Thinking About Safe Flooring

The statistics are telling: This year, over 60% of older Americans will slip and fall in or around their homes. Many of these falls will cause severe injury and expensive hospitalizations. In some cases, the outcomes can be life-changing, but, with careful planning, can be avoided.

So, when you sit down to begin considering Aging-in-Place modifications, floor safety should be top of mind. In this post, we want to pass on some of the issues we think about when designing and constructing aging in place environments for our clients. Our perspective is always to maximize client safety without compromising great design and appearance. Given that overall framework, here are some of the items we consider.

NO-SLIP. Perhaps the most crucial consideration is the "slipperiness" factor. Put another way, how slip-resistant is the floor. Ceramic tiles, highly waxed wood floors are a few of the culprits. This factor is especially important in kitchens and bathrooms, where the moisture increases the slip factor.

WALKABILITY. What's the best floor surface for mobility, either walking or navigating a wheelchair, cane, or walker? The answer involves paying attention to ultra-soft or "snaggy" surfaces as well as a reduction of seams and joints. Remove or stretch out the old wall to wall carpet, or, better yet, replace it with a solid surface.

CUSHIONING. Hardwood flooring, stone, or something more forgiving, like carpeting or soft tile. You don't want to fall on a hard surface, but you also don't want to trip on high-pile rug surfaces, so find the balance that's right for you.

KEEPING IT CLEAN. We pay attention to how easy is it to keep a floor clean. Dirt and soil add to the slipperiness factor, particularly on harder surfaces.

FEELS GOOD. If you don't feel comfortable in your home, then we have failed in our planning. You need to enjoy your home design.

AREA RUGS. In general, area rugs and floor mats can present significant problems. While they can look great, by adding color or texture to the room decor, they can present tripping hazards. Small area rugs and mats can slide easily and create uneven surfaces. Older adults tend not to lift their feet as high when walking and can trip if they catch on one of these floor coverings. Maneuvering walkers and wheelchairs around area rugs can difficult. However, if you must have an area rug, make sure it has a grippy undersurface that won't slide and that corners are secured down and that the carpet is not too thick.

SINGLE FLOOR SURFACE. It's best to use a single floor surface throughout the space to reduce the seams or thresholds that can create tripping hazards. Again the danger is the tendency of older adults to drag their feet, and it's easier for a walker or wheelchair to navigate over one surface.

LIGHTING. Make sure that there is proper lighting in hallways, stairs, kitchens, and bathrooms. Nothing reduces fall rates more than adequate illumination.

There's a wide variety of flooring products in the marketplace designed to ensure that the flooring you install is safe and attractive. It's a pleasure to share our knowledge of flooring and help you make choices as you begin planning your aging in place solutions.

Home Safe & Sound

People always look forward to returning home safe and sound. Your home is where memories are made, friends are always welcome, and your loved ones feel most comfortable and safe. However, it’s often that injuries occur in the comfort of your own home. In fact, according to the National Safety Council (NSC), “falls are the leading cause of injury-related death for adults ages 65 and older.” Many of these unintentional home-related injuries occur in common places like stairs, doorways, ramps, uneven surfaces, and crowded spaces.

Fortunately, your home doesn't need to be a potential danger zone. If you remain aware, proactive, and up-to-date on home safety recommendations, you are well on your way to creating a safe home environment. Here are a few of our favorite recommendations:

1. Clear Path

Maintaining a clear path throughout your home, including stairways, exterior walkways leading to other exterior areas of your home such as mailboxes, gardens, and garages should be clear of clutter. Arrange or remove furniture so there is plenty of room to walk around. It seems simple, but things really do get in your way!

2. Flooring

Use of the proper flooring materials throughout your home are important to avoid slipping or tripping. Minimize flooring transitions through the use of a continuous flooring when possible, use lower pile carpet, and the use of rubber floorings are all good choices. If area rugs are present, they should be slip resistant or tacked down. Don't forget to reduce the perils of slippery stairs with slip resistant treads or carpeting. Bathrooms and wet areas are particularly dangerous, so wipe up water spills and use non-skid mats. 

3. Lighting 

Natural light makes everyone feel great, so let the sun shine in. Start with opening your shades and blinds. Ensure that there is adequate man-made lighting for reading, working in the kitchen, in closets, in the bathroom and nightlights for navigating in kitchen, bath and hallways.  Additional lighting on stairs, (on handrails, walls or underneath stairs), and use of motion-sensor lights to light exterior walkways or to illuminate interior spaces that are difficult reaching to manually light. 

4. Accessibility 

It's important to store items you use regularly within reasonable reach, including food, dishes, bathroom items, and clothing. How often do we get out a step stool or reach beyond our comfort zone and injure something or just fall off? 

Whether you read this and think about your parents, grandparents, siblings, friends or neighbors, we hope to share useful and important information that can help anyone feel safe in their own home. It is easy to target seniors, yes, but the reality is, that they aren't the only ones that can benefit from making simple adjustments around the house. 

This blog, and the work we do on a daily basis, is about providing our clients and others, with cost effective and easy to implement ways to improve home safety and home independence. We will explore topics in more detail as we go, and share personal stories and client experiences to relate real stories of everyday living to help others improve their own home safety, accessibility and comfort. 

So join us in our journey to help you return to a safe and sound home!