Bathroom Aids

What Are Bathroom Aids?

Bathroom aids are pieces of equipment that make washing, bathing and using the toilet easier and safer for people with limited mobility. They range from a simple grab rail or raised toilet seat to shower commode chairs, bath lifts and portable showers. For wheelchair users and older people, the bathroom is often the hardest room in the house: it is small, the floor gets wet, and many tasks involve standing, bending or stepping over the side of a bath.

This hub gathers our guides to the bathroom equipment most relevant to wheelchair users, explains what each type does, and points to the help available for bigger changes such as a level-access shower.

Which Bathroom Aids Help Most with Showering?

For many people the shower is where independence is easiest to keep with the right equipment:

• Shower stools and chairs let you sit while washing, which saves energy and means less time standing on a wet floor.
• Shower commode chairs are wheeled chairs with an open seat, used for both showering and the toilet. A carer can wheel the person straight into a level-access shower.
• Self-propelled shower chairs have large rear wheels so the user can move themselves.
• Portable showers give a way to wash where there is no suitable shower, for example in a downstairs room.

Our guide to the shower commode wheelchair explains the main designs and what to check on frames, castors and seats.

How Does a Shower Commode Chair Work?

A shower commode chair has a water-resistant frame, usually plastic-coated or aluminium, with a seat that has a cut-out. It can be wheeled over a toilet, used with a removable pan beside the bed, or taken straight into a level shower. Four small castors suit carer use; large rear wheels suit someone who propels themselves.

Look for locking brakes on the castors, armrests that lift or swing away for side transfers, and a footrest that folds up. Check the seat height against the toilet, and the overall width against the bathroom door. More detail is on our page about the wheelchair commode.

What If You Have No Level-Access Shower?

Many homes only have a bath or a shower tray with a raised step. Until the bathroom can be adapted, a portable shower can be a practical stopgap. These range from simple hand-held units with a water container to inflatable shower enclosures and tray systems that can be used in a bedroom or ground-floor room.

They work best when a carer helps and the floor is protected. Our guide to the portable wheelchair shower compares the main types and how water is supplied and drained.

Toilet Aids and Commodes

Getting on and off a low toilet is a common struggle. A raised toilet seat adds height, a toilet frame gives arms to push up from, and grab rails on the wall help with balance. A bedside commode can remove the need to get to the bathroom at night, which many people find a big relief.

Commode chairs that double as ordinary chairs look less clinical in a bedroom or lounge. Our page on the commode wheelchair looks at wheeled designs that can be moved over the toilet.

Bath Aids for People Who Still Use a Bath

If you prefer a bath, several aids can help. A bath board sits across the rim so you can sit and swing your legs over. A bath seat lets you sit lower in the water. A powered bath lift lowers you into the water and raises you again at the touch of a button, with a battery that is charged outside the bath.

Bath aids do not work in every situation. If you cannot lift your legs over the rim, even with help, a level-access shower is usually a better long-term answer.

Grab Rails, Flooring and Small Changes

Small changes often make a big difference. Grab rails beside the toilet, in the shower and by the bath give something secure to hold. Non-slip mats or flooring reduce slips. A lever tap is easier than a twist tap for weak hands, and a thermostatic valve keeps water at a steady temperature.

Rails must be fixed into a solid wall, so ask a competent fitter if you are unsure what the wall is made of. Suction rails are handy for travel but should not be relied on to take full body weight.

Who Can Assess Your Bathroom?

Local councils can arrange an assessment by an occupational therapist, who will look at how you manage in the bathroom and suggest equipment or adaptations. Smaller items are often provided free after an assessment, and the NHS guidance on home adaptations explains how to ask for one.

For larger work such as a wet room, a Disabled Facilities Grant may help with the cost, subject to an assessment and, for adults, a means test. Waiting lists can be long, so many families buy equipment privately in the meantime.

Which Bathroom Aids Make Life Easier for a Carer?

When someone helps with washing, the equipment has to work for two people. A shower commode chair with four castors can be pushed from the bedroom to the bathroom without a transfer in between, and a tilting model can lean back slightly so the person feels secure while their hair is washed. Handles on the back should sit at a comfortable height for the carer, so they are not stooping.

Hand-held shower heads on a sliding rail let the carer direct water without leaning into the cubicle. A long-handled sponge and a wall-mounted soap dish within reach help the user do as much as they can for themselves, which matters for dignity. If bending is hard for the carer too, ask the occupational therapist about equipment that raises the working height.

How Do You Measure a Bathroom for New Equipment?

Before ordering anything, take a tape measure round the room. Note the clear width of the bathroom door when it is fully open, because the door stop and frame often make the gap narrower than it looks. Measure the height of the toilet pan from the floor to the rim, and the space either side of it, so you know whether a frame or wheeled commode will fit.

In the shower area, check the size of the tray or wet-room floor, the height of any lip, and where the controls sit. Write the figures down and compare them with the dimensions on each listing. It is far easier to check first than to discover that a chair will not turn round once it is in the room.

Keeping Bathroom Equipment Clean

Bathroom equipment needs regular cleaning to stay hygienic. Choose frames and seats that wipe down easily, with few gaps where water and soap can collect. Commode pans should be emptied and cleaned promptly with a suitable disinfectant.

Check castors, brakes and fixings often, because water and cleaning products can make metal parts stiff over time. Replace worn rubber feet on stools and frames, since they are what stops the equipment sliding on a wet floor.

Choosing From the Chairs on This Page

The cards below show shower commode chairs with large rear wheels and with four castors, in several back styles and colours. Compare the seat opening, back support, armrests and footrests, and check the overall width against your bathroom door. For chairs made mainly for showering, see our guide to shower wheelchairs.