Staircase Safety For Seniors: Two Ways To Way Your Parent's Staircase Safer

As parents age, it gets harder not to worry about their safety while they live in their home. It is understandable that they want to maintain their independence as long as possible, but falls are a leading cause of injury among seniors as they start to lose their balance. As someone who has parents living in a two-storey home, one way you can reduce the chance of accidents is to do something about their staircase. There are two ways you can increase stair safety, and the choice you make will depend on the budget you have.

Staircase Railing And Step Covering

The cheaper of the two stair safety options is to do a safety audit of the railing and the step coverings. For example, if the staircase is wood and the steps have no covering, it is easy for your parents to have their feet slide out from under them while walking on the stairs. If they do not wish to go through the expense of carpeting the whole staircase, purchase carpet tiles to be installed on each of the steps. Carpet tiles will absorb any moisture on your parent's feet, and this reduces the chance of slipping.

The staircase rail increases your parent's stability when they hold onto it while using the stairs. But, if the staircase rail is too thick for their arthritic hands, it is difficult to grip, and this renders it useless. Replacing the staircase rail with a less round one gives them one they can mould their hands around. A staircase manufacturer can provide you with different options for replacing the stair rail so it is less painful for them to use.

Replace The Staircase

If you have enough money in the staircase modification budget, consider having the staircase rebuilt completely. The main reason for doing this is to reduce the stair riser height. The stair riser is the vertical portion underneath each step, and the lower the riser height, the less your parent has to raise their leg to get to the next step. When your parent doesn't have to bring up their leg too high, they reduce the chance of losing their balance and falling.

There is no set cost of what a staircase rebuild would cost, as it is a project as individual as the house the staircase is in, but a staircase construction expert will be able to provide you with a quote once they have visited your parent's home.