The bathroom is where wet floors, low seats and the tub wall all meet, and it is the room where a lot of people first need a hand. The right equipment lets a person wash, use the toilet and get in and out of the tub safely, often without anyone else in the room.
Choosing well comes down to four questions. Where is the trouble? How does the person move today? How much do they weigh? And will it fit the bathroom you have? This guide takes them in that order. Every product on our bathroom safety page lists its own figures, and the product page is the one to trust for any particular item.
Start with where the trouble is
Most bathroom equipment solves one problem well. Name the moment that is hardest, then look at the equipment made for it.
| Where it is hard | What helps |
|---|---|
| Standing to wash | A shower chair or bath seat to sit on in the shower or the tub. |
| Stepping over the tub wall | A transfer bench that sits across the tub wall, so the person sits down outside and slides across. |
| Coming from a wheelchair or bed | A shower commode wheelchair for a roll-in shower, or a bathroom transfer system for a tub. |
| Sitting down in the bath water | A bath lift that lowers the person into the water and raises them back up. |
| Sitting down on and getting up from the toilet | A raised toilet seat, a toilet safety frame, or both. |
| Getting to the toilet in time, or at night | A commode beside the bed. |
| Keeping balance anywhere in the room | A grab bar or safety pole to hold on to. |
Seats for the shower and tub
A seat lets a person wash sitting down, which takes away the risk of losing balance on a wet floor with the eyes closed.
- Stools. The smallest option, for a person with good balance and a small shower.
- Bath seats with a back. A back gives support and a place to lean. Arms help the person sit down and stand up.
- Swivel seats. The seat turns and locks in place, so the person can face the controls or turn to get out without twisting.
- Wall mounted seats. A seat that folds up against the wall when it is not in use. It is drilled and anchored into the wall, so follow the mounting instructions that come with it.
- Hygienic cutouts. An opening at the front of the seat makes it easier to wash while seated.
Measure the floor of the shower or the inside of the tub, and compare it with the seat's overall size. Most seats adjust in height, and the right height lets the person sit with the feet flat on the floor.
Getting over the tub wall
Stepping over the side of a tub is one of the hardest moves in the bathroom. A transfer bench removes it. Two legs stand inside the tub and two outside, the person sits down on the outside end, lifts the legs over and slides across.
- Standard and padded benches. The person slides across the seat. Padding adds comfort for longer baths.
- Sliding and swivel benches. The seat moves along a rail and turns, so the person is carried across instead of sliding on the seat.
- Commode cutout benches. An opening in the seat lets the same bench be used for toileting.
- Which side. Some benches are built for one side of the tub. Check which side your tub opens to against the product page.
Measure the height of the tub wall and the width of the tub, and check them against the bench's leg height range and overall size.
Wheeled and powered options
When a person comes from a wheelchair or a bed and cannot step or stand for long, a seat alone is not enough.
- Shower commode wheelchairs. A shower commode wheelchair is a wheeled chair with a commode seat. It rolls over the toilet and into a roll-in shower, so the person sits once for both. Check the chair's overall width against the bathroom door, and its seat height against the height of the toilet it has to roll over. Some are pushed by a caregiver, and some have large rear wheels the person can push themselves.
- Bathroom transfer systems. A bathroom transfer system slides a seat along a bridge across the tub wall. Some are stationary, and some start from a wheeled base that also works as a shower commode chair. It is built to the bathroom, so the tub and the room are measured before ordering. Each product page carries its own measuring guide.
- Bath lifts. A bath lift sits in the tub and lowers the person down into the water by remote, then raises them back up to the rim. Most run on a rechargeable battery and need no plumbing or electrical work. Check the seat height range and the weight rating, and that it fits the floor of your tub.
At the toilet
A low toilet is hard to sit down on and harder to get up from. Three kinds of equipment help, and they are often used together.
- Raised toilet seats. A raised toilet seat adds height to the bowl, commonly about 2" to 6". Check whether your toilet bowl is round (standard) or elongated, and look for a seat that locks onto the bowl. Some come with arms.
- Toilet safety frames and rails. A toilet safety frame puts arm rests on either side of the toilet to push up from and lower down on. Some stand on the floor around the toilet and some bolt to it. Check the width between the arms and the arm height.
- Commodes. A bedside commode puts a toilet beside the bed for the night or when the bathroom is out of reach. A 3 in 1 commode can also stand over the toilet as a raised seat with arms. Some can be used in the shower as well, and the product page says whether one can. A drop arm commode lets the arm fold down for a side transfer from a bed or wheelchair.
Grab bars and safety poles
Something solid to hold on to makes every move in the bathroom safer. A floor to ceiling pole is held in place by tension between the floor and the ceiling, so there is no drilling into tile, and bars can be added to it at the height the person needs. A bathtub pole clamps to the side of the tub and braces against the ceiling. A wall mounted grab bar is screwed into a wall stud. Check the ceiling height range, the tub wall width or the mounting on the product page.
Hold on only to what is made to hold you
A towel rail, a soap dish or a suction cup handle is not built to take a person's weight. Check a tension pole's grip and a clamp's tightness before each use, and follow the product's own instructions for fitting it.
Check the weight rating
Every seat, bench, commode and frame has a weight capacity. Standard bath and toilet equipment is commonly rated around 250 to 300 lbs. Heavy duty models are rated higher, often 400 lbs. or more, and are usually wider. Pick equipment rated above the person's weight, not right at it. The product page gives the rating for each item.
Measure before you order
- The inside of the shower or tub, for a seat.
- The height of the tub wall and the width of the tub, for a transfer bench, a bath lift or a transfer system.
- The bathroom doorway, for anything on wheels.
- The height of the toilet and whether the bowl is round or elongated, for a raised seat, a frame or a commode over the toilet.
- The ceiling height, for a floor to ceiling pole.
Medicare and bathroom safety
Medicare Part B can cover a commode as durable medical equipment when a doctor orders it and the person cannot use a regular toilet, for example because they are confined to one room or there is no toilet on the level of the home they are confined to. Medicare treats bath seats, raised toilet seats, bathtub lifts and grab bars as convenience or self-help items and does not cover them. Some Medicare Advantage plans offer bathroom safety items as an extra benefit, so it is worth asking your plan.
Hieline sells direct and does not bill Medicare or any other insurance, so the price you see is the price you pay.
Buying from Hieline
Shipping follows our shipping policy. Financing is available through CareCredit.
Bathroom safety equipment cannot be returned
For health and hygiene reasons we do not accept returns on bathroom safety equipment. If it arrives damaged or defective, tell us within 48 hours of delivery and we will get it repaired or replaced. Check the measurements and the weight rating on the product page before you order.
How to decide
- Name the hardest moment: washing, the tub wall, the toilet, or keeping balance.
- Match it to the kind of equipment in the table above.
- Decide how much support the person needs: a stool or a seat with arms and a back, a plain bench or a sliding one, a seat or a wheeled chair.
- Check the weight rating and leave a margin.
- Measure the shower, the tub, the toilet and the doorway.
- Add a grab bar or safety pole for the moments in between.
Start on our bathroom safety page, or use Help me choose there to narrow it down in a question or two.
