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Here’s my joke for the day. What is the difference between climbing out of a hole in the ground and climbing out of a bathtub? Answer: None, except you get to wear clothes when you climb out of the hole.
Ok, I know that isn’t hilarious, but it is essentially true. Many people who sit in the floor of the tub have difficulty getting up again. There are many reasons, but the two primary reasons I’ve seen in my environmental modification practice is that they either don’t have sufficient upper body strength or they have hip or knee limitations or pain. There are many pieces of equipment and modifications to choose from. Solutions can range in cost from under a hundred dollars to thousands of dollars depending upon what you need, how you want the project to look, and your budget.
One type of tub that people often call me about is the clawfoot tub. While clawfoot tubs are making resurgence in popularity because of their beauty and depth, many of my clients would like nothing more than to get rid of them. The tall wall is hard for them to get in and out of and they’ve developed difficulty or a fear of sitting down in them and not being able to get out again without help. Many times there is no shower and they feel like they have no options to sitting on the floor of the tub and climbing over the tall tub wall in order to get clean.
This is conversion we did recently on a limited budget to increase safety and update the bathroom at the same time. This particular homeowner had never had a tub with a shower and was interested in having one. She was also experiencing increasing difficulty getting in and out of the tub and felt unsafe. We replaced the tub faucet with a kit that included a faucet and a shower head and good quality round curtain ring. We used three clear curtain liners to protect the window and walls as well as to continue to let as much light in as possible. The homeowner will be purchasing a single pretty curtain to match the new wall paint a Rebuilding Together volunteer group is doing for her soon. We used a Superpole with Superbar from Healthcraft to provide a stable, vertical grip when she is stepping in and out of her shower since she has the mobility and strength to swing her legs over the tub wall if she has something to hold onto while leaning forward. The horizontal bar of the system juts through two of the curtain liners to provide a horizontal safety support while she is standing and showering. She is looking forward to the convenience of a shower, but she would still like to soak occasionally so she will use the horizontal bar grab bar we put on the wall to support herself while rolling to get up on a knee and then stand.
There are some other ways to deal with a clawfoot tub other than replacing it. Each person has unique abilities and goals, so answers are never one-size-fits-all. Stay with us for future blogs and we can explore solutions together or give us a call and set an appointment for an in home consultation to help you climb out of your “hole-in –the-ground” or tub.
