Aging from the comfort of your home surrounded by loved ones has many advantages. Most seniors prefer to age in place since they will be near their adult children and possibly their grandchildren and other family members. For your seniors to have a comfortable time, you will need to spend some money on making your home usable and convenient for them and figuring out a stay-at-home senior care option. Here are some ideas you can utilize to ensure safety and comfort for the senior who is living in your home.
1. Restore Old Areas of the Home
For a house to be safe for stay at home senior care, a range of regular repairs should be scheduled. Some could be small house repairs, while others are emergency home repairs that will need local home restoration services. For seniors who opt to age in place, home maintenance can get more challenging in terms of affordability as the years go by.
Examine each room to check if the floors are slippery and the furniture is safe. Keep the carpets and rugs flat to prevent trips and falls. The furniture should be stable, not shaky or having broken parts.
Fix the unstable pieces, or altogether replace any unstable piece of furniture. Leave as much room for walking as possible. Put the items that your senior will need in a place where they can reach them with ease. The good news is that different states have grants that seniors can get to assist with repairing their houses. Many organizations, mostly non-profits, give free local home restoration services to low-income homeowners to assist the seniors with house restorations.
2. Clean Up Any Dangerous Mold
With your loved one spending their senior years in your home, you want your stay at home senior care to be a safe environment. If you have a mold problem in your home, there must be moisture which gives the right environment for their spread. So be keen to catch and fix leaks on your roof, walls, and the plumbing system early, because the wetness is likely to breed mold.
After fixing leaks, inspect the mold to ascertain how much it has spread. Let professional mold remediation services handle mold, because it can easily spread when it is not removed using the appropriate methods. Molds can get worse if the home has experienced flooding. In such a case, take out all carpets, upholstery and furniture until the house dries completely. Also avoid using carpets in areas such as the basement and bathrooms, where there could be a lot of moisture.
3. Build a Wall to Protect Against Other Home Damages
There are several options to consider when designing the walls of a building, with stay at home senior care in mind. Whether you choose wall bumper guards or wall corner guards, commercial guards, chair rails, or vinyl and metal sheets, the choices are numerous and will help in protection and longevity for your property. Retaining walls protect against eventualities such as flooding and reduce the need to continually pay for upkeep over time.
The end wall guards or U-channels can be attached to the end of a wall to protect all sides, protecting the wall from impact damage. They’re also called end wall protectors or wall caps. Use corner wall guards to reinforce corners from damage in case of accidental impact.
They can also help reduce chipping scratches and dents. Use vinyl, plastic, or metal corner guards for the best protection. Incorporate handrails that can act as a wall guard and guide.
It will offer support to the seniors as they walk into the house. Choose the power grip handrail instead of a pinch grip option. You want the fingers to pinch towards each other when using the rail, rather than grip the entire handrail.
You may also consider a power grip handrail. It will help create a grip that is five times stronger than when using a pinch grip handrail. It’s also good contact for people with stability and mobility problems.
4. Repair Any Questionable Plumbing
Dripping taps or waterless toilets are even more annoying when you have stay at home senior care to think about. You always want to catch plumbing problems before they go out of hand. Unfortunately, they often come when least expected.
You’ll need to have the local plumbing repairs guy on your speed dial, especially for emergencies. Once a plumbing issue has been identified, take immediate action to have it addressed. Doing this will prevent future financial harm to the home and needless disturbance of a functional environment.
The water in your kitchen may not be draining as quickly as it should because of clogged drains and slowly draining sinks. Keep a close eye on what’s going down your drain to avoid these situations. Ask your family members to refrain from running objects down the drain, including food crumbs. You can prolong your avoidance of plumbing issues by taking the same safety measures with bathroom sinks, such as not flushing hair and nails down the sink. Plan frequent plumber repair and maintenance appointments to keep your drains in good operating order and avoid excessive water costs.
5. Upgrade the Water Heater
You want your shower to be in perfect working condition, giving you jets of hot water on a frosty winter day. This is more concerning when your residence is hosting a stay at home senior care person. You certainly do not want them to shower in cold water, as this could adversely affect their health.
Ensure the hot water tank is checked regularly to ensure that all its components are working correctly. You can note common hiccups in water heaters by observing the inconsistency in water temperature, low pressure of the water when you run the unit, discolored and inconsistent water temperature, and strange noises in the water heater. The best option would be to replace the very old water units so that you can save on heating bills.
New models can save you up to a quarter of your monthly household energy bill. There are tankless water heater services that offer water heating on demand, and this is another energy-saving tactic. New models save you the headache and hassle of having to keep repairing an old unit.
They’re also smaller in size and, hence are ideal for smaller homes. These new models save you space as they are less clunky and easier to handle. They handle larger numbers of simultaneous users due to their technical details, making it efficient for your home whenever you’re hosting large numbers of users.
6. Install a Safer Shower
When your home is host to stay at home senior care services, there are important modifications that you need for your bathroom. First, you need to get a shower chair. When a senior is standing in the shower while they are taking a bath, it can be challenging for them.
They can get very anxious when they have to think about slippery floors in the bathroom. With a shower chair, they will sit and relax and enjoy their shower time. Since the bathroom is for use by a senior member of the family, install some grab bars in the shower area.
These can provide great stability when using the shower, especially when installed at the right height and location in the bathroom. They give peace of mind when one needs to keep their balance by just grabbing them. It would be a good idea to also do a glass shower installation for the bathroom, and use non-slip rugs as well as non-slip mats on the floor surface.
They help reduce the risk of slipping when in the bathroom. For the sake of the senior, consider installing a walk-in tub, so that the person taking a bath does not have to lift their feet high when using the facility. They usually have safety measures equipped into them hence you will get an anti-slip surface and a shower seat when you order the product.
7. Check on the HVAC System
The HVAC system is a must-have for stay at home senior care. They help seniors live in a comfortable, safe environment at home. Ensure that your system is maintained, serviced regularly, and working as expected.
Install a smoke detector. Further, use filters that weed out wildfire smoke especially if you live in a state like California, where wildfires are common. Call in the hvac repair service for regular filter changes for them to give the best quality service.
Seniors can be negatively affected by smoke, and develop illnesses such as lung and heart diseases. Ensure a safe indoor air temperature for the comfort of the seniors. To reduce the burden that the HVAC system is taking, weather strip your house by sealing the cracks that could be in your windows and doors. Reduce direct sunlight by closing blinds and windows that are directly facing the sunlight. The move will help reduce the cost of air conditioning when it is too hot in the summer season.
8. Ensure the Insulation Is Good
Your senior should be comfortable and safe in your stay at home senior care arrangement. However, they may not recognize the signs of low or high temperatures like they could do when they were younger. Hence, you must keep checking on them.
Always confirm that their heating system is functioning as required. Enlist the services of local insulation contractors to help keep the house in the preferred temperature range. Inspect the insulation for any drafts and leaks mainly around doors and windows.
To help you constantly monitor the room temperatures, have a wifi-connected thermostat installed in the home. A humidifier will help adjust indoor humidity levels. Have the home kept clean throughout by mopping the floor, and using doormats to reduce the dirt entering the house.
Keep the home ventilated and well-lit. Fresh air reduces the concentration of indoor pollutants. You may also want to invest in indoor plants because they’re natural air purifiers.
9. Remove Dangerous Pests
You always endeavor to make your home feel comfortable, safe, and welcoming. All the more now that you are managing a stay at home senior care arrangement on your premises. Pests are the last thing you want on your property.
From cockroaches to ants, to rodents and wild animals, these unwanted guests in your home can be really annoying. If you want your home free of pests, dispose of trash regularly. Empty your bins and keep them away from your main house, possibly in the garage.
Get a bin with a lid to help minimize the possibility of pests coming to your living area. Schedule regular professional pest control services with a reliable company that can fumigate your compound and house regularly. This will help get rid of the pests permanently.
10. Speak About Selling the Home Later With Experts
Before putting up the house for sale, ask yourself, will you be able to immediately buy another home? Do you know the worth of your home? What’s the amount of equity needed to settle off the mortgage?
Real estate lawyers understand the local housing market. They will better advise you on how seasonal trends in the sector are likely to affect your selling decisions. You also need to have enough equity for atleast the down payment on your next possible home.
Look at your moving timeline if you are ready to move, and if the time will impact your financial goals. Always keep in mind that you are managing a stay at home senior care. Compare the costs and benefits of selling, and also have a plan before you embark on selling.
Though most seniors want to age in place, some aging-related conditions can inhibit this idea and make arranging for stay at home senior care challenging. Neurological disorders increase balance problems and can lead to accidents if the senior isn’t keenly monitored. Impaired mobility due to conditions such as arthritis will make stairways harder to climb. Degenerating eyesight is another problem because as the eyes age, they need more ambient light to see. As your loved ones get into their senior ages, it’s wise to start exploring care options that will work best for the family in the long term.