Home Safety Zone - Shower Safety

Shower Safety

There are so many other things in the house to consider in terms of safety that shower safety is often times neglected. The degree of bathroom safety that a household ahs to consider depends largely on the ages of the people that live there along with their level of mobility. If you have small children or elderly family members that live with you, you will have to gauge shower safety from different angles than someone in their thirties that lived alone would have to.

Shower safety across the board

While some of the following might not apply to you, it is advised to consider each. Some of these things might become relevant to you when you have visitors with different needs than those who live in the home.

Clean up any water spills outside of the shower as soon as they occur. Many bathroom floors are very slippery when wet.
If possible, make the bathroom floors non-slip as well. It does not take away the need to clean up water spills, but it could prevent an accident.
If you have shower doors, make sure that they are very heavy- duty plastic or safety glass. These doors will stop you if there is a fall in the shower and the last thing you want is for someone to go crashing through them.
If there is someone in the house who has more difficulty getting in and out of the shower consider installing some type of grab rails that provide more support.
Also for households with members that have difficulty with mobility, put in a shower seat to make showering much safer and easier.
Most water heaters are set at about 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Water at this temperature can cause burns within a few seconds. Turn down the water heater to 120 degrees to make scalding impossible.
If you do have your water heater set at a temperature of 150 degrees or you are not sure, avoid flushing the toilet while someone is using the shower. This can take all of the cold water away from the shower momentarily, but long enough to scald the poor person in the shower.
If there is someone in the house who has trouble turning the faucets on and off, install lever-type handles that are much easier to use.

Bathtub safety and bathroom safety in general makes a big difference, especially when considering the fact that the bathroom is the most likely room in the house for falls to occur.

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