A bath lift is worth its weight in gold.

One of the first things missed when your mobility is reduced is the luxury of having a “proper bath”, showers are reasonably simple to modify by using a shower seat, the answer to the bath problem is to have a bath lift. Since acquiring our bath lift the leisurely soak in the bath is now readily available. We all know that a shower is practical, and usually fairly quick, but the soak in the bath with a drink and a good book, the ladies will have candles burning as well, is just right for winding down.

Bath lifts come in various forms, they range from a manual version that uses a hydraulic piston to gently and slowly lower the user in the bath. It has strong springs to raise them up again with a little assistance on the bath rim from arms and forearms. This is suitable for the more able user.

The next type of bath lift is the inflatable type, these are very light and can be removed easily, being very light in weight they are easily positioned, also these bath lifts allow the bather to lay down in the bath. There is no back support on this this equipment, so are not suitable for everyone, but are very portable and are controlled via a battery operated handset which inflates or deflates the bath lift device as required.

The classic form of bath lift is the third type mentioned here, usually comprising of a frame and seat unit, the frame is placed in the bath, and the seat fitted to it, this is then operated by a rechargeable hand set to raise and lower the seat as required. This type of bath lift is very sturdy, and does offer the a high level of support for the user, surprisingly they also lower to within 2.5 to 3 inches of the bath.

As a general idea as to how these bath lifts perform, we have one of the third type, we used it for about a dozen baths, the warning light did not come on, but we charged it anyway, assuming that the framework would take the most power to raise and lower the bath lift, battery life seems to be very good. Not only that, but the charging lead can be taken to another room and an alarm unit plugged in, this means I can leave the wife in the bath with her candles, and she can simply press the alarm button when she needs another drink or help to get out of the bath.

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