Residential Stairlift Safety
Having a stairlift in your home is optimal for increasing accessibility. The idea behind a stairlift is to increase the safety for those who are unable to use stairs due to accessibility constraints. That being said, there are still some things we should do in order to maintain that added safety and not have it go to waste. If you have a stairlift in your home, follow these few stairlift safety guidelines to ensure you can stay safe!
1. Maintain a Clean Area
Maintaining a clean surrounding, including at the top, bottom and directly on the stairs, is important in order for the system to be able to function as it needs to. Similar to when there is a toy or some other item on the stairs and someone can step on it and potentially slip and fall. A stairlift is no different. A lot of stairlift safety involves keeping the area clean otherwise the stairlift could get stuck half way up or down, and you might find yourself stuck and struggling to get out. This is not a good position to be in. So do yourself a favour and ensure the stairs are completely clean of debris and other things before getting on the lift.
2. Stairlift Safety Includes Using the Seatbelt
We realize it may sound ridiculous, but trust us, it is not. Using the seatbelt is a very important part of ensuring your own safety on the stairlift. The speed at which the lift moves is quite slow, but even a sudden jerk for whatever reason, whether something is left on the stairs or your battery runs out, can cause a terrible fall. Especially when on the stairs, this will not end well.
3. Responsible use
Using your lift in a responsible way is important as well. Stairlift safety means not using it to haul heavy items, or trying to fit more than one individual at a time. Remember, your stairlift is meant for you and for you only. Using it in the way it was set out to be used will help to ensure that your lift will last for as long as you will need it.
4. Regular Maintenance Will Ensure Stairlift Safety
A stairlift has many functional and mechanical parts that work together in order to help you access all area of your home with ease and safety. A major component to stairlift safety is to always get your regular maintenance completed. Working with a company such as Western Elevator will give you information and recommendations on when your lift should have its maintenance completed. This will simply ensure that all the working parts of your lift continue working as they should, and avoids the possibility of things like random seizing or more-than-normal wear and tear happening.
5. Fold the Seat up
Folding the seat up when you’re done using your lift is important stairlift safety for not only you but also for everyone else that comes into your home. The seat being folded down can actually create somewhat of a tripping hazard. If you’re stairlift is at the top of the stairs and someone trips over your seat, you can only imagine how that situation might end. For that reason, practice your basic stairlift safety and simply fold your seat up after each and every use!