Portable Shower for Elderly

What Is a Portable Shower for Elderly People?

A portable shower for elderly people is a way to have a proper wash with running water without needing a walk-in shower or climbing into a bath. It might be an inflatable enclosure that sits in a bedroom, a pop-up cubicle with a drain tray, or a simple hand-held shower head powered by a battery pump that draws warm water from a bucket. Some are designed to be used while the person sits on a shower chair; others work in bed.

For many older people, the bathroom becomes the hardest room in the house long before anything else. Stepping over the side of a bath feels risky, the shower is upstairs, or the only shower is over the bath. A portable shower bridges that gap, often for months while a wet room is planned, or for good where adapting the bathroom is not possible.

Why Might an Older Person Need One?

Families tend to look for one in similar circumstances:

• Living downstairs after the stairs have become too much, with the only bathroom on the first floor.
• A bath but no shower, or a shower over the bath that means stepping over a high side.
• Coming home from hospital and not yet able to manage the bathroom.
• Spending most of the day in bed, where a strip wash is the only option otherwise.
• Waiting for adaptations such as a level-access shower, which can take a long time to arrange.

A shower with flowing water can feel far more refreshing and dignified than a flannel wash, and it lets hair be washed properly too.

Which Types of Portable Shower Are There?

Inflatable shower enclosures are tall, walled pools that inflate around a shower chair. The user sits inside, the carer showers them with a hand-held head, and water drains through a hose into a bucket or a sink. When finished, the enclosure deflates and folds into a bag.

Pop-up or frame cubicles have a waterproof curtain on a light frame over a shallow tray, rather like a camping shower. They are quicker to set up each time but need a little more floor space. Battery-powered hand showers are the simplest: a small pump sits in a bucket of warm water and feeds a hand-held head, which suits a quick rinse over a shower chair on a tiled floor or in a bath.

For people who cannot get out of bed, inflatable bath basins and hair-washing trays let a carer wash the body or hair in bed with a hose to carry water away. Our guide to the portable wheelchair shower compares these systems for wheelchair users.

How Do Water Heating and Drainage Work?

Most portable showers do not heat water themselves. Warm water is filled from the kitchen or bathroom tap into a bucket or reservoir, and a pump or gravity feeds it to the shower head. Check the water temperature with your wrist or a bath thermometer before starting, as older skin can be sensitive to heat.

Drainage is the part that needs most planning. Enclosures usually have a drain valve and hose that empties into a bucket, a sink or a floor drain. Some come with a small electric pump to move water out faster. Keep towels and a waterproof sheet under the setup, and plan the route for carrying used water away.

Which Chair Works with a Portable Shower?

Most portable showers are designed to be used seated. A shower chair on castors lets a carer wheel the person into the enclosure and out again without an extra transfer. Look for water-resistant frames, a padded or perforated seat, armrests to hold, and locking brakes.

A shower commode chair with a cut-out seat allows easier washing of intimate areas and can double as a toilet chair, much like a wheelchair commode. Our guides to the shower commode wheelchair and to shower wheelchairs explain the main designs.

How Much Help Does It Take?

Most portable showers need a carer, at least to set them up, fill and empty the water and help with washing. A battery hand shower can sometimes be used alone by someone who sits steadily on a chair. Be realistic about how long it takes: filling, showering, draining and drying can easily take the best part of an hour at first.

With practice, many families settle into a routine that works well. Set everything out before the person gets undressed, keep the room warm, and have a dressing gown and towels within reach so they are never left cold and waiting.

Where Should You Set It Up?

A kitchen, utility room or downstairs cloakroom with a hard floor is ideal, as spills are easy to mop up and water can be emptied into a sink. A bedroom works well with a waterproof floor sheet. Choose a spot near a tap and a plug socket if the pump needs charging, and away from rugs and electrical sockets at floor level.

Check the floor space before buying. Enclosures and cubicles list their footprint, and you will need room around them for the carer to move and reach.

Is a Portable Shower a Long-Term Answer?

For some people, a portable shower is used for a few weeks after an illness and then put away. For others, it becomes part of daily life. If washing will be a long-term difficulty, it is worth looking at permanent options alongside it, such as a level-access shower on the ground floor, a wet room, or a bath lift.

Councils can help with larger changes. A Disabled Facilities Grant may help pay for adaptations, subject to an assessment and, for adults, a means test. The council’s adult social care team can arrange an occupational therapist to look at the home and recommend what would help most.

What Should You Check Before Buying?

Portable showers vary a lot in quality, so it pays to read the details closely. Look at the size of the enclosure when inflated and whether a standard shower chair fits inside with room to spare. Check how long the pump battery lasts on a charge, how much water the reservoir holds, and whether the hose is long enough to reach your sink or drain.

Ask how long setting up and packing away takes, and whether an electric pump for inflation is included or sold separately. A repair kit, a carry bag and spare seals are all useful extras. If the person has sensitive skin or an allergy to certain materials, ask what the enclosure is made from. Finally, check the returns policy, because it is hard to know how well a system suits your home until you have tried it once or twice.

How Do You Keep a Portable Shower Clean?

After each use, drain every drop of water, rinse the enclosure or tray with clean water and leave it open to dry before folding. Trapped moisture leads to mould and smells. Wipe the chair, hoses and shower head, and run clean water through the pump now and then.

Check inflatable parts for small punctures and seams for wear, and keep the repair kit that comes with many enclosures. Store everything somewhere dry and away from sharp edges. A clean, well-kept shower is more pleasant to use and lasts much longer.

What About Dignity and Comfort?

Being helped to wash is a big change for anyone. Talk it through first and let the person decide as much as they can: when to shower, the water temperature, which parts they wash themselves. Use a towel over the lap or shoulders, keep the door closed and the room warm, and go at their pace.

Comparing the Chairs on This Page

The cards below show shower and shower commode chairs in white, navy, black and blue, with flat, padded, contoured and perforated backs. When choosing one to use with a portable shower, check that the chair fits inside the enclosure, that the brakes are easy to reach and that the seat is comfortable for the time a shower takes.