4 Essential Items to Keep Your Elderly Parents Safe in the Bathtub and Shower
By Robert Seiwert, RN, BSN
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When you’re thinking about setting a home up to keep your aging parents safe, the best place to start is in the bathroom. If we haven’t drilled this into your head already, falls are the leading cause of injuries in older adults and a significant number of these falls happen in the bathroom. Why? Bathrooms are wet, slippery, and full of hard surfaces that are just waiting to connect with a fragile hip. Plus, unless you’re a Kardashian, the bathroom you’re dealing with isn’t exactly made to accomodate a walker or wheelchair so manuevering around can be more like a game of twister.
So, let’s set you up for success and talk about how to make sure you don’t turn bath time into a home emergency. We’ll walk you through four things that can save your back, prevent falls, and give you the peace of mind you’re craving. This is by no means an exhaustive list but these are solid choices to get you started:
You can trust this.
I’m a registered nurse with years of experience helping people navigate the chaos and confusion of senior care. Every product mentioned here has been vetted through actual, day-to-day use or backed by solid professional assessments and research.
Grab Bars
When you think of a grab bar you likely get an image of the stainless steel type you’ve seen in hospitals and public bathrooms. Good news is that you don’t need to go this way unless you want to. Maybe you or your parents rent or, I don’t know, the whole cold metallic dungeon vibe isn’t your thing.
Grab bars are essential because they provide support for those dicey moments going into and out of the tub or when your parent needs just a little added stability. Importantly they can prevent a fall before it happens which is rule number one of staying out of the hospital.
Here are two great options:
Vaunn Bathtub Handle Grab Bar and Safety Rail
This is great because it clamps onto the side of your bathtub. This provides a stable support without the need to drill into the wall. You can also adjust the height pretty easily and its FSA/HSA eligible which is always good for the wallet.
There are some possible drawbacks: This won’t work with showers that don’t have an edge to clamp on or with those fancy claw-foot tubs with big loopy edges. Also, you’ll need to place this either at the front or the back of the tub if you want to close the shower curtain when bathing.
TAILI Heavy Duty Suction Grab Bars
Another great option if you want to avoid drilling into your walls (and want to get your safety deposit back?). You can place these anywhere you have a smooth, hard surface which is most standard shower/bathtub combinations. These are great for adding support at different angles and different locations. Plus, since they’re easy to move around, you can adjust the placement to find the perfect fit.
Sadly, even though those tiled showers and tubs look amazing, they won’t work with this style of bar.
Shower Chairs
Shower chairs can be helpful in a lot of different situations. Is your parent able to do most things themself but they just don’t have the endurance to stand long enough to take a shower? Shower chair! Do they prefer a bath but getting up from lying on the floor is asking too much? Shower chair! What if they can’t bathe themselves and you or someone else is doing all the work and don’t want to kill your back in the meantime? (Altogether now) Shower chair!
You’ll note there aren’t any shower stools in this review. This is because we’ve found that having a back and handles makes life easier for most elderly folx. Chances are, if they can’t manage a normal bathing routine, the back support and handles will be necessary.
Medline Shower Chair Seat with Padded Armrests and Back
This chair is best when your parent can do a lot of the work of bathing on their own or if you have a walk-in shower and there’s enough room to move around when someone else is helping out. The back rest and padded arms provide comfort while the rubber feet keep it relatively steady. It’s also height adjustable which can make it easier for seniors to get in and out of it.
Drive Medical Tub Transfer Bench For Bathtub
Let’s just get this out of the way: this chair is kind of ugly. It looks like one of those rejected R2D2 models before they really dialed things in. That said, it is super functional.
It’s designed to straddle your bathtub (two legs in, two legs out) so that your parent can scootch in and out of the tub with ease. You could also use this in a shower but it’s pretty wide so you’d need some room.
Non-Slip Bath Mat
The physics of bathroom falls is pretty straightforward: water + smooth surfaces = Tumbletown. This is true for you and me but especially for seniors who have weakness, poor balance, and slower reflexes. What makes non-slip mats absolutely essential is how they can dramatically change this equation at relatively low cost.
Non-slip mats help in two key ways: First they make the floor less slippery by managing water drainage and providing a sticky surface. Second: they let you know they’re there with added texture. This added feedback helps make up for any loss of sensation your parents might be experiencing and it can increase their sense of security. When seniors feel more confident in situations like bathing, they’re less likely to rush the experience which will reduce the chances of an accident.
GORILLA GRIP Bath Tub Shower Mat
This is kind of like a traditional bath mat with some fancy upgrades. There are suction cups on the bottom to keep it in place (on non-textured surfaces) and large drainage holes to keep it from turning into a slip-n-slide. You can also throw it into the washing machine when it starts to get gross from all the foot action.
LuxStep Shower Mat
Falls aren’t always about weakness which is where this mat can provide some additional assistance. The surface is soft and has a different kind of texture than the Gorilla Grips mat which can make it easier for your parent to know where there feet are when they’re showering. This has the added bonus of looking less like a traditional mat so you might find it fits your vibe better. The drainage holes are smaller though and there are some reports that it will float in deep water when taking a bath so this is probably best for shower use.
Alert systems come in two flavors: The ones that are plugged into a call center and ones that are limted to you and your home. For the purposes of this article we’re (mostly) going to cover latter because we’re assuming that your parent is living with you or you’re in their home when they’re bathing. We’ll cover the other type of systems in a different article.
Alert systems are an important part of bathing safety because they help when all the other things don’t. No matter how many grab bars, non-slip mats, and shower chairs you install, you can never completely remove the risk of a fall. Having an alert system in your home helps to fill this gap and complete the safety net.
Alert System (aka Call Button)
CallToU Wireless Call Button
A great, basic call button system that is easy to set up. Just plug the receiver/speaker into any outlet and have your parent wear the pendant when they bathe. When they push the button the receiver will alarm and you’ll know to come provide assistance. Alternatively, if someone is helping with the bathing and needs to get the attention of others in the home, this is an easy way to call for help.
With the simplicity comes limits though. You need to physically push the button so it needs to be in reach and you need to be aware enough to push it. Also, you need to be within earshot of the receiver/speaker to hear the tone but with multiple receivers, you can cover your whole house in bleeps and bloops.
Apple Watch
Ok, here me out: this might be a pricey option but it’s probably the best one. First, it looks good, which means your parent will actually wear it. Unlike the pendant system it doesn’t scream, “I’M OLD” and won’t feel cumbersome in the shower. Second, it has built in fall detection so, if they fall and they can’t let anyone know about it, the watch with detect the fall and alert you and even call 911 if you’ve set it up to do so. Finally, if they just need help and want to call you for help, they can push the side button and give you a ring. This makes it useful both for when you’re in the same home and when you’re not.
WRAP UP
Listen, watching our parents age isn't easy and addressing safety issues in the bathroom is full of awkward moments. You’ve got some weird role reversal action going on, plus you have to manage their need for independence and privacy. It’s a delicate dance when all you want to do is make sure they don't crack their head open reaching for the shampoo.
These four safety essentials: grab bars, non-slip mats, shower chairs, and emergency call system are simple and relatively easy ways to keep your parents safe whether you’re in the room or not. Are these the most exciting purchases you’ll ever make? Probably not, but they'll likely result in fewer 3 AM panic attacks about your parents' wellbeing.
So while you can't protect your parents from everything, you can make their daily routines safer with a few strategic purchases. Your future self, and their hips, will thank you.