Stairlifts make your home safer and more accessible as you age. But not every stairlift is created equal! So before you pick out a stairlift for yourself or a loved one, consider the vital stairlift safety features for your Lynchburg home.
Stairlift Safety Feature 1: Seatbelts
While stairlifts aren’t high-speed vehicles in the same way your car is, seatbelts are still a necessary piece of safety equipment that every stairlift comes equipped with. But just because you have one doesn’t mean it’s the safest variety.
Retractability is one element that comes in handy with your seat belt. Safety belts that retract into your seat are less likely to get caught in the mechanism or become difficult to reach. All ADL chairlifts come with standard retractable seatbelts.
Reachability is another factor to keep in mind. Your belt should be easy to reach once you sit in the chair. No one wants to fumble around when they want to get moving.
Finally, seatbelts should be easy to operate. Fastening and unfastening the belt should be simple, even if your hands are in pain.
Stairlift Safety Feature 2: Foldability – Is It Compact?
Your stairlift is not always in use. You likely live in a home with or have visitors who take the stairs without using the stairlift. For those reasons, your stairlift should be compact for convenience and safety.
Armrests, seats, and footrests are all areas that stick out on your stair lift. They’re essential for your safety and comfort when using them but a liability when not in motion. If someone is carrying something up the stairs or simply walking by, all these stairlift parts can catch an item or cause a person to stumble.
Luckily, foldability is an essential feature that we provide our customers to keep their lifts out of the way and safe when not in use.
Other Stairlift Safety Features
Brakes
Another feature that we got from motor vehicles is the brake. Overspeed brakes are a common feature for stairlifts, but you should still ensure that yours has one before purchasing. Overspeed brakes automatically monitor the speed of your stairlift, sending feedback to the system and slowing it when necessary.
An emergency brake is another stairlift safety feature that operates as a failsafe should your overspeed brake malfunction.
Swivel Chair
Getting out of your stairlift can be the most dangerous part of using it. One stairlift safety feature that reduces this danger is a swivel seat. If your seat swivels, it can safely turn so you can leave the chair without precariously balancing over your steps!
Obstruction Sensors
If you have a modern garage door, you’ve undoubtedly seen it stop or reverse when encountering an obstruction in its path. That’s because, since the 1990s, garage doors have been legally required to have obstruction sensors.
Obstruction sensors are also a critical stairlift safety feature (if a lift catches on a toy or other object, it can damage the lift and hurt the person on it), but unfortunately, because there’s no legal requirement to include them, not all stairlifts have them. Ask the right questions to ensure your stairlift has sensors!
Is Your Stairlift Safe?
While the features we described today can help keep your Lynchburg or Roanoke stairlift safe, there is no substitute for regular maintenance. Talk to a reputable company like ADL to maintain your lift and provide any necessary repairs.