It is a responsibility of every household to care for the senior citizens of the family. Therefore, it is essential to take consider their needs and convenience while building your home. You must have heard that senior citizens often fall in the bathroom and they have to go through a lot of problem because of it. In this scenario it is very important to make a senior citizen friendly bathroom. For this following measures should be taken:
1. Ensure that the floor is not slippery and is free of water: Sometimes the marble floor and ceramic tile floor becomes slippery. So to prevent the slip you must divide the bathroom in two areas 1. Bathing area 2. WC and wash basin area. You can divide by installing glass partition or putting a shower curtain. So when you will use the bathing area, water will not spill over and not come to the other side. So lot of area will remain dry. You can also keep a good quality floor wiper to dry wipe your bathroom floor.
2. Install sufficient number of handles or hand bars for holding for support: There should be one handle bar right after entering into the bathroom door. There should be one handle bar near, above, or around the wash basin. There should be a handle bar near the WC. Then there should be one handle bar in the area where they bath, so if they need support they can have it right there.
3. Install wall mounted seat for bathing area: Senior citizens have a problem standing while bathing so you can install a wall mounted seat for bathing area or alternatively use a good quality plastic stool or plastic chair depending upon the health.
4. Proper and sufficient light in the bathroom: There should be proper light in the bathroom. This is because the eyesight of the senior citizens is low and if they are not wearing their spectacles then they will have problem in seeing. If your area has power cuts then keep a good quality torch light handy for the senior member. Switchboard should be placed outside the bathroom.
5. Use anti-skid floor mats and bath mats: For senior citizens you should place anti-skid floor mats in the bathing area. Also, you can place bath mats in the entire area where one walks in a bathroom. When a senior citizen is getting up after bathing, if at that time the load of their body weight comes on their feet and they skid at that time, then the bathing mat in such a situation is very helpful, it helps prevent the fall.
6. Raise the height of western commode: Either you can raise the height of western commode or you can buy a padded seat from any online store. It helps senior members get up from the seat and does not put too much load on their knees.
Conclusion: Bathrooms in a home must be made with lot of care, consideration, and sensitivity towards the senior members of the family.
It takes lot of imagination, understanding, and knowledge of different materials available to build a house. At CREATIVEBUILD we have experienced architects who are very capable.