Monday, November 30, 2009

Tips To Find The Best Stair Lift Chairs


It is usually seen that a multi-storied office or hotel uses stair lift chairs that help in solving the problem of mobility that can save time in unnecessary movements in ordinary stairs. The best stair lift will understand the need of an organization that can be home, office or hospital depending upon the needs.

A best stair lift that is installed in the hospital will help in taking the patients from one floor to another without causing any pain or discomfort to the patient. The lifts that are installed in the hospital are big enough to accommodate the stretchers, wheel chairs and beds so that there is no problem in transporting all the equipments from one place to another. In offices, lifts help in saving time while one moves from one floor to another.

The best stair lift chairs will also help in reducing the over all tiredness that is caused by regular movement from staircase. Similarly in houses, where there are older members who have restricted movements can be helped out with best stair lift chairs.

Thus a best stair lifts can be a highly useful alternative for various needs. Such lifts will be spacious according to the need of the person or an organization that is installing it. It will be positioned in a strategic place that will not cover the entire area. Nowadays, there are many advanced lifts that can be managed by joysticks and seats that can be a comfortable option in lifts.

One should also remember that best stair lift chairs are an expensive solution. They can be customized as per the requirements to match the interiors and the theme of a place. Thus, it is very important to make a proper study of the kind of stair lift chairs that is required in order to solve all the stair hassles.


Straight and Curved Stair Lifts

The one group that is most effected by falls down the stairs is the group of people who are over sixty-five. This group represents a large portion of Americans and makes up more than forty million people. Half of those who are over sixty-five also suffer from diseases like arthritis or Alzheimer's, which can make using the stairs difficult and often times dangerous. To help reduce the risk of falling down the stairs, many people use stair lifts.

Reducing the risks associated with using the stairs is incredibly important for people over sixty-five, because a fall on the stairs is the most common cause of hospitalization and accidental death amongst this group. It might be easy to think that the stairs can just be avoided and many decide to take this route, but this is neither convenient nor practical. This is because avoiding the stairs also means avoiding a large portion of your home and also usually requires you to drastically rearrange your home.

People who use stair lifts are at a much lower risk of falling, because the stair lift does all the work of climbing the stairs. All the person must do is sit back and relax as they are carried up or down the stairway. Of course a few lifts are available that use small platforms called perches instead of chairs. Since the platform requires the occupant to remain standing, most people are advised against using this type of lift, unless it is necessary for medical reasons. To help increase the safety of perch lifts, most have several places the rider can hold onto and some even have a waist-high support that the rider can lean against as they move up the stairs.

Most lifts use chairs though and the chair comes in different sizes to accommodate the rider, but also to control the amount of space the device uses. Many of the chairs can be folded up when not in use, but this feature is not available on all models.

In instances where the staircase is straight or 'L' shaped, a lift can be installed easily and will be a cost effective alternative to an elevator, but people that have curved stairways are not so lucky. Usually a curved stair lift costs a hundred times more than a straight lift would be and they can cost even more than this.

The reason for the increased cost is as a result of a non-uniform standard when it comes to a stairways curve. Since the curve of a stairway varies and is often a reflection of the architect who designed the house and the builder who built it, it is necessary for the lifts track to be custom built to fit each individual stairway. Not only is this very expensive, but it is also very time consuming and usually will take more than six weeks. Since the track is custom built, it is not likely to work with other stairways, so the resale value of a curved stair lift is very low.

Due to the high cost of a lift for a curved stairway, a residential elevator becomes much more attractive. In addition providing a much different service that allows people in wheelchairs and household supplies to be easily moved, elevators also go a long way to increasing the value of the home and when it comes time to sell the home, the elevator will actually increase the value of the home and become a good selling point.

Sean Noughtly is a writer who is familiar with and has experience with many types of home medical equipment. For a straight staircase, a stair lift will be a very cost effective and simple alternative to a residential elevator. If your staircase is not straight, you will likely be better served by a residential elevator. Learn more about these and other lifting aids at AmeriGlide.

Increasing Safety With a Stair Chair

Often, using the stairs is an essential part of the day. Every day, millions of Americans rely upon stairs to get to their bedroom and place of work. Many homes and buildings have stairs, which can be used to bridge the distance between two areas of different elevation.

When younger, the task of climbing up the stairs might not be given a second thought, but frequently it becomes much more difficult as a person ages. To help make using the stairs safely possible many turn to stair lifts, which are a special type of lifting aid.

Stair lifts are found in many homes across the country and for that matter worldwide. They are also popular for commercial use in smaller office buildings. One of the great appeals of a stair lift is that they can typically be installed without any major home renovations or modifications. For a straight staircase, a stair lift will cost a small fraction of what an elevator would.

The other main advantage is that the stair lift can be installed quickly, often in less than a week. This is true of most stair lifts, with the exception of curved staircases, which cost much more to outfit with a stair lift and can take several months to be built and installed.

So you know that a stair lift can make using the stairs safe again, but what exactly is a stair lift? Basically, it is a lifting device that can carry a single person up the stairs. They use a track system that is generally secured directly to the steps and then send a special unit called a car up and down the track.

The car is the part that does most of the work. Most feature a chair, which an individual can safely sit in. The car then moves slowly up or down the track, safely carrying its seated rider. To increase safety, most use a swivel seat. This allows you to swivel the seat away from the stairs to enter and exit the lift. This increases safety and makes it easier to get into or out of the stair lift.

The lifts that use chairs are often called stair chairs, but they can be difficult to use for people who have serious knee problems, such as those who have had knee replacement surgery. For these individuals who can not safely sit, a standing stair lift is available that is called a perch lift.

The perch lift, while offering a very valuable service to some, is not typically recommended, because it requires much more balance to use. In practice, the stair chair is a much safer choice and is the best option for most people.

These devices are usually operated by a simple hand control. Sometimes the hand control is built into the chair and other times it is attached to the chair using a wire. They utilize a constant pressure switch, which only moves the lift while the button is being pushed. This is an important safety feature, because it means the lift is only moving when you want it too.

To help increase safety and promote a better stair climbing experience, a stair lift can be an incredibly powerful tool.

Daryl Lahnker is a writer with experience with stair lifts and fall prevention. Accidents can occur at any point in the home, but for seniors they are most likely to occur at the home. This is the reason that a stair lift is such a commonly used device in residences. They not only increase safety, but also the ability of the user to independently use the stairs again.