How would you feel if you ever wanted to use a bathroom yet were not able to get through the door? This is the trouble wheelchair patients find themselves in most of the time. Rent an apartment. The bathroom will likely be too little and the door much too narrow for entry. Purchase a house. Even then, the washroom will probably need to be made over and adapted for wheelchair use. Bathrooms simply aren’t made with the disabled in mind. Stop and contemplate what you might need in a wheelchair accessible bathroom if you or even a relative should become wheelchair bound, the things that would give you self-sufficiency, mobility, as well as the freedom to take care of your own needs.

First, you’re going to need room to maneuver. Even though wheelchairs are being created using smaller turning radius’ quite frequently, they still need area to move. Take a few measurements. You’ll need a minimum of 30” x 48” of area for one wheelchair. Some of this area can be beneath the sink provided that there’s lots of clearance for the chair’s foot rest. For comfortable turns, there needs to be a space with at the least a 60” radius.  A lot of bathrooms lack this type of room, so before it is possible to redesign the space to really make it wheelchair accessible, you are going to have to find more room somewhere. You might be able to get rid of a cabinet in the bathroom or a neighboring room, or you might just take part of a different room and combine it with the bath.

Fixtures in a handicapped washroom need to be well planned to be able to meet the needs of space and function. Toilet seats should be 17” to 19” from the floor and have grab bars on both sides when possible. Although sinks need to be positioned lower than in a normal washroom, there still must be at least 29” of clearance between the lip of the sink and the floor so that the disabled person can get near the sink in a wheelchair. Wheelchair accessible showers have to be large enough for the individual to go in easily and turn around as required. Hardware should be at a level which allows the individual to utilize it without help.

It’s simple to feel low self-esteem whenever a person is not able to look after their personal needs. By adapting a bathroom for use by a wheelchair patient, you will let them have the self-confidence and self-sufficiency they need in allowing them to look after themselves.