathroom’s security and accessibility without spending a fortune on remodels, we’ve equipped our shop with helpful walk-in bathtub accessories and conversion kits to have a senior-friendly bathroom and home.
With The Step Through Store’s DIY products, you can get quality bath accessories while saving the hassle of hiring remodeling contractors.