Signs That You Need a Stairlift in Your Home and the Benefits of Having One

Table of Contents

1. What Is A Stairlift?
2. When Should You Buy A Stairlift?[+]
   1. Unstable Mobility of Your Special Child, Parents, or Grandparents
   2. Doctor’s Advice
3. 6 Benefits of Installing a Stairlift[+]
   1. Prevents Injuries
   2. Easy and Comfortable to Use
   3. Restores Independence
   4. You Can Avoid Moving To A Senior Home
   5. Temporary Mobility Solution
   6. Product Trial
4. When Installing a Stairlift Isn’t the Right Decision[+]
   1. Weight
   2. Mobility
   3. Home Restriction
5. Wrapping Up

If you have a senior in your home, who has difficulty moving around the house due to muscle or mobility issues that make them unstable, or if you have a special child who has limited mobility, using stairs daily can be a hassle for them.

In these situations, if you have no downstairs bedrooms, you may be considering moving to a home that has a single floor only. But honestly, why go to all that trouble when simply installing a stairlift can provide you with a cost-effective and quick solution?

Adding a stairlift to your home can ensure safe mobility and peace of mind.

What Is A Stairlift?

A stairlift is a chair that can be operated with a battery. Besides the chair and the battery, the third key part of a stairlift is the rail.

The chair is attached to a rail that goes all the way up the stairs. The rail doesn’t need the wall to be latched on to. Instead, it can be easily attached to the stair treads.

When Should You Buy A Stairlift?

There are mainly two circumstances where getting a chairlift becomes necessary.

Unstable Mobility of Your Special Child, Parents, or Grandparents

When your loved ones aren’t very steady on their feet anymore and have already fallen once while using the stairs, this is a very dangerous situation. Making them use stairs on a daily basis can cause a disaster or serious injury.

This is one of the signs to install one of the high-quality stairlifts to make their movements from one floor to another easy and seamless.

Climbing stairs might be dangerous for your parents if they suffer from joint pain, knee pain, severe stiffness, or a lack of leg strength. Hence, to help and support them in their regular movements, installing a stairlift would be a wise and considerate decision.

Doctor’s Advice

Depending on your parents’ health, their doctor may recommend that you install a stairlift in your house. This is the right decision if they have major health issues such as severe arthritis, strokes, weak heart conditions, poor vision, and lack of stability.

6 Benefits of Installing a Stairlift

The following are the major benefits of having a stairlift in your home.

1. Prevents Injuries

The stairs at home are the most likely place for elderly people to fall and be seriously injured. Missing one step is enough to cause a tragedy. But it is avoidable.

Using a stairlift is a safer way to navigate at home as the motorized chair helps to go from one floor to another while reducing the risk of an injury at home.

2. Easy and Comfortable to Use

Most users find stairlifts to be quite simple to use.

• To operate a stairlift, simply sit on the chair, fasten your seatbelt, press the rocker switch, and keep holding it and you will reach your destination, up or down.
• Once you release the switch, the lift will come to a stop.
• In case the stairlift is operated by multiple users, you will get a pair of keyed remotes for more convenience.
• The seat of the stairlifts is very comfortable and can have a padded seat, back, and armrest with a cushion.

3. Restores Independence

Being confined to a single floor can make elderly people feel that they have lost their independence. Also, they may need to seek help from others to climb up or come down the stairs, which can make them feel helpless.

With a stairlift in place, it will allow them to regain their freedom and independence as they will be able to access any part of the home easily, be it the basement or the upper floors.

4. You Can Avoid Moving To A Senior Home

According to an AARP survey, 90 percent of seniors choose to remain at home even in old age instead of moving to a senior home. For them, staying at home with their loved ones is very important.

If your home’s biggest safety worry is the stairs, a stairlift ensures safety while still allowing them to move laterally.

5. Temporary Mobility Solution

Even though stairlifts are bought for the senior members of the family, in some cases, even younger people can take advantage of them. This is especially for those who are recovering from an injury in the lower part of the body.

Setting up a stairlift will improve their mobility as they can reach any part of the house – from the basement to the upper floors.

6. Product Trial

Plenty of local showrooms will offer you a product trial before you make your final purchase decision about a stairlift.

Trying before buying is a great way to test the features and find one that suits your purpose well.

Do consider all the factors before installing a stairlift.

When Installing a Stairlift Isn’t the Right Decision

1. Weight

If the person for whom you want to buy a stairlift weighs more than 280 pounds, you will have fewer options or may not be able to find the suitable one for your house.

Almost all stairlifts come with a weight capacity of 280 to 420 lbs.

2. Mobility

If the older member still has some mobility and isn’t in pain or discomfort while using the stairs, the wise decision would be to wait before buying a stairlift. People’s joints degrade more quickly when they aren’t used frequently.

3. Home Restriction

If the staircase of your house is very narrow, it will be difficult to fit a stairlift. Though maximum stairlifts can be easily fitted to the staircase, sometimes it can be difficult.

In such instances, you may need to downsize or renovate your house so that the elderly members can stay downstairs.

Wrapping Up

Installing a stairlift can be really a good decision to prevent disaster and keep your sick and weak loved ones safe from unnecessary pain and injuries.

From this article, we hope you have got the basics about when to think about installing a stairlift in your home and all the benefits you can get from it.

Thank you for reading!