How to Make Your Home Fall-Proof

There’s no doubt that falls are a major concern for seniors. They can result in injuries, fearfulness about mobility, and perhaps even a move to a care home.

That’s why it’s smart for older people and their loved ones to do all they can to reduce the danger of falls at home. Although there is no way to make your home perfectly fall-proof, there are many simple steps you can take to help prevent falls.

Read on to learn our top tips for lowering the risk of falls at home.

1. Install adequate lighting

Lights might not be the first thing you think of when you consider fall-proofing your home – but perhaps they should be.

Many older people have difficulties with their vision. When areas of the home are dark, it’s easy for seniors to trip by mistaking where a step is or not spotting a small obstacle.

You’ll want to ensure that all stairs and steps, both inside and outside, are well-lit with no confusing shadows. All other areas of the home should also be well illuminated, and light switches should be in spots that are easy for an older person to reach. Similarly, lamps should be within comfortable reach of a person’s chair or bed.

Ensure there’s no situation where an elderly person has to fumble in the dark for a moment before turning on the light – every part of their journey through the home should be lit. Motion detector lights can be very helpful here.

For extra help, you can always place a colourful or reflective strip, such as a strip of tape, on the edge of a step to make it more visible. Just be certain that the colourful strip itself is not going to become loose and turn into a tripping hazard.

2. Ensure paths through the home are clear

Fall-proofing a home means combating clutter. In other words, as few things as possible should be stored on the floor, where they can become a trip hazard. Install hooks and shelves where objects can be kept instead.

Electrical and charger cords can be a significant problem, as they can easily get caught on feet, especially if an older person tends to shuffle as they walk. You might consider taping cords to the wall or in a safe area to keep them out of walking paths.

Make sure that furniture is placed so that it doesn’t create spots that are difficult to walk through. Going from point A to point B in the home should be comfortable and require no stepping over obstacles or twisting to squeeze through small gaps.

Check all rugs to make sure they are not wrinkling or curling up at the edges to create trip hazards.

3. Provide handles, bars and rails to hold on to

Sometimes, an older person simply needs a sturdy, solid place to hold onto for balance or support. If one isn’t available, they might end up resting their weight on an object that isn’t sturdy or can’t support them properly – resulting in a fall.

The most obvious step here is to install handrails on both sides of a set of steps, whether they’re indoors or outdoors. The handrail should also be sturdy and comfortable to hold on to.

There are a host of bathroom adaptations that can boost bathroom safety. Among them are grab bars, which are metal bars securely screwed into the wall to provide a point to hold on to. These bars can be used near the toilet to help an elderly person get up and sit down. They can also be placed in the shower or above the bathtub to help with getting in and out.

You can also purchase free-standing rails that can be placed near a chair to help an older person stand up, or bed rails that assist a senior with getting in and out of bed.

4. Consider replacing a bathtub with a walk-in shower

Getting in and out of a bathtub can be very tricky for seniors who struggle with balance, strength, or flexibility. While grab bars can help, it’s sometimes best to simply replace the tub with a walk-in shower. This way, an older person doesn’t have to struggle with lifting their feet over the high side of the bathtub.

5. Combat slipperiness

Another tip for the bathroom and elsewhere is to reduce the slipperiness of the floor and floor coverings.

You can purchase anti-slip stickers or coatings for the shower floor or bottom of the bathtub. It’s also wise to choose rugs and bathmats that are labelled as non-slip so that they don’t slide underfoot.

6. Make objects easy to reach

If an older person struggles to reach an object, they could lose their balance, slip and fall. That’s true anywhere, but it’s especially important in the bathroom, where dangers of slipping are already higher.

If you have a shower, consider using shelves in it rather than keeping objects on the shower floor. An elderly person showering shouldn’t have to lean over or struggle to reach the shampoo bottle – it should always be within easy reach.

The same concept applies to the kitchen and the rest of the home. For example, you may wish to rearrange or add shelves so that no-one has to go on their tiptoes to get a pot from a high shelf.

7. Prepare for falls if they do occur

Although the above steps could greatly decrease the risk of falls in your home, there is no way to make your home perfectly fall-proof. That’s why you should also have a plan in place for what you would do if an older person fell in your home.

Key safes can be a good idea because they allow helpers to get into your home during an emergency without damaging the door.

Similarly, a personal alarm for the elderly allows you or a fallen older person to call for help after a fall. A senior who’s fallen to the floor might not be able to get up and get to a phone, and that can present a major problem. Personal alarms are the answer because they’re always with you, so they’re never out of reach.

Soothe worries about falling with a SureSafe alarm

What kind of elderly personal alarm might suit a senior with concerns about falling?

An alarm with fall detection would be just the ticket. It can sense when its wearer has fallen, and it calls for help all its own when it detects a fall. With this type of alarm, friends or a response centre will still be alerted about a fall even if the fallen senior is unconscious.

For both falls and other emergencies at home, an alarm with one-touch functionality is also great. This alarm lets its wearer call for help by pressing and holding just one button. In other words, in a crisis situation when time is short, you won’t have to look for a phone or dial it.

If you’d like to discuss how an alarm with these functions could help protect you or an older loved one against falls, SureSafe’s expert teams are here to help. We’re a leading provider of personal alarms in the UK, with high ratings on reviews.io and Trustpilot. So why not call us to chat on 0808 189 1671? Alternatively, you can get in touch with us through live chat or request a call back.