Bathroom Products - Bathing

Bath Seat

Probably the most common piece of bathing equipment is the bath seat. Bath seats are simply small seats which sit in the bath tub for people to sit on for those who have difficulty getting down into or up out of a tub. They are also helpful for people who lack the stamina or balance to stand while showering. As with every other piece of home medical equipment, there a a variety of designs and models but all basically do the same thing. Bath seats come as adjustable height or not, with a back or not, padded or not and suction cups for tips on the legs or not. In order to use the bath seat the user simply steps into the tub and sits down. A model with a back is best for those whose balance is not sufficient to sit without a back. Whether or not one buys a padded seat is really a matter of comfort.

Bath Transfer Bench

Bath transfer benches are bath seats which are wide enough that two legs can be placed inside the tub and two legs outside. These seats have legs to conform to the difference in the height between the floor of the bathroom and the floor of the bath tub. The idea of a bath transfer bench is that a person who can't step into the tub can sit on the end which is outside the tub, swing or lift their legs into the tub and then slide across. The one drawback of bath transfer benches is that if your bath tub has shower doors, they won't close and if you use a shower curtain, you'll have to drape it over the end of the bench in such a way that the water that runs off the curtain runs back into the tub.

Hand Held Shower

Hand held showers are the best way to bathe when using a bath seat of any sort. Users who require the use of a bath seat or bench usually aren't able to reach the water controls in a bath tub let alone the shower head so a hand held shower is often the answer. If you choose a hand held shower which you can turn off, you'll be able to put the shower down when lathering up and turn the water back on to rinse off without having to reach the water taps. The easiest way to install a hand held shower is to remove the existing shower head and screw the hand held shower hose on in it's place. An alternate option for installation is to replace the tub spout with a diverter spout and hooking the hand held shower hose to the new spout. The diverter spout has a switch which diverts the water from the spout to the hand held shower when used.

Bath Transfer Board

Bath Transfer Boards are a simpler version of bath seats and bath transfer benches. For a person who doesn't need the support of a backrest and doesn't need a padded seat this might be the best option. Most bath transfer boards have an adjustable flange underneath, at each end, which prevents the transfer board from slipping off the tub's sides. Despite the fact that the bath seat and transfer bench may be more comfortable, there are a couple of reasons why this product may be superior to the bath seat and the bath transfer bench for some people. Like the bath seat it provides a place for the user to sit and like the bath transfer bench the user can sit down on the end of it to lift their legs over the side into the tub. The advantages are that it is lighter and smaller making it easier to remove from the tub and store away when others want to use the bath tub and if one travels at all it's much easier to take along on a trip.

Bath Lifts

For those who want to get down into their bath tub and have a proper bath the solution is a bath lift. A bath lift is a seat which sits in the tub and mechanically lowers the user down into the bath tub and then raises them back up after bathing.

Most bath lifts were originally water powered and installed by hooking a hose to the bath tub's plumbing in the same way a hand held shower is hooked up. Today, with the advancements, in technology many of the bath lifts on the market are battery powered. Although many models have always been promoted as portable there was always an issue with hooking up a water supply when away from home but with the production of battery powered units traveling with a lift is much easier. When at home or away the battery powered unit can be simply placed in the tub when needed and removed when not needed without the hassle of connecting and disconnecting water hoses.

An advantage of the water powered unit are there is no battery to recharge, as long as your house has water pressure it will work. Battery powered units sense the amount of power left in the battery and won't lower into the tub if there isn't enough power for the lift to raise back up again.