Eight Home Modifications for Aging Parent

Home safety modifications for elders decrease risk and help older adults stay independent in their respective homes for as long as possible.

Falls are the main reason why seniors lose independence and their mobility. Obstacles in homes can add up over time, making it possible for older adults to stumble, fall, and hurt themselves in the process.
These are the eight things that needs to be changed around the apartment they live, we are listing the most important home upgrades to help in taking care of your parents during their retirement years even right in the comfort of their home that they love so much and do not see the need to leave.

  1. Replace Cabinet and Door Handles: - A fast and easy job is replacing cabinet hardware and doorknobs which had D handles. A person with arthritis finds it difficult to open or hold traditional knobs tightly, and the twisting motion can prove to be challenging sometimes.
  2. Install Grab Bars and Railings Throughout The Home: - This is mostly installed in the shower or near the toilet and it has been seen to be very useful. Grab bars can help in stabilizing home owners as they maneuver, they can be a good handhold for a time of rest. Grab bars also require standard installation in order to bear safely the weight of the person grabbing the hold. Adding a grab bar on wall makes it easier to pull yourself up.
  3. Make Showering Convenient and Safe: - Setting up a corner seat in the shower assures another layer of safety. It serves as assistances to anyone who feels uneasy standing on his/her feet and a place to relax while steamy water pours on them. This sit can also be used as a perfect place for shampoo bottles; also they should be an upgrade to a handheld showerhead.
  4. Widen Doorways:- For walkers, wheelchair users, and anyone either a family or a nurse who might be rendering assist to your parents in their day to day life, widening the door way will reduce obstacles that narrow doors would lead to. This is an important upgrade of a home, and the perfect width is 48 inches while the minimum door width is 32 inches. Lowering of the light switches to a standard 48 inches makes it easier for aging parent in wheelchair as they can reach the switch from sitting.
  5. Remove Rugs and Other Ground Items: - Getting rid of rugs and anything else presently on your floor which may cause the aging to slip and cause damage is important. For their utmost safety you should consider installing non slip tile, or low pile carpet in the room and kitchen. This is also easy in terms of maintenance and very simple to clean.
  6. Add Extra Light to Dark Spaces: - Setting up a stick on tap lights will make lighting easy to access. For movement at night we would suggest that light should be on the stairs along each of the step to see much clearer. We can also install lights in the cabinet, closets or places that one may have hard time to see properly.
  7. Installing Doorbell and Smoke Detector With Lights: - For the aging that are having hearing disorder, there should be extra caution put in place to make them know when the smoke alarm goes off or when the doorbell rings. We had come up with an idea to use light to reduce stress for elders with hearing issues.
  8. Raise the Toilet Seats: - According to research carried out on the aging class, it was reported that one among three who are 65 or above fall each year and this accident occurs majorly in the bathroom, hence raising seat in toilet helps to avert such incident.

Whether you and your parents are separated by few blocks or by varying time zones, it is very important to find a trustworthy handyman who can take care of their home improvement and maintenance needs as they get much older. Give us a call and we will do a neat job, we have pocket-friendly prices, and we would come on time.