BATHROOM TOWEL RACK

We are in the process of remodeling the bathroom in my mother’s home. She is becoming less mobile as she gets older and so we are making sure that she is safe in her home environment. One of the most dangerous places in the home for a senior is the bathroom area. There are many reasons for this. The floor is usually tile or linoleum that is wet often which causes it to be slippery. Many people have rugs on the floor so that they can step out of a tub or shower onto a dry, warm and safe surface. However rugs can also be tripped on for a person that shuffles their feet, as many of the elderly do. Also people make the mistake of using the bathroom towel rack as a grab bar. This can lead to issues if the rack is not secured into the studs of the wall.

Prior to coming up with a plan for mom’s bathroom we had a social worker come out from the elderly outreach program. She helped us assess mom’s care needs as well as doing a safety check in the home. She suggested replacing the bathroom towel rack with a grab bar. The grab bar can still be used to dry towels on, but it will also provide a sturdy handhold for my mom. The social worker suggested placing the new bathroom towel rack at a height that would be the most beneficial for mom. She also suggested either replacing the toilet with a taller handicapped one or purchasing a raised toilet set to sit on top of the existing toilet. We decided that her toilet was quite old anyway so we replaced it. We also purchased low napped rugs that would not slip on the tile of her floor and would be difficult to trip on.

Mom always had a tub-shower combination; however she did not take baths anymore because she could not always get up from the sitting position in the bathtub. We replaced the tub with a walk in shower that has a built in bench in case mom needed to sit down during a shower, or gets to the point where she needs to have someone help her with the bathing process. By moving out the tub we created more room so we had extra space for another bathroom towel rack that could be placed at standard height for mom’s guests.

We also put a fresh coat of paint on the walls and hung new curtains. Mom is very pleased with the new bathroom fixtures and I am glad that she will be safer.