Stairway Elevators
Safety at home is of utmost importance especially when there are old people around. There are many cases wherein seniors are brought to the hospital because they accidentally fell down the stairs. These accidents can cause serious injuries and sometimes, it can cause death. To avoid these dangers at home, it is extremely important that you find different ways to prevent such accidents from happening.
Apparently, you cannot just restrict seniors to stay upstairs or downstairs. They should also be given the freedom to roam around the house, too. And to make this possible, you should give them the right equipment to move around safely. In the United States, stairway elevators are very popular because they provide convenience and safety to the people who need them. Moreover, there are many choices to choose from when it comes to stair lifts so that buyers will not have a hard time finding the right one for their home. Take a look at the different types of stair lifts here.
The Stair Chair
All stairway elevators have a metal track attached to the side of the staircase. With the stair chair lift, a chair is attached on the metal track so that the passenger will comfortably sit while the elevator transports him or her. This is probably the safest stairway elevator there is and it is highly recommended for people who are immobile, disabled, or handicapped. Take note however that the stair chair can only transport a single passenger.
The Perch Lift
The Perch Lift is another type of stairway elevator. But instead of sitting down, the passenger will be standing up. This type of elevator is suitable for people with knee or leg injuries but can still manage to walk. This isn't as safe as the stair chair but there are safety handholds that will keep the passenger stable. People with disabilities can greatly benefit from the use of this machine because they won't need to make an effort to go up and down the stairs and risk getting injured further.
Curved Stair Lift
If you have a staircase that is shaped like an L, the best type of stairway elevator to use is the Curved Stair Lift. This option is quite expensive but you don't have much of a choice if you have an L-shaped staircase at home. It will be much more expensive to replace the whole staircase rather than getting a curved stair lift. Another reason why it is expensive is that this type is usually custom made to fit the staircase properly. The thing is, if you plan to sell the house in a couple of years, the curved stair lift won't add much to its resale value so you might want to think it first before deciding to install one.
Incline Platform Lift
The Incline Platform Lift is another stairway elevator that is quite functional. Instead of the chair being attached to a metal track, it makes use of a metal platform to give its passengers a lift. Your loved one can park his mobility scooter and wheel chair into this ramp or platform and it will transport both of them up and down the stairs. Take note however that this type of elevator requires a wide staircase.