What Are Bath Lifts?

What Our Team Say About Bath lifts

Our dedicated team have spent many years working in the mobility aids and daily living products sector. They are very knowledgeable about the products we sell. They work with Kate Makin, our Occupational Therapist, to ensure that they provide the best advice when it comes to information about our thousands of mobility aid products.

So, What Exactly Is This Mobility Aid?

These bathing aids are very popular and tend to consist of a seat, which lowers you into and raises you back out of a bath. They are powered using a rechargeable battery – the battery is charged outside the bathroom to ensure that no electrical components come into contact with water.

What Is The Benefit Of Using A Bath Lift?

The main benefit of using a mobility aid like this is that it does all the work of lowering you into and raising you out of a bathtub, making it easier for the weak or those people unable to carry their own weight on their arms to raise and lower.

These bathing aids tend to have an easy-to-use controller which sits comfortably in the hand, and you simply push a button to lower and usually a different button to rise.

Bath lifts allow people to take a bath without help from someone else, providing independence and confidence to the person using it.

What Types Do You Offer?   

There are many different types of bathing aids available. The majority consist of a plastic chair which has a base seat part and a back which reclines. Often, the plastic seat has a padded cover attached to it, which can be replaced. This padded cover provides comfort and isn’t as cold as sitting on the lift itself. The only thing to remember is that on some, where you sit on a seat, you will not get totally down to the bottom of the bathtub, as the seat will sit slightly above the bathtub's bottom.

There is also a model of the bathing aid described above where the back section is removable, allowing the base seat section to operate independently. This is particularly useful when you have a very small bath or do not require assistance reclining backwards to a lying position.

We also have the popular Molly Bather, which is completely different from the typical lifts. The Molly Bather consists of a tower unit, which houses the battery and is attached to the bathroom floor. It then has a belt which attaches to a fixing on the wall opposite, and the belt lowers and lifts you into and out of the bathtub. As you sit on the belt/fabric section, there is no back rest, so it is not suitable for everyone however, it does provide you with the opportunity to lower down to the bottom of the bathtub.

Another popular, non-traditional style is the Mangar Bathing Cushion. This is a cushion in the shape of a seat with a base section and a back. The beauty of the Mangar Bathing Cushion is that the cushion deflates to lower you into the bath and inflates to lift you out. Its battery (or compressor) sits alongside the bath and does all the work with a hand controller, enabling you to be in control. This is, again, ideal if you want to lower yourself right down to the base of the bathtub, and it also allows you to keep some air in the cushion whilst bathing, providing further comfort for any bony parts!

Many traditional-style lifts also have different accessories available, such as swivel seats, which allow you to turn whilst seated without having to physically swivel around, simply allowing you to swing your legs in and out of the bath.

Is A Bath Lift Suitable For Me?

Our range is suitable for most adults but is unsuitable for use by younger children.

Is There Anything Specific To Look Out For?

There are several things to think about:

• Size – do check the width and length of your bath before choosing a lift to make sure that the mobility aid will fit and operate correctly.
• With/without covers – check to see if your chosen mobility aid comes with padded covers, as these offer an extra level of comfort.
• Removal – if other people will be using your bath and do not want to use the lift, you will need to consider the weight of one and how easy it is to lift it in and out of the bath. This is also true when cleaning the bathtub.
• How low – one of the most common questions we are asked by customers is how low the bathing aid will go in the water. This is important, as the lower you are in the water, the more relaxing your soak in the bathtub is likely to be.
• Accessories – check if your chosen aid comes with any optional accessories, such as a swivel seat or replacement covers. You may not require the accessories now, but it’s always nice to know that you can purchase accessories at a later date.

Please see our guide on How To Buy A Bath Lift to help you make the right buying decision.