How to Make Your Shower Stall ADA Compliant

Persons with disability and elderly are more prone tocustom made for their special requirements. ADA
accidents and injuries. At homes, slippery shower stallshower pans are a good addition to the floor of such
is one of the most common causes of injuries. One ofenclosures.
the ways to prevent this is by making your showerFaucet
stall ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant.For ease of operation, it is better to go for a faucet
You can make your shower stall ADA compliant bystyle that has a single handle mixer. Alternately you
installing ADA shower pans, grab bars, enclosure,can also go in for the computer controlled faucet. In a
faucets, bench and shower heads.computer controlled faucet, the temperature is pre-set
Here are a few tips on how to make your showerand water gets heated to that particular temperature.
stall ADA compliant and help your disabled or elderlyApart from the ease of operation, this also provides
family members lead a safe and independent life.adequate safety to your family member.
Grab barsBench
Grab bars give the elderly and disabled personsInstalling a bench helps the person to sit down and use
something to hold onto while getting into or out of thea handheld shower. The bench height should be in line
shower. This provides support and prevents thewith the ADA guideline. Apart from the height you
person from slipping. Fixing grab bars horizontally andneed to ensure that the bench has the required width.
vertically allows the person to always get a grab asYou can either install a single bench or a shower
necessary. The grab bars should be securely fixed intobench depending on the requirement of the family
the walls. Follow ADA guidelines to ensure that themember. You can opt for a foldable bench if the
grab bars are fixed at a suitable height and are secureshower stall is shared by other family members.
enough to support the weight of your elderly orShower head
disabled family member.Shower head mounted on a slider bar is easily
Enclosureaccessible even by a family member in a wheel chair.
Enclosure provides privacy and contains water to theIt is ideal to go for detachable shower heads that can
shower area alone. This helps to keep the floor areabe used as a hand held shower.
dry to a large extent. However one of the mainTo make your shower stall ADA compliant you can
concerns while installing an enclosure is the space.also install locks that can be opened from outside as
Your enclosure should not be a barrier to the disabledwell. It is good to have a panic alarm in the shower
or elderly persons, especially if they are confined to astall. You can also equip your shower stall with ADA
wheel chair. It should have sufficient space for a wheelshower pans to enhance the safety of the area.
chair to move around. You can also get an enclosure