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.