If you have a family member who is handicapped and confined to a wheelchair, you will no doubt need to install an accessible shower.
There are numerous styles of handicap showers, but as a general rule, an accessible shower is designed so that the person can enter the shower without the need to get out of their wheelchair.
Sometimes referred to as a roll in shower, this style of shower enclosure can provide a handicapped person with a great deal of independence and safety, as compared to other shower styles.
However, the term "accessible shower" is also sometimes used to describe any shower that is designed for easy access by a handicapped or elderly individual, even if they are not confined to a wheelchair.
For this reason, it is extremely important that you understand the specific features of a shower before you purchase it, to make sure it meets your exact needs.
Important Features to Look for in Accessible Showers Just as with other handicap showers, you'll want to make sure that there are no sharp edges or glass surfaces that could cause injury if a person slips, falls, or bumps into anything with a wheelchair or their body.
The shower must also be designed so that there are no ledges or uneven surfaces on the bottom of the shower that would prevent a wheelchair from rolling freely.
Shower pan enclosures that are lower than the entrance of the shower should be avoided, as they can be dangerous or even impossible to negotiate in a wheelchair.
They should also be large enough so that the wheelchair can be easily maneuvered in and out of the shower enclosure.
How to Choose an Accessible Shower In addition to looking for safety and accessibility features, you will need to decide whether to get a commercially manufactured shower or to try and adapt an existing shower to suit a person's needs.
In most cases, a commercially manufactured shower is the best solution, as standard showers are often difficult to adapt for wheelchair access.
Commercially available shower models are often surprisingly affordable, especially as compared to what you might need to spend to properly adapt an existing shower.
These showers are usually mass produced, so that they can be supplied to nursing homes, retirement communities, hospitals and other care centers, so manufacturers can often keep costs affordable.
You will find highly accessorized showers in addition to simpler "bare bones" models.
In many cases, a simpler shower is the best choice.
Not only are they less expensive, but they can give you the opportunity to install features such as grab bars and other features in the location that would work best for your bathroom.
Additionally, in the case of an accessible shower, fewer features is often preferable to more, since accessories can cause problems when trying to maneuver a wheelchair.
Some accessible showers, especially those which are also designed for those who are not wheelchair-bound, have features such as towel bars and soap racks that could just get in the way when a person is in a wheelchair.
Installing only the features that are truly needed by the handicapped person for comfortable and convenient showering is often the best approach.