Disabled Enabled 2: The chair lift for stairs in your home.

After a few years working in the community care setting I have come to realize that there are many individuals who are able to get around their homes with minimal assistance but who still need some assisitance when it comes to the task of going up or down the stairs in their home. Much in the same way that someone with reduced mobility might need a lift chair recliner in their home, someone who can still get around their home without the use of a manual or motorized / electric wheelchair might still need assistance in getting up and down the stairs; I have had clients who have been able to do so with the use of a stair lift chair. You might have previously heard references to such things as a handicapped stair lift or motorized chair lift, but they are all more or less refering to a similar personal mobility concept.

In my local area there were two main types of chair lift for stairs available to my clients, the straight stairlift and the curved stairlift. From what I have seen it appears that the straight stairlift is usually more affordable than the curved lift because of the less need for customized equipment and generally less needed parts. You can get either electric or battery powered stairlifts but the battery option is probably more desirable since it would still be functioning and available for use during any kind of power outage in the home. There are also a few different safety features that one can have included with the installation of their lift; a safety belt can be included with the chair to help secure the occupant while the chair is in use. ( I have never seen a stair lift chair that didn't come with one) Another available feature is the inclusion of sensors on the base of the stairchair unit which would detect any objects left lying in the path of the chair that might impede its movement and could cause serious damage to the stairlift equipment and possible injury to the occupant of the chair. The sensors stop the chair before contact with the detected object occurs.

There are three main formats that the stair liftchair can take: the seated lift, the standing lift and the perching lift. The seated chair lift for stairs is pretty much self explanatory, and allow s the occupant to remain seated in the lift while it is in operation. This kind of lift usually includes a swivel chair, adjustable armrests and a safety belt. The seated or sitting lift is the most popular style of stair lift and the one most commonly found in the home setting. It is especially useful for anyone who has trouble standing for any prolonged period of time. The standing stair lift is useful for those individuals who can walk with the aid of a walker or walking stick but have trouble getting up or down the stairs. The standing lift is suited to those people who have trouble bending their legs or are in a leg cast of any kind and uses guard rails to support the occupant. The standing lift also takes up less space on the staircase which is ideal for narrower staircases. The perching lift is almost a hybrid of the two aforementioned styles of lift. The perching lift allows the user to effectively lean on a small seat while the lift is in use. This allows the user to support or rest their back while the lift is in motion but allows them to avoid the task of getting up and out of a chair after the lift has stopped. This kind of stair lift also includes guard rails.

I have had more than one person explain to me that when they were in the market for this kind of equipment, it was important to shop for the more reliable brand names or manufacturers of stairlifts and stairlift equipment. Some of the most well known names in the business are probably Savaria Concord, Bruno and Thyssenkrupp Access, though of course there are others. In the few cases I remember, the equipment manufacturer was the one responsible for the installation of the stair lift chair in the home. Of course there may be a need for both indoor and outrdoor stair lift equipment at one's residence: for example, you may have a large garden or a lower level parking garage that you still wish to have access to but are unable to safely navigate down to because of the steps involved. Both are examples of why someone might need an outdoor stair lift, and of course it may be that the stair lift is a modified one that can accompany a manual wheelchair. An outdoor lift is designed with various featrures that have the outdoor elements in mind; Such features as electrical enclosures to protect the operating equipment from the elements, weather resistant coatings, and powder coated painting which serves as protection from the elements are all available.

I already mentioned the possible need for wheelchair stair lifts outside the home but of course there might be a need for one inside the home as well; This kind of lift usually includes a platform and control panel and the individual just has to roll their chair right onto the platform. Even though the platform can be modified so that it can be folded to save space, the wheel chair lift will usually require a wider staircase.

A final point worth mentioning is that when purchasing a stair lift for the home, the consumer now has the option of having the seat material customized to match the patterns and or colors that are dominant in their home, although this does mean a higher price for the stair lift because of the seat customization. One client that made the effort to customize did so as a last minute decision and was very glad they did so once it was installed and the covering material was a nice fit with their home decor.

Just in case you want to read what has come before in this series of hubs, feel free to visit my earlier Hub which was an introduction to my look at the presence and use of personal mobility aids within the home and community setting. I also have taken a look at the various lift chair recliners used in the home.