By Maurice
This comprehensive guide goes deep in detail by providing a broad scope of bathroom safety equipment for seniors. You’ll learn about various items for outfitting a safe, comfortable, and convenient restroom for older adults. Organized by tub, shower, and toilet areas, we give you definitions, security features, brand names, and price ranges for popular safety equipment ideal for elderly bathrooms.
Bathtub
Whether you plan on purchasing a walk-in bathtub or need to make an existing standard tub safer, look at these senior safety bathing items:
Product Description: Walk-In Tub
A walk-in bathtub is a deep bathroom tub with a low threshold and an easy-to-use door for entering the bath and exiting from it. Some varieties of walk-in tubs have therapeutic features.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Although expensive, walk-in tubs are safer than traditional bathtubs and give users independence in senior living. They allow for a deep water level for soaking. If a doctor considers it medically necessary, Medicaid may pay for a walk-in tub and its installation in some states. Medicare doesn’t typically provide any coverage.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: American Standard, Elia, Kohler, Safe Step
Typical Price Range: $2,000-12,000
Buying Tips: You may need a new water heater for proper walk-in tub installation. It’s a good idea to have an in-home consultation before installing a walk-in bathtub.
Product Description: Bath Stool
A bath stool is an armless and backless white plastic seat small enough to fit inside a bathtub. It has sturdy legs and secure feet and is either round or rectangular.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
For seniors who don’t require the armrests or backrest of a shower or bath chair, the stool version can work to make the bathtub safer than being inside the tub having a bath. Instead, a handheld showerhead is used in the tub while sitting on the stool.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: EZ2care, Green Chief, OasisSpace
Typical Price Range: $40-50
Buying Tips: If you’re purchasing a bath stool for a larger-sized senior, check the weight capacity. Some bath stools are for people under 250lbs, while others have a weight capacity of up to 500lbs.
Product Description: Bath Lift (Power)
A power bath lift is a piece of Durable Medical Equipment (DME) that consists of a motorized high-backed seating device with a mechanism that lowers the user from the edge of a bathtub into the bottom of the tub and lifts him or her back up again. Some types of bath lifts have armrests for greater stability.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Bath lifts provide a safe way for those with limited mobility to take a bath.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Bellavita, Drive Medical, Lumex
Typical Price Range: $380-565
Buying Tips: Check for weight limits on the power bathtub lifts you’re considering purchasing.
Product Description: Bath Stairs
The bathroom safety equipment for seniors called bath stairs typically has one step raised on sturdy legs. Its purpose is to reduce the stepover height needed to access a standard bathtub.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Bath stairs allow a senior to get into the tub by taking smaller, shallower steps. Many bath stairs have a gripping handle at one end to provide extra safety and steadiness
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: DMI, Jobar, Vaunn, Vive
Typical Price Range: $38-65
Buying Tips: The bath stair versions with the safety grip handle on one side offer the most fall prevention for seniors.
Product Description: Tub Rim Grip
A tub rim grip, or tub rail grip, is a handle that attaches to the edge of a bathtub. Most tub rim grips have a wheel that is turned to clinch the two flat sides at the bottom of the handle onto the bathtub edge.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
When a senior can still step over the tub rail to enter and exit the bathtub, this grip handle makes doing so a lot safer. Grasping the sturdy handle can steady the body to help prevent falling.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Carex, Drive Medical, KXT
Typical Price Range: $40-50
Buying Tips: Look for tub rim grips with easy and secure installation. The closing wheel must be turned tightly enough to firmly position the handle on the top of the tub’s edge.
Product Description: Bath Grab Bar
Like the grab bars available for the other areas of a senior’s bathroom, at least one of these bars should also be installed in the tub area. It should be a sturdy, heavy-duty metal bar that is securely mounted and not added to the tile or wall with suction cups.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
When grab bars are installed in a bathroom tub area where they are most needed for safe tub entry and exit, they increase bathing safety.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: GBS, HealthCraft, Kohler
Typical Price Range: $28-85 depending on brand and size – (18” is the minimum grab bar length to be ADA compliant for baths and showers)
Buying Tips: Carefully consider the placement locations and length of bath grab bars you’ll need before buying. Also, determine which bars should be placed vertically and horizontally to offer the safest gripping options.
Product Description: Bath Pillow (Non-Slip)
A non-slip bath pillow fits under the head and neck during bathtub soaking. Some bath pillows have an extension that fits under the body.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Non-skid bath pillows support the head and neck to prevent these parts from slipping on the tub’s surface.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Bath Haven, Docilaso, Vanelux
Typical Price Range: $18-45
Buying Tips: Choose a bath pillow that firmly stays in place during bathing for maximum safety. Reading buyer reviews may help you determine this.
Product Description: Non-Skid Bathmat
A non-skid bathmat is a secure waterproof mat that should be placed outside the tub. For extra safety, one or two additional mats to fit the inside of the tub can also be used.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Non-slip mats resist slippage on a floor or tub. Wet slippery surfaces aren’t a falling hazard when covered with a sturdy non-skid bathmat. PVC resists slippage, and the versions of these bathmats with holes throughout allow water to drain while still preventing a slippery surface.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: All Pride, Duck Softex, Elaine Karen
Typical Price Range: $15-30 depending on size
Buying Tips: Check the size of each non-skid bathmat you’re considering purchasing. You may need two or three mats to cover the whole inside of the tub, plus have another mat outside the bathtub.
Shower
In this section, we give you the details you’re looking for when it comes to bathroom equipment safety for seniors’ showers:
Product Description: Curbless Shower
If you can imagine a road without a curb, you can imagine a curbless shower. Just as a street without a curb is flat even if there is a sidewalk or lawn etc., beyond it, a curbless shower is also all one level.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
With no edge or rim to step over and at the same level as the bathroom floor, a curbless or walk-in shower means seniors can access it without navigating a step or raised edge.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Aston, DreamLine, Vigo
Typical Price Range: $1,335-3,100 depending on size and door style
Buying Tips: Proper drainage is the key when considering these floor-level showers. A curbless shower may not be possible for tiny bathrooms, and the next best option would be a low-edge shower or to switch to a walk-in bathtub.
Product Description: Low-Edge Shower
While a standard shower edge is six inches tall and a no-edge or curbless shower is floor level, a low-edge or low threshold shower has a curb of about three to four inches high.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Since the height to step over to enter and exit the shower is lower than standard showers, a low-edge shower is safer for seniors who may be unsteady on their feet. A no-edge or curbless shower is a more versatile and even safer choice, but some tiny bathrooms can’t accommodate a floor-level shower due to drainage needs.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Almedia, DreamLine Loudon
Typical Price Range: $2,270-3,035
Buying Tips: As the low-edge type of shower has an entry/exit edge of a few inches to step over, installing grab bars nearby or a free-standing pole with grip handles instead is recommended.
Product Description: Handheld Showerhead
A handheld showerhead is just what it sounds like. It consists of a handle connected to the shower’s water source with a showerhead on the other end. Some models of handheld showerheads can be hung at fixed showerhead height to use for a standing shower.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
A handheld showerhead is an ideal alternative to a fixed shower head mounted high up since it allows a senior to sit on a shower seat and access the water by controlling a switch or button on the handle.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Drive Medical, HotelSpa, Moen
Typical Price Range: $20-35
Buying Tips: Choose a handheld showerhead model that the senior can operate easily while managing soap, shampoo, and a washcloth.
Product Description: Shower Chair
Shower chairs are available in different shapes and are usually made of sturdy white plastic. Unlike benches and stools made for the shower, the chairs have a back and armrests.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
A shower chair makes showering much safer for seniors who can sit upright but can’t stand well. The backrest and armrests provide some support also.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Drive Medical, Medokare, OasisSpace
Typical Price Range: $40-78
Buying Tips: Before buying a shower chair, note the measurements to ensure it will fit inside your shower in the best position for the senior to use a handheld showerhead effectively.
Product Description: Shower Transfer Bench
A shower transfer bench looks like a heavy plastic shower chair but with a long flat piece that sometimes comes with a sliding mechanism.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Shower transfer benches make getting in and out of a shower stall much easier. The gripping bars at one end provide a secure place to grab onto for extra safety.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Carex, Drive Medical, Gateway
Typical Price Range: $125-230
Buying Tips: Here’s an informative buying guide on shower transfer benches to help you consider whether a transfer bench or shower chair would be the better option for your safe senior bathroom.
Product Description: Shower Grab Bar
Like one used for the tub area, a shower grab bar is a heavy-duty, wall-mounted support grip. Also, like grab bars for the bathtub area, a shower grab bar should be a minimum 18″ length for ADA compliancy.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Having one or more grab bars installed in the shower surround helps prevent slips and falls. These bars offer support to hold onto so that seniors can stay steady rather than be at high risk for falling.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: AquaChase, Healthcraft, Moen,
Typical Price Range: $22-47
Buying Tips: Shower grab bars with textured middles offer even more safety as they’re easier to grip securely when wet.
Product Description: Floor-to-Ceiling Grab Bar Pole
Unlike wall-mounted grab bars, the floor-to-ceiling type is free-standing. It attaches securely on either end to the floor and ceiling. The middle part of the pole includes gripping handles for support when getting in and out of a shower or bath.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Floor-to-ceiling grab bar poles provide sturdy gripping support to what would otherwise be a space near a tub or shower.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Able Life, Healthcraft, Stander
Typical Price Range: $180-265
Buying Tips: Check the floor-to-ceiling height given for the product. Many brands of these grab bar poles extend up to 10 feet, but not all. If you plan on the installation to be temporary check for easy disassembly.
Product Description: Textured Non-Skid Shower Mat
A textured non-skid shower mat is typically made of PVC and can be used inside the shower for extra safety and placed outside the shower stall. The open-weave loofah-like texture allows for the shower water to drain through.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
The non-slip texture of a PVC loofah shower mat prevents falls by covering otherwise slippery wet surfaces. Many people like the comfort this material adds under their feet.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Asvin, Gorilla Grip, LuxStep
Typical Price Range: $15-30
Buying Tips: Check the mat measurements before buying. You may need several non-skid shower mats if you wish to cover the bottom of the shower, plus have a mat in front of the shower.
Toilet
Preventing toilet falls is simple with just a few easy to find safety devices:
Product Description: Raised Toilet Seat
A raised toilet seat fastens or ‘locks’ on top of a standard toilet seat to increase the height. It’s shaped like a standard toilet seat but is usually thicker, often by two or three inches.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Raised toilet seats lessen the need to bend the knees as much to sit on the toilet. They also reduce the risk of falling by being easier to sit on and get up from as they are situated higher up. The cushioned varieties also offer comfort that a hard seat doesn’t.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Drive Medical, Medline, Vive
Typical Price Range: $29-45
Buying Tips: It’s important to check the shape when buying a raised toilet seat to fit over your standard seat. Some types fit both round and elongated shapes, while other raised toilet seat varieties fit only one shape.
Product Description: Toilet Stool (Portable Commode)
A toilet stool is often called a toilet chair or portable commode. It consists of a sturdy frame with legs (and often, arms) around a center area that holds a removable plastic pot.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
The portable toilet chair or stool can improve safety by allowing for bedside restroom usage rather than an ill or injured person having to walk or wheel to the bathroom. A caregiver usually empties and cleans the plastic pot.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Carex, Drive Medical, Medline
Typical Price Range: $40 average cost
Buying Tips: Although toilet stools without handles may work for some seniors, the portable commodes with them offer more safety for those who may be unsteady or have poor eyesight. Folding toilet chairs may be convenient for travel.
Product Description: Toilet Lift (Electric)
Not to be confused with a raised toilet seat, a toilet lift is an electric-powered device that works much like a lift chair. It inclines to gently lift the user on and off the toilet from standing to sitting and back to standing.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
For seniors who are disabled or don’t have the muscle strength to get up and down from the toilet, a toilet lift provides a useful way to use the restroom. It’s ideal for those who use a lift chair in their living room.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: EZ-Access, Dignity, MCombo
Typical Price Range: $720-1,000
Buying Tips: An electric toilet lift is a piece of Durable Medical Equipment (DME). Either Medicare or Medicaid does not usually cover it. However, some private insurance companies do cover electric toilet lifts.
Product Description: Toilet Safety Rails
Toilet safety rails consist of a frame that fits across the back of the seat near the tank and extends out with grip handles on either side of the bowl. The frame’s sturdy metal legs support the handles.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Having a safety frame around the toilet to push from when getting up from the seat can aid weaker leg muscles. It also provides good support for grabbing onto when bending to sit down on the seat or standing in front of the toilet.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Carex, Medline, OasisSpace
Typical Price Range: $35-80
Buying Tips: The height of the top of the safety handles tends to vary widely between brands. Some are almost as tall as the toilet tank, while others may even be 6” lower than that. It’s essential to take note of the senior person’s height as to what handle height would work best.
Product Description: Toilet Grab Bar
Grab bars sold for safety support purposes aren’t specifically for the toilet area but are heavy-duty metal wall-mounted handles or rails that can be used anywhere. A toilet grab bar should be installed where it makes the most sense for the senior to help steady him or her when getting on or up from the seat. The bar can be installed horizontally or vertically.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Grab bars are a prime safety item for fall-proofing your home. All senior-safe bathrooms should have at least one grab bar installed on the wall by the toilet area and near and inside bathing areas. They can steady an unsteady older person who otherwise might fall without a grab bar to grip onto.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: AmazonBasics, Moen, ZUEXT
Typical Price Range: $28-35 (depending on length)
Buying Tips: Buy only grab bars made from heavy-duty metal and have strong fastening hardware. Check the weight limits – getting grab bars with the heaviest weight capacity is recommended. Never buy plastic bars or versions attached to the wall with suction cups since these don’t offer dependable support.
Product Description: Combination Grab Bar/Toilet Paper Holder
Instead of a strong safety metal grab bar alone, this wall-mounted gripping support includes an extra section to hold a toilet paper roll. This is a double-duty piece of bathroom safety equipment for seniors.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Since this is a safety equipment item, reaching for the toilet tissue is safer because it can offer support to prevent slipping and falling. It doubles as a tissue holder and is wall-mounted; it’s an excellent choice for even the tiniest bathroom.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: AmeriLuck, evekane, Moen
Typical Price Range: $50-70
Buying Tips: Before purchasing the combo grab bar/tissue holder for the wall near the toilet in a senior’s bathroom, be sure the measurements for the placement will work for safe use.
Product Description: Freestanding Toilet Paper Holder
A freestanding or standing toilet paper holder made for bathroom safety is a strong metal structure that holds tissue within easy reach. It’s constructed so it doesn’t tip over and is designed to be placed anywhere near the toilet.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
When there is already a toilet grab bar on a wall near the toilet, and it doesn’t hold tissue, a safe stand-alone toilet paper holder can be the best alternative. It can be placed on the floor where it’s most convenient for the senior to use.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Gatco, KES, Pokin
Typical Price Range: $28-40
Buying Tips: Ensure that you’re buying a safety toilet paper holder that is non-tip and made from very sturdy metal. Avoid the decorative lightweight metal holders that are easy to knock over and not sturdy.
Product Description: Wipe Assist Tool
A wipe assist tool consists of a long plastic handle with a holder for toilet tissue or flushable wipes at one end and a release button on the other end. New paper or wipes are added, and the user grasps the handle and reaches with it to wipe. The release button is then pressed to drop the used tissues or wipes into the toilet bowl.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
This tool helps people with mobility issues reach to wipe without added pain or difficulty. It can keep people steadier on the toilet rather than having them struggle to reach while wiping, resulting in a fall.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Garosa, RMS, Sonew
Typical Price Range: $12-17
Buying Tips: Some brands and models of toilet wipe assists have release buttons that are harder to press than others. Paying attention to product reviews is a good idea. If using wipes rather than toilet paper, ensure they are the flushable type to avoid plumbing issues.
Product Description: Toilet Night Light
Toilet night lights are white plastic rectangular-shaped motion detectors that attach to the edge of any toilet bowl. They are battery-powered and only turn on in a darkened bathroom when motion is detected. When a person approaches the toilet in a dimly lit bathroom, colored glowing lights illuminate the area. Some brands have 8-colors of lights while others have 16-colors.
How It Improves Safety/Why Buy It:
Seniors who need to get out of bed during the night to use the toilet may decide not to or forget to turn on the main bathroom light, leading to falls. Toilet night lights provide enough light to use the bathroom safely.
Popular Brands/Manufacturers: Ailum, Chuance, Wiltshire
Typical Price Range: $10-13 for two night lights
Buying Tips: Not all brands include batteries. Most toilet night lights require three AAA batteries. Since the lights only turn on in the dark when motion is detected, the batteries tend to be long-lasting.
Well, that’s it for this in-depth guide to bathroom safety equipment for seniors. The prices, brands, and products discussed here are just a sampling of what is available today. We hope learning about some of the different types of safety items on the market will inspire you to create a safer senior-friendly bathroom in your home.
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