Creating a safer bath

Safe bathrooms are the smart choice, no matter the audience

Falls account for about 30 percent of all home accidents in the U.S. — and most of those happen in the bathroom. In fact, each day more than 400 people end up in hospital emergency rooms because of falls in the bathtub alone. Bathrooms, with their confined spaces and hard, wet surfaces, can be treacherous to anyone, but older adults are especially at risk.

With the average age of U.S. adults steadily rising, more home buyers are looking for products that allow for safer and more comfortable showering, bathing and toilet use — and more builders are offering them. "We partner with some large builders of senior housing.They view bath safety as a growing niche market and a positive way to attract home buyers." says Kevin Jones at Creative Specialties International, a Moen subsidiary that designs bath safety products as well as other fixtures.

But demand for safer baths is not just growing among older people. "The majority of our users are older, but a lot of other people are using these products," says Jones. "This includes expectant mothers, people recovering from surgery, those with injuries and people who have small children."

There are a number of ways builders can create a safer bath environment, and many approaches appeal to a wide audience. One is simply to add color and variety. A white shower, toilet, walls and floor create a visual condition that makes it more difficult to step in and out of a tub safely. Simply painting walls in colors that contrast with the floor can create a much-needed visual separation. Other measures include installing night lights to make nighttime trips to the bathroom easier to navigate; using tubs and showers with nonslip surfaces that reduce the chance of falls; installing tall toilets to help relieve stress on older knees, legs and backs; and installing grab bars to help bathers get in and out of the tub.

Of course, safety features are more acceptable if they blend in with the decor. A survey by Equifax Market Research found that two-thirds of grab bar purchasers would buy grab bars that matched other bathroom accessories. When choosing a grab bar, for instance, they would pick finishes such as chrome or brushed nickel that coordinate with popular fixtures.

Jones says that grab bars are just the beginning of a trend. His company and others are developing safety products that are decorative and easy to install — he predicts more choices at all price points in the near future. "As boomers grow older we will see dozens of shower chairs, decorative grab bars and tub grips in premium, ultra-premium and low-cost segments. We see a lot of players developing full suites of products to make bathrooms safer."


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