Best Way a Stairlift is Helpful in the Home

But with advancing years or reduced mobility, stairs become more of an obstacle. Modern stairlifts are helpful housemates in all kinds of ways! A stairlift can help, as long as you follow some basic rules.

A simple flight of stairs has provided a practical way to move easily between the stories of a home or other building for centuries. When you’re young and nimble you can scoot up and down stairs without a second thought. Left something in the bedroom? No problem, just run up and fetch it! 

But with advancing years or reduced mobility, stairs become more of an obstacle. Just as we’ve used stairs for centuries, we’ve also been looking for ways to avoid using them for almost as long. Did you know that England’s King Henry VIII had a rudimentary stairlift built in one of his palaces?  

A stocktake of the King’s belongings, dating from around the time of his death in 1547, referred to “a chair that goeth up and down”. Historian Dr. David Starkey believes it was used to move the aging monarch up and down a 20ft staircase at Whitehall Palace in London, with servants hauling on ropes and a block and tackle system. 

Mercifully, things have moved on! Modern stairlifts offer a practical, affordable, and electrically-powered way to move between the stories in your ‘palace’. Whatever it is that causes you difficulty, a stairlift is a relaxed and reliable alternative to struggling with the stairs. It is useful in several ways, including: 

• Protecting your self-reliance – being able to use the stairs without being helped or watched over by anyone else. 

• Providing access to all of your homes, all of the time. No more limiting the number of times you use the stairs because of the discomfort it causes or confining yourself to a single story of your home. 

• Remaining in the home you love, without the upheaval and expense of moving to a single-story home or ground floor apartment because you can’t manage the stairs. 

• Erasing the fear of a fall or anxiety that you’re no longer safe on the stairs. Loved ones who worry about your welfare will also share in this benefit. 

A stairlift can also be used to carry other loads up and down the stairs, such as a basket of laundry, a carton of toiletries for the bathroom, or even holiday bags. Most modern stairlifts are supplied with remote controls, letting you send or summon the stairlift carriage along the rail to where it’s needed. 

Using two people – one at the top of the stairs and the other at the bottom – you can operate the remote control to move some loads up and down the stairs. There’s nothing worse than stumbling up or down the stairs carrying a heavy or bulky load, especially if you already have mobility problems and need your hands free to steady yourself. A stairlift can help, as long as you follow some basic rules: 

• Never exceed the stairlift’s maximum weight limit 

• Never move a family pet or other animal on a stairlift  

• Make sure any load is secure and won’t fall off the stairlift carriage 

• Never use the stairlift carriage to move liquids that might spill and cause damage, such as a cup of coffee for breakfast in bed. 

You could very well find other uses for your home stairlift. Providing you follow the safe operating guidelines and use good horse sense, then it could be a helpful housemate in all kinds of ways!