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Thursday, March 8, 2012

Stair Lifts

Stair lifts are a wonderful invention which returns some mobility to disabled people by allowing them to ascend or descend a flight of stairs.

 Being able to glide up or down a flight of stairs in a stair lift can mean the difference between staying in your home or leaving it after losing the use of your legs.

It can also open up more possibilities in terms of living situations if you do have to move.  Instead of being confined to a one-story house or first floor apartment, you can move into a home with multiple floors.

What are some considerations to keep in mind when choosing a stair lift?

A typical stair lift in the home.
How To Choose The Best StairLift

The most important criterion for a good stair lift is safety.  Your stair lift should be certified as safe by a consumer agency which tests and rates electronic products.

Intertek Listed or Underwriters Laboratories are both examples of agencies which can provide reliable and trustworthy ratings.  The best stair lifts are equipped with safety belts and are designed out of sturdy materials in stable orientations.
Safety Features

Safe stair lifts also come equipped with sensors which can detect if an object is in the path of the lift.  If the sensor detects an obstacle, the chair will halt automatically until the object is removed from its path.

Another safety issue is how the user will be able to leave the chair once the top or bottom of the staircase is reached.  In particular, you do not want to have a stair lift which will force the user to depart the chair at the same angle.

Good stair chair lifts can swivel away from the staircase; that way once the user reaches the top, he or she can safely depart the chair without having to deal with the top section of the stairs.
Comfort

Even though the user won’t be in the stair lift that long at any given point of time, it’s important that the stair lift seat be comfortable and ergonomic.

A wide footrest can help with this, and it’s good if the seat can be adjusted.  The physical dimensions of the person in question will need to be accounted for when you are purchasing the stair lift.  Not every stair lift is the right size and shape for every occupant.

Likewise, ease of use is a factor.  Can the stair lift be easily manipulated?  Or are the controls confusing?  Make sure that they are simple to understand, both for the sake of convenience and safety.

This is especially important if the person who will be using the stair lift is mentally challenged owing to Alzheimer’s or a similar disease.
Ergonomics In Your Home

Along with basic usability and functionality issues, there are other matters to consider.  Most chair lifts for stairs are designed with the surroundings of your house in mind.
Power Options

To this end, the majority of them are relatively compact, and also don’t run a cord to the wall.  That means you’ll probably be relying on battery power.

This is great for power outages, but you will need to replace the battery at least once a year, and possibly more often than that.  Before you decide on a stair lift, find out how many trips up and down a staircase of a given length you could expect before you would need to get a new battery.

If you want, you can also get an AC stair lift which plugs into the wall, but the cord can get in the way, and the stairs will be inaccessible in the case of a power outage.
Staircase Considerations

Even though you want to make sure your stair lift is roomy enough to be comfortable, you also need to check that it fits in your home and doesn’t block staircase access for others.

If you have a curving banister, you may be able to get a stair lift which can be pushed around the curve and out of the way of the stairs entirely.  Otherwise, you might be able to find a stair lift which folds up after use.

This can be a good way to get a stair lift which is spacious but also conserves space.
Stair Lift Shapes

Once you’ve made these general considerations, you’ll need to determine the specific shape of your staircase.  There are three main types of staircases:  straight, curved, or L-shaped.
Straight Stairlifts

Stair lifts made for straight stairs are the simplest to find and install, and therefore also usually the least expensive.  You can usually do the installation job yourself.
Curved Stairlifts

Curved stair lifts are unfortunately more expensive.  They usually require professional installation.
L-Shaped Stairlifts

If you have an L-shaped staircase (two intersecting perpendicular staircases), you can either get a special stair lift designed for the L-shape, or you can simply install two straight lifts.

This will require the occupant to make a transfer on the landing.  Two lifts will save money, but you should only go this route if the occupant is fully cogent and can handle the switch.

This means two lifts might be fine for someone with arthritis but no other problems, but probably not a good idea for someone who has dementia.
Standing Stairlifts

One last variation to consider is the standing stair lift.  Standing lifts aren’t that common, because they’re less safe.  They do provide convenience in terms of saving space though, and for certain people with knee injuries they are necessary.
Installing A StairLift

Installing your stair lift can be a do-it-yourself job in most cases, unless you have a curved stair lift.  Since it is necessary the stair lift be installed safely though, it is suggested that you hire a professional if you are in any doubt as to your own ability.
StairLift Prices

Stair lifts can be expensive to purchase and to install, but you may be able to get help with the costs from either a veteran’s association (if applicable) or from state assistance.

Prices can start around $1500 and go up to $10,000.

Since this is such an important device, you should make sure that you put safety considerations ahead of expense considerations.  Remember that even though you are paying a lot for your stair lift, it will probably ultimately save you money.

One way to save is to consider a stair lift rental.

1 comment:

  1. I was looking for stairlifts reviews online and stumbled upon this blog post. If you or any of the readers can recommend a good, reliable stair lift that won't cost a fortune please get back to me!

    ReplyDelete

 
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