7 Bathroom Tips to Prevent Slips, Trips & Falls

For many, the bathroom is the place we go to get ready on mornings for the day ahead, and to relax at the end of the day Whether you're having a long soak in the tub or grabbing a quick shower to wake you up, the bathroom is the most dangerous room in your house for trips, slips and falls. Around 235,000 people over the age of 15 are admitted to A&E every year with bathroom-related injuries. Out of those injuries over 1/3 are directly related to bathing or showering. So here's our top tips for staying safe:

Install Grab Bars

Grab bars are amazing to have in any bathroom, and they serve two purposes. They help when getting in and out of the shower in bath-mounted solutions where the user has to step over and into the bath onto a smooth surface. This surface then becomes slippery when wet if you have turned the shower on beforehand to allow the water to heat up or soap has covered the surface.

Second, in the case of a trip or slip they offer a solid anchor to stop someone falling over completely and potentially injuring themselves. These come in extra handy for the elderly and children who are more unstable on their feet in both dedicated shower 

cubicles and bath-mounted showers.

Rubberduck Bathrooms have a large range of grab handles and in a variety of styles to blend in with your current bathroom. Horizontal, vertical and angled solutions allow for a wide-range of options to suit your individual needs and our grab bars with included storage baskets add even more practicality.

Reduce Over-Exertion

Overexertion can lead to accidents in the bathroom amongst elders and is the No.2 leading cause of injuries, behind falls according to the CDC.

Therefore, we recommend viewing our range of assistive bathing aids where you will find easy-access toilets, assistive taps, shower seats and more to help make life easier for anyone in your life who may need extra assistance.

Install an anti-slip shower solution

The biggest enemy when it comes to bathroom falls is the smooth surface of the shower tray or bathtub which is made even more slippery by water and soap residue. That is why we recommend covering these surfaces with a non-slip solution.

Bath Mats

The easiest method would be by investing in a bath mat. These can provide a good level of protection for a low cost and can also be placed on the floor to reduce the change of falling on wet linoleum or tiles.

DIY Solutions

The next step up would be to add texture to the shower tray and/or floor, we stock a range of solutions to allow you to add your own coating. Our range of anti slip kits can be used on shower trays, baths and even on tiled floors and are quick to apply and comes with everything you need to improve the safety of your bathroom.

Non-Slip Shower Trays

A really helpful solution if you are looking at redecorating is buying a certified non-slip shower tray. These differ from the regular offering by including a textured surface to increase the surface area your feet can grip to and reduce water pooling. At Rubberduck Bathrooms we stock a wide range of anti-slip trays in square, rectangle, quadrant and pentangle configurations.

Improve Accessibility

Making sure that commonly used items are within easy reach is essential for areas where the risk of slipping or falling is heightened. This is especially important in the bathroom where becoming unbalanced has higher risks.

An easy way to remedy this is with shower caddies that attach to a wall or hang over the top alongside towel rings and robe hooks installed close to the bath or shower door to keep everything you need at eye-level and arms reach

Remove Obstacles

Safety can be greatly improved by removing items that can be easily tripped over.

One of the largest risks, particularly with elderly people, is tripping over the side of their bathtub. Swapping the existing tub for a walk-in shower or walk-in bathtub can prevent this from happening. 

Another method is removing items from the floor. Our range of wall hung furniture ranges from storage cabinets and vanity units to basins and toilets, these vastly improve the available floor space, reducing the chances of trips.