Stairlift is Useful in the Home-Here's How

When we’re young and supple, we run up and down stairs without a second thought. With the onset of advancing years or reduced mobility, stairs become more of an obstacle. A stairlift is a reliable alternative to struggling with stairs.

For centuries, a flight of stairs has been a simple, practical way to easily move between two storeys of a home or other building. When we’re young and supple, we bound up and down stairs without a second thought. Left something upstairs? No problem, just run up and fetch it! Yet with the onset of advancing years or reduced mobility, stairs become more of an obstacle. And 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? An inventory of the King’s belongings, compiled 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 carry the aging and largely immobile king up and down a 20ft staircase at Whitehall Palace, with servants hauling on a block and tackle system similar to that used on the king's warships. Fortunately, things have moved on! Modern stairlifts offer a practical, affordable and electrically-powered way to move between the storeys in your ‘palace’. Whatever it is that causes you difficulty, a stairlift is a comfortable and reliable alternative to struggling with the stairs. It is useful in several ways, including: 

• Giving access to all of your home, whenever you need it. No more confining yourself to a single storey or limiting the number of times you move between storeys because of the difficulty or discomfort it causes. 

• Preserving your self-reliance – being able to go up and down stairs without help or supervision from anyone else. 

• Being able to stay in the home you love, without the upheaval and expense of moving to a single-storey dwelling or ground floor apartment because you can no longer manage the stairs. 

• Eliminating the anxiety that you’re no longer safe on the stairs and the fear of a fall. It’s not just you who’ll get this benefit, but also loved ones who care and worry about you. 

In addition to carrying, you up and down the stairs, a stairlift can be used to carry other loads, such as a basket of laundry, a carton of shopping items 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. With two people at home – one stationed at the top of the stairs and the other at the bottom – you can use the remote-control function to move some loads up and down the stairs. There’s nothing worse than struggling up or down the stairs carrying a heavy or bulky load, especially if you already have mobility problems. A stairlift can help, provided you follow some simple guidelines: 

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

• Never exceed the stairlift’s maximum weight limit 

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

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

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