11 Bathroom Safety Tips for Seniors That Will Keep Them Safe

The bathroom is a surprisingly dangerous place, which is the reason we’re focusing on bathroom safety tips for seniors. The combination of water, steam, and tiled floors creates many hazards, to the extent that most of us have either fallen or almost fallen at least once in the course of our lives.

Some have even had serious accidents in the bathroom, like slipping over on the wet floor, landing haphazardly against a sink or bathtub, and breaking an arm.

The issue of bathroom safety becomes more significant as people age. Having an accident when you’re in your 60s or 70s, even a minor one, is much more serious than in your youth. In your 80s and 90s, the problems become more significant still. Some seniors even end up in assisted living after a single fall. This is why, today, we’re highlighting critical ways to avoid accidents in the bathroom.

Many of these tips are specific to the bathroom, but you’ll be able to take the same principles and apply them elsewhere as well.

11 Powerful Bathroom Safety Tips for Seniors

1. Reduce Clutter

Clutter isn’t just awful to look at, it can also be dangerous.

This is particularly true when there are many things on the floor, like scales, a laundry hamper, a rubbish bin, and a potted plant. The more things there are, the harder it is to navigate the room and the greater the chance of mishap.

Clutter on benches and shelves can be a problem too, as this makes it harder for the senior to find what they’re looking for. They might knock something onto the floor too, then need to stoop to pick it up.

Taking a minimalistic approach can help here.

Needed items should still be in the bathroom, of course, but if something isn’t strictly necessary, consider removing it or putting it out of the way.

2. Make Necessities Easy to Access

The things that are necessary, like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. should be kept somewhere easy to reach. In particular, the senior shouldn’t need to stretch or stoop to reach them, as doing either of those things increases the risk of a fall.

Think about where the senior is when they need the item as well.

For example, if the senior sits rather than stands when they are having a shower, their shampoo and soap will need to be fairly low. If they stand instead, those products would be stored higher.

3. Install Grab Bars

Standing after sitting often gets more difficult as people age. Some seniors end up using towel rails to lever themselves up, which is an accident waiting to happen, as those rails aren’t designed to hold their weight.

Grab bars are a much better approach. These can be installed wherever the senior needs them most, like next to the toilet or the shower.

Planning the location is important. Look for where the senior naturally reaches when they’re getting up. This will help you work out the best place to install the bar.

There are a few types to choose from.

Screw In Bars

This is the most secure type of grab bar, as it’s screwed into the wall. If the bar is installed correctly on the right type of wall, it should hold up to almost any amount of pressure.

There are a few significant problems, though.

• Installing takes care and time, so you can’t simply reposition the bars at will. You need to be certain about the install location before you get started.
• You need a suitable wall in the right place. If your bathroom has many cupboards or there are few studs in the walls, it might be difficult to find a good location for the bar.
• While installing the bar isn’t difficult, some skill is required. You may need to outsource the task if you’re not confident in doing it yourself.
• You mightn’t be able to install the bars if the home isn’t yours.

Screw in bars are much better than any other type, so it’s worth trying to find a way to make them work. If you’re renting, try talking to the person who oversees the rental about installing bars. Many will be willing to do so, as the bars add value to the property and make it suitable for more people.    

Suction Bars

As the name suggests, suction bars are installed through suction, rather than being screwed in. This makes them much easier to install and much easier to remove.

The problem is that the bars don’t always stay where you put them.

You can find high-quality products that have signals for when they’re fully attached to the wall, but even then, there’s no guarantee that they’ll work all the time.

And, when the bars come unstuck at the wrong time, they can be incredibly dangerous. This has actually happened for many people and could easily cause an injury.

The best way around this is to use the bars carefully and never put your full weight on them – which might just defeat the purpose of using them.  

Upright Bars

The final style is upright bars. These attach to the ceiling and floor.

If the bars are installed using screws, then they should be very stable. You get around the issue of needing wall space too. Of course, having a bar in the floor does make moving around more difficult, so may not work in a tight space or for seniors who use a wheelchair or a walker.

Some versions of these products use suction or adhesive rather than screws. This presents the same problem as before, where the bars can come unstuck.

4. Make the Toilet Seat Higher

The toilet is another area to think about. Getting up and down often becomes difficult with age. The grab bars that we mentioned before can be helpful here, but raising the toilet seat is often more powerful.

There are various products that can do this, including simple seats that overlay the current one, seats with handles, and even entire frames. The best type will depend on your needs.

• Individual seats (like this one) take up little space and are most useful when the senior’s ability to get up and down isn’t too limited. Their small size makes them easy to remove, so they’re perfect for shared toilets.
• Seats with handles on the side (like this one) provide extra leverage, especially when they have been well secured.
• Full frames (like this one) are the most unwieldy, making them best for non-shared bathrooms. They give plenty of leverage, helping seniors to stand up easily.

Always check reviews before buying products like these. Pay close attention to the negative ones, as they’ll give you the most information about where the issues are and when the product mightn’t be appropriate.

5. Use Non-Slip Strips and Mats

Slippery floors can be a serious issue in bathrooms. If you have the time and the money, looking for non-slip flooring is a powerful approach. Natural stone is one of your best choices, but this gets expensive quickly.

For most people, however, non-slip strips and mats are a more realistic idea.

These can be used on most types of flooring, providing better grip and safety. The trick is to find the best one for your needs.

Inside the Shower or Bath

Having a mat inside the shower or bath is incredibly helpful, as so many falls happen here.

The most common type are suction mats. They’re easy to buy, are fairly inexpensive, and come in plenty of different sizes.

They’re not ideal though, as they lift at the edges over time, increasing the risk of tripping. They can also quickly gather mold and soap scum, meaning they end up looking bad and are unhygienic.

Non slip stickers are a much more powerful option. They prevent slipping in the same manner, but they tend to last longer and don’t get moldy in the same way.

On the Bathroom Floor

For outside the bath and shower, you want a product that’s going to stay in place and also absorb water. After all, if the senior leaves a puddle of water around them, slips are all but guaranteed.

You need a mat that isn’t going to move around and won’t come up at the edges. Here are our top three:

• ITSOFT Non Slip Shaggy Chenelle Soft Bath Mat
• Gorilla Grip Thick Memory Foam Bath Rug
• HEBE Non Slip Bathroom Rug

Whatever mat you choose, make sure to pay attention to any instructions. For example, the mat might perform best on a floor that’s clean and dry, or it might only be good on some types of floors and not others.

Following any instructions is essential for making sure that the mat is actually safe and that it lasts for quite some time.

6. Look into Stools and Chairs

For some seniors, standing long enough to have a shower can be difficult and potentially unsafe. Having somewhere to sit in the shower is much better.

If you’re taking this approach, changing to a hose-based shower fitting works well too. This way the senior can bring the water to them.

There are plenty of stools designed for this purpose. Most of them are plastic, but there are some wooden ones as well. Whatever the style, it’s best to find stools designed to be in the shower, so that they’re mold resistant.

Again, pay close attention to any instructions too. For example, you might need to clean the stool regularly to prevent mold from growing.

Shower stools can be annoying if the bathroom is shared. If this is the case, look for a product that can be installed in the shower itself. Such shower chairs can be easily folded up when they’re not in use.

7. Make the Lighting Bright

A list of bathroom safety tips for seniors wouldn’t be complete without talking about lighting. Bright lighting makes it easy to see any hazards and avoid them, while dim lighting is a recipe for disaster. This is particularly important for seniors with poor eyesight.

Take a close look at how the room is lit now. Which areas are difficult to see? How can you improve visibility?

The solution could be as simple as increasing the wattage of your current lights. Alternatively, you might need extra lights, like ones that go on the bottom of overhead cabinets, along the tops of a mirror, or can be plugged into power sockets.

Sensor lights can be helpful too, especially for nighttime visits to the toilet. These mean that the senior doesn’t need to fumble for a light switch.

Subtle lighting might be called for at nighttime (who wants to be faced with a bright glare when they’re half-awake?), but make sure that everything in the room can still be clearly seen.  

8. Use Adaptive Products

Adaptive products are tools designed to make daily tasks easier. They’re important for people with limited mobility or muscle weakness, as they can make life so much easier.

Many of the products we’ve talked about in this post fall into the category of adaptive products already, like shower chairs and toilet seat raisers. However, there are also smaller products that you can use, such as dressing sticks, long-handled shower brushes, toilet tissue aids, and the like.

9. Consider a Walk-In Tub

Regular bathtubs mean that users need to step over the high lip of the bath to use it. However, that style is frustrating and even dangerous for many people.

Walk-in tubs are an alternative approach. They’re much more accessible, as users just need to step over a low threshold to get into the bath. The baths have a watertight door to allow you to fill them once the person is inside.

Many are also designed with seats, so that seniors have a seated bath, rather than lying down. The style can be much safer and more relaxing than a bath or a shower.

The catch is that these tubs aren’t cheap. They also need to be installed properly and maintained well to make sure that there are no issues.

If this type of tub is affordable for your family, it’s seriously worth considering, as it can make a huge difference to the senior’s safety and enjoyment in the bathroom.

10. Have a Medical Alert System

Most of our bathroom safety tips for seniors have focused on avoiding accidents. This one is an exception to the rule, as a medical alert system helps you to know when an accident has occurred.

This is particularly helpful when the senior lives alone or when they’re alone for long periods of each day.

Without such a system, what happens if they do have a serious accident?

I remember a scary incident with my grandfather, who fell over in the shower and couldn’t get back up again. He wasn’t seriously injured, but he was very weak, so he literally stayed on the floor of the shower all night, until a caregiver came to visit in the morning.

If he’d been wearing a medical alert system, someone could have helped him within 20 minutes. There are plenty of such services out there as well, like Medical Care Alert.

If the senior lives with you, you could also consider an in-home system, like Mobile Help. That type of system would have been incredible when I was a caregiver and miles better than my partner yelling any time he wanted something.  

11. Pay Attention to Where the Issues Are

One of the best ways to avoid accidents in the bathroom is to pay attention to where the problem areas are – and where they might be. For example…

• If the senior can’t stand independently for very long, a seated solution is likely to be needed sooner or later. This might involve using a walk-in tub with a seat or a stool that can be placed in the shower.
• If they have trouble getting up and down from chairs in the rest of the house, the toilet seat is probably too low for them to use easily.
• If the senior lives alone and at risk of injury, a medical alert device is all but essential.
• If the senior stumbles often, then anti-slip strips and mats will make a huge difference. Keeping the room as clutter free as possible should help as well.

Is a Separate Bathroom Possible?

There’s one final area to talk about in this round up of bathroom safety tips for seniors, which is whether the senior is sharing a bathroom or not.

If the senior is living with you, it’s much better for them to have their own bathroom. This way everything can be kept exactly as they need it. There’s no risk that something will be moved from where they need it or that something will be left on the floor for them to trip over.

Plus, some of the products that can help seniors use the bathroom safely are frustrating for other people. For example, you probably won’t want to use a raised toilet seat and any children in the family certainly won’t. Placing and removing the seat gets frustrating quickly,

Final Thoughts

Preventing accidents in the bathroom doesn’t need to be complicated. You don’t need to overhaul the entire room to keep the senior safe. Even just using a raised toilet set, having some non-slip mats, improving the lighting, and adding a chair to the shower can make the world of difference.