It’s not uncommon for retirees to relocate in retirement, whether to enjoy a lower cost of living or a more moderate climate. But a growing number of older Americans are showing a strong preference for aging in place.
A 2024 AARP survey found that 75% of Americans 50 and older want to stay in their current homes as they age, while 73% hope to stay in their communities. Aging in place often requires a good deal of home modifications, especially when it comes to bathrooms.
“The bathroom is the most hazardous room in the house, ” says Neal K. Shah, CEO of CareYaya Health Technologies in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area of North Carolina. With the right updates, you can transform your bathroom into a much safer environment. Here are eight to consider.
[READ: Remodeling Projects to Make Aging in Place Easier]
1. Install Slip-Resistant Flooring
Bathrooms, by nature, tend to get wet. Slippery floors could be treacherous for older people. That’s why Diana Melichar, owner of Melichar Architects in Lake Forest, Illinois, says bathroom flooring materials should be slip-resistant to ensure maximum safety.
Melichar recommends built-in rubberized flooring or some type of textured flooring. If new flooring isn’t in your budget, rubberized bath mats could do the trick.
2. Place Grab Bars Strategically
Grab bars are a fairly easy way to make any bathroom safer, but they must be placed strategically.
“Don’t simply put grab bars in random places,” says Shah. “Place them at the points where people transfer to and from the toilet, inside and outside the shower, and along the pathways in the bathroom.”
Shah also suggests installing grab bars that can support at least 250 pounds of weight and that contrast in color with the wall. This should make them easier to spot.
3. Reinforce Walls as Needed
While grab bars are a great bathroom modification, Melichar warns that you need to make sure the walls they’re attached to can support them. Otherwise, you could end up with not just an injury, but extensive damage.
“Always reinforce walls where there might be future grab bars,” she says. “That includes near the toilet, shower and tub.”
[READ: How Much Should You Spend on Aging in Place Renovations? Retirees Weigh In]
4. Put In a Zero-Threshold Shower
Traditional showers commonly require bathers to step over a small ledge, which can be a huge trip hazard.
A zero-threshold shower has no ledge or lip to step over at the entrance. Rather, it’s flush with the bathroom floor, thereby reducing the likelihood of a trip and fall situation.
“Barrier-free walk-in showers offer the best solution for fall prevention,” Shah says. Beyond that, he also suggests adding a shower seat — both for comfort and as a means of preventing falls while bathing.
Melichar suggests adding a handheld showerhead.
“Having a showerhead that is on a hose, instead of stationary in the wall, is especially helpful if you’re bathing on a shower chair,” she says.
5. Raise the Toilet Height and Add Support
Some older people have difficulty lowering themselves onto a standard toilet seat. To that end, Shah recommends raising the toilet height.
“A toilet at a comfort height of 17 to 19 inches, compared to a standard 14 to 15 inches, makes it easier for those with mobility challenges to transfer to and from the toilet,” he says.
If replacing the existing toilet isn’t an option, Shah says you can consider adding a riser that secures to the toilet with integrated grab bars.
6. Make Storage Accessible
Reaching to access personal care items from a bathroom cabinet is a great way for older people to pull a muscle or risk another type of injury. That’s why Shah says it’s important to make bathroom cabinets as accessible as possible to people with mobility challenges.
He suggests reducing the height of medicine cabinets and also making drawers in the cabinetry pull-out drawers for easier access. This can be especially helpful for people with arthritis.
7. Install Lever-Style Faucets
As people age, their ability to twist a faucet knob can decline. Shah recommends installing lever-style faucets that require minimal grip strength to operate.
You may even want to consider using touch-activated faucets, where placing your hand underneath is enough to turn them on. At the same time, make sure to clearly mark faucets so there’s no confusion between hot and cold.
[How to Modify the Kitchen for Aging in Place]
8. Improve Lighting and Contrast
As people age, their vision tends to decrease. That can be a big cause of injuries in the home, says Shah. He recommends proper lighting — not just in the bathroom, but all around it.
“Put up night lights that are activated by motion along the pathways leading to the bathroom,” he says. “Ensure the lighting is even and free of shadows, all the way to the bathroom.”
When older people need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, they can become disoriented. Shah suggests using contrast to better define spaces.
“Make the color schemes of the walls, floor and bathroom fixtures very different from one another,” he says.
Melichar agrees. Seniors tend to have trouble seeing blues, greens and yellows, she says, so it’s better to select colors that are easily distinguishable.
All told, Melichar says, modifying a bathroom for aging “takes a little forethought and creativity.” But with the right choices, your bathroom can be both functional and safe.
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8 Bathroom Updates for Aging in Place originally appeared on usnews.com
