Bathbench Archives - SeniorNews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFcGAfLIezQ


Bathtub Transfer Benches A transfer bench allows you to sit down on the bath seat while both of your legs are still positioned outside of the tub. Once safely seated, you simply need to lift one leg at a time over the bathtub wall and scoot your bottom sideways across the bench top until you arrive in the center of the tub.

	PROS: No installation required. Eliminates the need to “step” over the bathtub wall.
	CONS: If your bathroom is small and you use a walker or wheelchair, keep in mind that the bench legs residing on the floor outside the tub wall may get in your way when you are trying to move and turn around inside the bathroom. These bench-style bath seats extend over the bathtub’s wall, making it hard to tuck the shower curtain inside and therefore more difficult to keep water inside. (Some people remedy this by making cuts in the shower curtain.) A bath bench generally works best in a bathtub with a square-ish shaped bottom. If your tub curves in on the bottom edges, be aware that the bench’s interior legs will rest at the point where your tub bottom flattens out. This in turn means the center of the bath seat will be pushed outwards over the tub wall and you could find yourself sitting with one leg inside the bathtub and one leg outside. If you do have a tub with rounded bottom edges, and want a tub bench, opt for a model with screw-style adjustable height legs because this type can be more finely adjusted to accomodate the varying heights of the tubs curves.Bathtub Chairs

Bathtub Chairs
As with the bathtub bench described above, you have the option to back up and sit down on the side of the bath chair’s seat while both of your legs are still positioned outside the bathtub. From a safe seated position, you can then lift one leg at a time over the bathtub wall and turn your hips to face the shower head. Or, if your balance skills are sufficient to do so, alternatively you can “step” over the bathtub wall and then sit down on the bath seat.


Bathtub Chairs

	PROS All four chair legs remain inside the bathtub (unlike for the bath bench mentioned above). Hence a bath chair’s legs won’t occupy any of the valuable floor space a person using a walker or wheelchair needs to be able to move and turn around inside the bathroom. No installation required
	CONS You must have more strength and balance skills to lean back further in order to sit on a bathtub ‘chair’ positioned fully inside the tub, as opposed to sitting on a ‘bathtub bench’ that has a seat that extends out over the tub wall. If you decide a bathtub “chair” is the best solution for your needs, we recommend to select a model that has a wide flat seat so there will be more surface area to safely land on.

BathBench with Back Instruction

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JOOroTKp70
The benefit of a bath bench or bath chair is you have the option to back up and sit down on the side of the bath chair’s seat while both of your legs are still positioned outside the bathtub. From a safe seated position, you can then lift one leg at a time over the bathtub wall and turn your hips to face the shower head. Or, if your balance skills are sufficient to do so, alternatively you can “step” over the bathtub wall and then sit down on the bath seat.

PROS

All four chair legs remain inside the bathtub (unlike for the bath bench mentioned above). Hence a bath chair’s legs won’t occupy any of the valuable floor space a person using a walker or wheelchair needs to be able to move and turn around inside the bathroom.
Easy installation

CONS

You must have more strength and balance skills to lean back further in order to sit on a bathtub ‘chair’ positioned fully inside the tub, as opposed to sitting on a ‘bathtub bench’ that has a seat that extends out over the tub wall. If you decide a bathtub “chair” is the best solution for your needs, we recommend to select a model that has a wide flat seat so there will be more surface area to safely land on.

For a full list of bathroom safety products click here.

Bathbench

Composite Bath Bench and Transfer Bench Guide

BathBench with Back Instruction

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