How to ensure that your bathroom adapts to your state of health?
Start by putting a non-slip mat outside your shower to
prevent slipping
.
The support bars (sold from 30 €) are a great help, but on condition that they are placed properly and firmly anchored in the support.
Avoid suction bars.
“They are dangerous.
On a glass wall, they generate traction with a risk of breakage.
On a tiled floor, they can unhook if they slip on a joint”
, warns Jean-Philippe Arnoux, silver economy and accessibility director for Saint-Gobain Distribution Bâtiment France.
A non-slip shower for more safety
Replacing the bathtub with a walk-in shower is not always possible in an upstairs bathroom, because the siphon must be embedded in the thickness of the floor.
If the latter is insufficient, a sump pump must be provided.
Many poorly designed showers cause leaks.
Read alsoThe falls of the elderly better understood
A thin-rimmed tray is sometimes preferable.
Choose it with a high level of slip resistance (PN 18, at least).
Companies, such as Kinedo, Indépendance Royale, Roth or AKW, offer quick technical solutions to implement, which dispense with redoing all the tiling.
Sealing is ensured by a wall panel.
Take advantage of home automation
A centralized control of your lighting, your shutters, your gate and your garage door would make your life easier.
A home automation installation no longer requires pulling wires and making bleedings.
Everything works by radio today.
Seat, door: what should be added?
If you need a
shower seat
, put it in the right place.
The tap should not be in the back as is often seen, but to the right of the user for right-handers.
It is also necessary to allow access to a helper if necessary.
"I prefer a non-fixed seat, which can be used in front of the washbasin and is also used for dressing"
, specifies occupational therapist Marie-Jo Kremer.
Read alsoFall of an elderly person: how to protect yourself collectively?
Do not give in to commercial offers that consist of cutting your bathtub to insert a door.
“It's a disproportionate investment, which does not solve the problem of accessibility since there is always a step.
One-piece plastic shower enclosures, which do not allow anything to be fixed to the walls, are also not suitable.
They incorporate a molded seat that becomes slippery and dangerous when wet.
They must be excluded from the solutions financed by the
MaPrimeAdapt system
which will replace the tax credit in 2024”
, reveals Jean-Philippe Arnoux, co-editor of this text.
Always ask for multiple quotes.
Give preference to craftsmen holding the “Handibat Silverbat” or “Accessibility Pros” label, which guarantees that they have been trained in the problem of adapting housing.