Even though most homeowners don’t think about it, the bathroom is probably one of the most heavily-trafficked rooms in your home. Consider this – everyone in your home – from your elderly parents to your young children – uses the bathroom several times a day for a variety of purposes. And yet, despite the fact that someone is always in your bathroom, you probably don’t consider your washroom from a safety standpoint.
According to home safety experts, bathrooms pose a bevy of safety risks for the people living in your home. While bathrooms can be unsafe for everyone, physicians indicate that bathrooms pose more challenges for young children and the elderly. Below are some ways to make your bathroom safer for children and seniors.
Bathroom Safety Tips for Children
Depending on the age of your child, safety experts tell us that the most effective way to keep your child safe in the bathroom is to keep your bathroom inaccessible to them. Consider installing an exterior child-proof latch on the outside of your bathroom door that your child can’t reach. This latch will keep the door locked so that your child cannot enter your bathroom unsupervised.
Similarly, safety experts indicate that you should install a door lock on your bathroom door that can be unlocked from the outside, in case your child gets trapped inside while they are potty training.
These other simple tips are all things we recommend for parents wanting to keep their children safe and injury-free in the bathroom.
Regulate Water Temperature
Accidentally scalding or burning your toddler in bathwater is something all parents worry about. Physicians suggest that all parents should readjust the temperature on their faucets so that the maximum water temperature your water can reach is 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Even so, before putting your kid in a bathtub, test the temperature of the water with your hand or arm. If the water feels hot, wait a few minutes so that the water can cool down before placing your kid in the tub.
Keep Your Medicine Cabinet Locked
Child-proofing your medicine cabinet and bathroom drawers is another way to improve the safety of your bathroom for your children. All parents know how curious their children are. If left to their own devices, they’ll open cabinets and unscrew bottles to learn more about the world around them. Adding door locks to your medicine cabinet and bathroom drawers eliminates your child’s ability to get into things that could endanger their safety.
Install No-Slip Strips
Placing no-slip floor strips on your bathroom floor is a great way to prevent your children from falling down and injuring themselves on your slick bathroom floor.
Bathroom Safety Tips for Seniors
While child-proofing your bathroom often earns the attention of the news media and self-help magazines, finding ways to make your bathroom safer for elderly folks is equally as important. Bathroom floors often get slick when wet, making them particularly dangerous for older people who are disabled or who have mobility issues. If you have an elderly individual using your bathroom, the following tips will help keep them safe as they are washing themselves.
Install No-Slip Floor Mats
Remember those no-slip floor mats that are great for keeping kids safe in the bathroom? Well, those very same mats work just as well for keeping seniors upright and injury-free on those wet bathroom floors.
Dual-Side Door Locks
Even with no-slip floor mats, there’s no telling when an old person might slip or fall in the bathroom. Installing a dual-side door lock will enable you to unlock a locked door from the outside, giving you the ability to help an elderly person who has fallen down.
