views of different bathrooms and wetrooms

Wet Rooms For The Elderly and Less Abled

Wet rooms and walk in showers provide a safe, comfortable place for someone with reduced mobility and/or certain medical needs to shower and or bathe while maintaining their independence as much as possible.

A wet room is defined as a bathroom where a shower becomes part of the whole room rather than a standalone facility.

Where you have a conventional shower this is usually contained within its own separate unit, and often has a step to enter and leave it by, which in itself can be problematic for elderly people with reduced mobility especially when due to medical conditions such as osteoarthiritis.

image of chair for the elderly in wetroom

But in a wet room the shower is part of the room itself with no separating step. And consequently,  where you have no step to negotiate to use the shower, you reduce the chance of tripping (very important for the elderly where bones tend to fracture more easily than the young), as well as less stress on bones and limbs from moving from one level to another.

Water from the shower in a wet room falls onto the floor and flows out through a drain directly in the floor. The floor is gently sloped to guide the water towards the drainage area.

A wet room has its own ventilation system which means that the room will dry out adequately. The shower may have a draw back curtain or be open depending on personal requirements. You will also need to consider the space within the wet room. Is it large enough for a wheelchair user to manoeuvre adequately?

image of open wetroom with easy wheelchair access

In some wet rooms the shower has a built in seat. These are often fold-away so that they are there only when they’re needed. However, this very much depends on the person who is using it, as simply the act of having to fold and unfold the chair itself can be problematic, in which case a fixed chair should be considered.

If you are not steady on your feet or have limited mobility, the simple act of having a shower can itself present difficulties. Falling on slippery shower floors can be a real hazard, so ensuring that slip proof material is used for the floor is vital.

Hand or grab rails may be required for extra stability for the elderly or less-able client. Again, these can be permanent or fold away in style depending on suitability.

Wet rooms are typically made to order and are adapted to suit the user. Such flexibility is vital when you have specific mobility challenges to work with. Proper due diligence should be carried out when assessing your wet room installation company. Watch out, in particular, for the quality of their questions, and the care they take in answering your issues.

image of large grab rails for the less abled using a wetroom

Some wet rooms are created so that wheelchair users can access them easily. Until you yourself or a loved one experiences a reduction in personal mobility it is easy to take showering or bathing for granted. If you need a wet room to be installed so that you can once again shower without discomfort, and ensure that you will be safe then your life is hugely enhanced.

When installing a wet room choose a company that works with the client to get exactly what he or she needs.

For instance Eastern Adaptations Limited came into existence through the needs of the founder, Kevin Carvell working with his father, who needed an adaptation to his home so that he could live there safely taking into account his medical needs.

Kevin and his team now work full time to help you adapt your bathroom to suit you or your loved ones changing needs.  A wet room can be a life-changing upgrade to a home as it will help ensure the independence of the client at home.

image a electric shower and foldable seating for a shower room

Wet rooms must be functional and perfect for their users however they should also be beautiful and stylish as environment always plays a part in the quality of life.

More and more homes are incorporating wet rooms as the population ages and people understand the need to have safe and secure bathrooms that also look stunning.

In fact some industry specialists are arguing that walk in showers and wet rooms will become the norm over time.

A well-designed wet room can add value to your property too. Being more streamlined than a conventional bathroom with a separate shower unit, they give an ‘open plan’ beauty to your bathroom and have a modern, clean, integrated feel as well as increasing the space you have available to take a shower.

A properly installed wet room will also have easy to use appliances which enable people with limited mobility such as the elderly to manage them on their own.

image of walk in shower with no steps

For instance, there should be an easy to use and read temperature gauge on the shower. For obvious reasons this is of primary importance in any wet room.

You do not need to have a huge bathroom in order to transform it into a walk in shower. In fact wet rooms can be installed in most sizes of bathroom including a windowless box room. Or you could even have a corner of a bedroom partitioned off to create not only an en suite walk in shower room but one with a ‘wow’ factor.

All you need to decide is what you will have in it. For example, if you need a toilet and basin or any other furniture as well as a shower then you will need to factor that in to your design.

Of course, drainage considerations should also be factored into the project but any good company with experience will work with you to find out what is possible and practical.

When they were first installed. wet rooms were only built on the ground floor buildings. It was also part of the building process to site wet rooms on concrete or screed bases.

These days you can have your wet room in a flat or on the first or second floors of your home, although it will cost more as water pressure plays a part the higher up you go in a house.

It is now possible thanks to new building products to have a fully sealed wet room just about anywhere in your home. You can also opt for under-floor heating when you are designing your walk in shower for a little touch of extra luxury!

image of grab rails and wetroom drainage

Eastern Adaptations works with each client to talk through their particular needs. They offer a bespoke design service as they know that everyone has unique needs which are specific to them. From the initial discussion and your first ideas of what you might need, Eastern Adaptations manage everything.

They are specialists in every aspect from plumbing, waste removal, electrics, floor coverings, tiling and final touches. This is important as creating the perfect wet room that an elderly or less able person would expect means having an understanding well beyond your average high street plumber or bathroom outlet.

Everything is organised to suit you from start to finish. Your job is to enjoy the prospect of having an exciting new wet room on its way backed up with the knowledge that you are using a caring and professional company with 20 + years’ experience.

In conclusion, you can have a wet room fitted into just about any home. They offer style and ease of use and remove the ‘trip’ factor that conventional showers have.

A wet room can give an elderly person their independence back which can sometimes mean the difference between staying in your own home and moving elsewhere.

You can contact Eastern Adaptations on 0800 030 9794

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