Bathing Aids
An Affinity with a Walk-in Bath
Jun 16th
Are walk-in baths any good? In post-work discussions with industry colleagues, some from Mobility Compare, some from other manufacturers, there is a feeling that walk-in baths can be a pain in the behind. Not literally of course, that would defeat the object of getting one. But concerns persist.
The problem? People will carefully choose a walk-in bath yet not realise the plumbing needs to be up to scratch. This is a particular problem in the UK where there are, at the last count, 500,000 old listed buildings.
Here’s the dilemma. Walk-in baths, because they allow you to walk-in rather than step over the side, must be filled with the person already inside. Now, if the taps and plumbing are old, you can look forward to either a scalding hot or icy cold few minutes as you adjust the incoming water temperature, followed by a long wait for the bath to fill. On a cold winter’s day it’s about as much fun as a poke in the eye.
That’s why mobility compare wrote a buyer’s guide for people thinking of getting a mobility walk-in bath. Key advice? Make sure you check your plumbing is fit for purpose and you don’t install your walk-in bath in a Grade 3 listed building with 200 year old lead piping alongside a water pressure that would make a leaky tap appear like Niagara Falls.
With that out the way, and assuming that the plumbing is OK, I’m occasionally asked what walk-in bath I would recommend. Well, there are many excellent manufacturers out there, but one of my picks is the Affinity from Bath-Knight.
What I like about it is the locking mechanism on the door, as well as the levers and the taps. The door opens inward, forming a water tight seal when you close it. So, it is safe to assume that grandma won’t be flooding the bathroom floor when she decides to take a shower or falls asleep in the bath.
The two drainage lines on two sides of the bath make emptying easy, another key plus on a cold winter’s day when you want to get out of the bath as quickly as possible. Other features include the non-slip floor and additional grab rails – this is certainly one of the safest walk-in baths out there.
Yes, the Affinity walk-in bath is small and certainly not suitable if you want to feel like you’re sprawled across an Olympic-sized swimming pool. But for smaller bathrooms and tighter spaces, it’s nigh on the perfect walk-in bath.
My favourite function is the Affinity walk-in bath’s unique, optional hydrotherapy spa which helps the body relax completely. It does cost quite a bit extra to have it included, so make sure you really need the feature before you ask for it. But it’s worth the extra cost. It feels like your body is being caressed by a gentle, loving mermaid. And on that thought…..
Bath-Knight to the rescue
May 4th
The mobility industry is divided squarely into two camps. On the one side you have the big multi-national healthcare giants, such as Siemens, and on the other side you have dozens of smaller companies usually founded by one man and his dog in a bedroom somewhere in rural England.
These companies, of which there are many, are one of the pleasures of working in the mobility industry. They are usually founded by an inventor, often with a disabled relative, who needed to come up with a mobility solution – fast. After many months amidst oil, grease and a cluttered garage, these inventors often create ideas good enough to go into mainstream manufacturing production.
What makes these companies so appealing is that they have been founded on proper values. The emphasis is firmly on providing really effective mobility solutions above anything else, often with the whole family engaged in marketing and selling the products. To say they are ‘quaint’ might sound patronising but there is something profoundly endearing about these small family companies.
One such company is Bath-Knight, named after its founder and inventor, Bill Steadman. Created in 1989, the company is truly a family concern with daughters, sons, uncles, granddaughters etc all joining the company to make it the success it is today.
What was Bill’s original invention? The Bath-Knight. It’s a bath lift which attaches itself to the bath wall. Nothing original there you might ask? Well, not so. Many bath-lifts are bulky contraptions that sit outside the bath and look like a mutant cross between building scaffolding and a shopping trolley. Pretty they’re not.
What makes Bath-Knight so popular is that the bath lift fits unobtrusively on the bath wall. It’s aesthetic, relatively small (considering some of its rival contraptions), and is well-designed.
One of the more obvious problems, and one which I was originally worried about, is that if the supporting wall is made out of plasterboard, wouldn’t the Bath-Knight collapse? Not so – the firm’s engineers have a few tricks up their sleeves to ensure the Bath-Knight holds steady in almost every circumstance. It also holds up to 20 stone which is a terrific motivation to lose weight if you’re 19 stone and thirteen pounds. 
.
At the website Mobility Compare, the team is highly disposed towards bath lifts. Why? Mobility baths can be quite expensive and sometimes demand awkward plumbing procedures which all add to the final bill. Bath lifts, on the other hand, are cheaper and don’t demand existing baths to be ripped out. The Bath-Knight, for example, starts at £995 including installation.
Winner of the Business of the Year Award in 2005, the Stoke-based company is going from strength to strength with thousands of happy customers. As for our comments about the endearing nature of family run mobility companies, what multi-nationals would have a poetry page on their website??? Not many…..
Why the Aquability model works well
Apr 12th
OK, I’ve got a vested interest in writing this post – I know the chaps (and ladies) at Aquability and, yes, it’s been pointed out to me I would obviously say nice things about them. But that aside, there is a serious reason for this post. It’s called trust.
Time and time again in the mobility industry you see trust being abused. It’s just all too easy for unscrupulous sales people to sit in the home of an elderly person and take advantage of their vulnerability by applying high pressure sales techniques.
It’s not easy to get around this. My advice is to always have a friend or family member present with you when a mobility salesperson calls. That way you have the support of someone close to you who can help you reach a decision in full confidence that you’re making the right choice.
Another trick for the buyer, and one that I like, is to ask for a rough quote whilst on the phone to a mobility company. If they say, ‘well it depends on this or that’ just say ‘I need a guideline figure because I don’t want to waste your time’. Having a rough cost makes it far harder for the company to then try and ramp up the price when the salesperson sees an easy victim.
Another useful tip is to make sure that the mobility company employs its own installers and teams of engineers, plumbers etc. Why? You might not get ripped off on the mobility product e.g. a stairlift, but you might get ripped off on the installation by a third party. Picture the scenario – plumber comes to house to fit mobility bath and because of ‘unforeseen problems’….. “you’ve got a wonky joist luv”…..the cost is double the expected price.
Which brings me back to companies like Aquability, amongst others. Because they employ their own engineers and plumbers, you can be 100% confident that the price they quote is the one you can expect to pay. There are no hidden extras or subcontractors on the make for a few extra £quid.
For elderly people, who are often at their most vulnerable when receiving a visit in their home from a salesman, the peace of mind which comes from knowing that the price quoted is what you’ll end up paying is…well…priceless. That’s why the Aquability model works, and works well.
Total Hygiene – an interesting company, if that’s possible
Feb 17th
If you’re reading this post about toilet hygiene at 9pm on a Saturday night, you’d be forgiven for thinking the depths your life has sunk to – think bar and belly dancer and go lower – but hang in there a second….
You know those toilets for the disabled – cavernous rooms with helpful features such as arm grips, light cord switches and other aids – well, the problem is they aren’t much good for schools. Why? Children can be so small that a disabled toilet is as much use as a chocolate teapot. Basically they can’t reach the damn thing. However, if the toilet aids are set too low in height, the older children can’t use them. It’s a Catch 22.
Mobility Compare is therefore pleased to hear about a company called Total Hygiene that has developed a ground-breaking solution for disabled kids – a toilet that lifts up and down or as it’s been named, ‘the bog that moves’.
The new design is quite simple. Height adjustable washbasins make them accessible to everyone; if you are vertically challenged you can pull down the wash basin to adjust its height. The design also includes height adjustable automatic ‘wash and dry’ bidet toilets. Children and students can take support from the simple grab rails, and they can also conveniently use height adjustable changing tables.
The design is complete and unique in the sense that it can be conveniently used by each and every person, regardless of gender, physical ability or mental growth. The materials used also comply with UK safety standards and can be legally connected to the main water supply in the United Kingdom.
We’ve done a bit of digging and we’ve found that Total Hygiene has been providing toileting solutions in the UK for more than 40 years. Based in Sale, Cheshire, Total Hygiene don’t just design the solution, they also do all the installation work to boot.
BTW, we hear that Strathclyde University and Harlaw Academy have already successfully made use of these new disabled facilities provided by Total Hygiene.
All in all, Total Hygiene save the effort of setting up separate provisions for people with special requirements. It’s a really clever mobility solution and we at Mobility Compare are seriously impressed.
What do you think? We’d particularly like to hear from anyone who has used Total Hygiene’s products.
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