When age, illness, or injury limits a person’s mobility, getting up and down stairs can go from being an accessible activity to an impossible barrier. Without an easy way to manage even a short flight of stairs, many people with limited mobility can, at times, feel confined, less independent, and even compelled to sell or leave a home that they love. Stair lifts can help restore independence and a sense of control for many folks with disabilities, and there are several other benefits to having a reliable lift installed.
invest in a stair lift
Check out these five reasons that explain why installing a stair lift in your home may be one of the best investments you can make.
- Work around Limited Mobility
The first purpose of a stair lift is to help people with limited mobility get up and down the stairs. When a disability is permanent, many seniors and other adults feel that living in a two-story home is no longer practical. Some people move into a smaller, one-story house to get around this, while others opt for assisted living or other senior care arrangements.
With a reliable stair lift installed, however, adults who may otherwise be unable to climb stairs can stay in their home, allowing them to remain where they are most comfortable. Stair lifts even reduce the need for many people with disabilities to require caregiver assistance, since an automated power lift helps manage up and down trips without the need to be carried or to have another person make the trip for them.
People with a recent mobility-limiting disability can sometimes have trouble adjusting to their new lifestyle, but the adjustment can be made easier if the more sudden and drastic changes can be kept to a minimum. Staying in the house you may have lived in for decades can be an important part of recovering your quality of life after a disabling illness or injury makes climbing stairs difficult for you. Stair lifts help make a home’s upper floors more accessible, and with minimal maintenance costs, a good system can carry on for many years.
- Manage Temporary Disabilities
Not all disabilities are permanent. Many people, at all stages of life, need some help managing the stairs in their multistory house at one point or another. If you or someone you care for has a broken or badly sprained leg, a recent surgery that limits your ability to get around and climb stairs, or a medical condition that causes dizziness or shortness of breath, a stair lift could be just what you need to stay comfortable and safe during your recovery.
Simple inclined platform lifts can handle the weight of most adult-sized wheelchairs and conveniently fold out of the way when not in use. This helps keep stairwells clear for others who live in the house.
Many stair lift models can be temporarily installed without major refitting of the stairway and can be packed up and moved into storage when they are no longer needed. Running off of power from a normal wall outlet, these lifts use powerful electric motors to gently raise and lower single occupants as needed, without modifications to a home’s electrical system.
- Improve Safety
Stair lifts aren’t just for people with disabilities. As folks age, it’s natural for climbing and walking downstairs to become more difficult. Platform stair lifts can carry a standing adult up or down the stairs as quickly as walking, but without the fall risk seniors may have from vertigo, age-related weakness, or tremors. Sit-down chairlifts work without locking a wheelchair into place. Riders can rest in an upholstered chair with a seatbelt and two-rail system that ensures a smooth ride up and down the stairs.
Seniors and adults with disabilities aren’t the only people who benefit from having a stair lift in the home, either. An expectant parent in the later stages of their pregnancy can also use a temporary stair lift to keep things safe until the baby is born. After birth, a stair lift allows parents to carry the baby upstairs to bed safe in their arms.
Temporary lifts can also be helpful if you frequently have visitors with limited mobility. Even if none of a home’s regular occupants need the extra help a stair lift provides, keeping a portable or foldaway unit for senior relatives and mobility-limited friends can make your home welcoming and accessible during their stay. After the visit, simply fold up or remove the lift until the next time it’s needed.
- Regain Independence
Seniors and adults with limited mobility can use a stair lift to regain as much of their independence as possible. Seniors who have difficulty getting up and down the stairs often find themselves limiting their activities. If you have trouble climbing the stairs, going up for a brief chore can become too difficult to do. Going downstairs can also be difficult for seniors with balance issues. This leads many adults with limited mobility to either avoid trips between floors or to rely on caregivers to handle tasks such as laundry or cooking.
Installing a stair lift solves many of these problems and reduces seniors’ need for help with routine chores. Having a stair lift installed can extend the time you spend in your own home, eliminating the need for either an in-home caregiver or a move into an assisted living community.
- Potentially Raise Your Home’s Value
Improved mobility isn’t the only reason to consider installing a stair lift or other accessibility and lift devices. Depending on the style and model you choose to install, a lift may increase the resale value of your house by significantly more than the installation and maintenance costs it represents. For seniors who would like to spend a few more years in their own homes before moving or who would like to maximize the value their house brings when they do sell, putting in a powered stair lift could be one of the best investments possible.
There are a wide range of product options and multiple manufacturers of residential stair lifts, making it easy to get all of the many benefits a stair lift provides in a fit that’s best for you and your home. Choose between standing and platform lifts, ceiling lifts, wheelchair lifts, chair lifts, and even enclosed elevators to make trips between floors easy and safe for you and your family. You can opt for permanent installations, temporary systems, or even a total replacement of your old stairway with a new lift system.
Day Elevator & Lift has a huge selection of modern stair lifts for you to choose from. We offer support and project management services for our residential customers, as well as maintenance and repair services as needed. Have a look at the lift options we offer online, or give us a call at (800) 758-5438 for a personal consultation about installing a stair lift in your home. Our team can also be reached by email at sales@dayelevator.com.