# Are there any ways to make a basement staircase safer for an elderly couple **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754 "2020-02-10T23:26:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/1 "2020-02-10T23:26:38Z")
My parents (early 70s) live in a house with a basement, basement has a cement floor. They had a handrail installed a few years ago for when they go up and down. Are there any other safety precautions they can add? Can some kind of padding be added to the floor at the bottom of the staircase in case one of them falls, or would that not really make a difference? ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/2 "2020-02-10T23:36:50Z")
An absolutely sure way to eliminate all the danger of a set of steps is to have an electric chair lift installed. I had one installed a year ago here (from the first to the second floor) and I don’t know how I ever got along without it. Mine was rather pricey, as it required a 180 degree bend at a landing half way up. A straight shot would have been much easier. About fifty years ago my father installed one going from the basement to the first floor, and it didn’t require any fancy bends. He and my mother lived in that house for probably another twenty years. I will advise that if your parents install one of these things they’ll never regret it. And if grandkids visit they’ll treat it like a carnival ride. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/3 "2020-02-10T23:38:17Z")
Is it a “finished basement” where they hang out, or just to store stuff and do laundry/if they’re going downstairs to do laundry, is it possible to bring it up to the main floor? But yeah, if its rickety fix it, pad and carpet it. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/4 "2020-02-10T23:40:34Z")
An addendum. I was 89 years old when I had mine installed. Should have done it twenty years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/5 "2020-02-10T23:41:34Z")
You have to use the chairlift, though, and from what I’ve seen, they’re very slow. So if the OP’s parents are still ambulatory, they may choose to try walking up and down without it. The OP mentions that a handrail was added but I’d have one on each side. And what’s in the basement anyhow? Can you minimize the number of times they need to get down there? (For my parents’ house, the big thing is the washer/dryer is still down there, but I’ve been pushing them to install another set on the main floor.) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/6 "2020-02-10T23:42:32Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > An addendum. I was 89 years old when I had mine installed. Should have done it twenty years earlier. Username/post combo. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/7 "2020-02-10T23:44:10Z")
Low-tek, but maybe important, and cheap…put [slip resistant tread](https://www.uline.com/Grp_425/Anti-Slip-Tape?pricode=WF378&AdKeyword=step%20treads&AdMatchtype=e&pricode=WZ687&gclid=Cj0KCQiAm4TyBRDgARIsAOU75srBGu9PKRafmpRSTO8RkWOS_CROgs6cfF2un30hWlDQ2fYyVfE5s_waAouMEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) on stair-steps. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/8 "2020-02-10T23:49:53Z")
Check the local building code for stairs. They don’t just make those codes to piss us off, but generally are safety related. Make sure the rise/run is correct and with a landing half way so if a fall happens it won’t be a full flight, or if a weak/dizzy spell happens it’s may be a shorter trip to a safe area. Also make sure there is proper lighting, possibly emergency lighting. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/9 "2020-02-10T23:57:09Z")
> [@](#): > > You have to use the chairlift, though, Not so. The arms and the seat of the chair fold up so that most of the remaining stair is available for manual transportation while the chair is not actually being used. Pretty slick. I’ll admit that the lift is not the fastest thing in the world, but my knees don’t care a bit about the slow speed. I timed the chair - it takes exactly 56 seconds from to to bottom to the top (or vice versa). It would be faster if there weren’t the 180 degree bend - it does slow down a bit there while whipping around the corner. (“Whipping” is a bit of an exaggeration, actually.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/10 "2020-02-11T00:05:12Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > Not so. The arms and the seat of the chair fold up so that most of the remaining stair is available for manual transportation while the chair is not actually being used. Pretty slick. I’ll admit that the lift is not the fastest thing in the world, but my knees don’t care a bit about the slow speed. I think that Dewey Finn’s post was less “if you put in a chair lift, you _must_ use it to go up and down stairs, as the stairs are otherwise unnavigable” and more “a chair lift is safer, but only if your parents actually _use_ it.” Another vote for another handrail on the other side as a simple fix. My father broke his hip just over a year ago, and while he’s recovered very well, he’s 86, and not entirely steady on his feet. My parents live in a two-story house, and the bedroom (and the house’s only bath/shower) is on the second floor. They put in a second rail, on the other side of the stairwell, and my father and mother both feel much more confident in using the stairs now. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/11 "2020-02-11T00:13:49Z")
First I’d ask if the basement was necessary. If they just use it to do laundry, pay the money to have the laundry moved upstairs. If they have to go up and down, the non-slip treads are a good idea, as well as a very solid handrail. If there’s a landing, you might want to make sure it has extra rails, so if there is a fall, they don’t go over off the landing. You might consider some foam utility mats around the bottom. They are inexpensive, and pretty low-profile so they wouldn’t be a trip hazard. I have seen ads for this [stair-climbing aid](https://stairclimbingaid.com/), but there isn’t a way to free your hands while using it. That seems inconvenient to me. For the chair-lifts, the nice thing about that is if there’s a load to carry, you can sit it on the seat and let the chair lift carry it for you. StG ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/12 "2020-02-11T00:17:47Z")
Thanks for the replies so far. Basement is unfinished, and somewhat necessary, but not as much as is currently being used. Main purposes of the basement are for laundry (washer/dryer are down there), and obtaining food since a full size freezer and pantry are down there. Since they usually are carrying food or laundry when going up/down, I don’t know if a second handrail will help. The freezer could be moved to the garage, and the washer/dryer could be moved to the ground floor. However they’d still need to go down now and again since they use the basement for storage, their water softener is down there (although I’m the one that gets the salt and fills it since my dad is getting old and has trouble with that). I’ve thought about a chair, but right now they are both healthy enough that they can get up and down by themselves. My worry is that one of them will fall down the stairs and get a serious injury. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/13 "2020-02-11T00:42:17Z")
We have a straight flight of stairs to our basement, and like the OP, the floor down there is slab. I’ve got a hand rail on the left side going down, but when I take baskets of laundry, I back down, resting the basket on the steps on the way down. I figure if I miss a step, I’ll just fall forward into the dirty clothes. I’m 66, and I still manage the stairs well, tho I’m very aware when descending. If it gets to a point where I think the stairs are unsafe, we’ll probably look into moving the laundry stuff upstairs. But I look at my mom - she’s 86 and she still carries baskets of wet clothes from the basement to her clotheslines. So I figure I’m good for another 20 years at least.Dunno if I can say the same for my spousal unit, but he doesn’t usually have to go there. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/14 "2020-02-11T01:03:08Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Since they usually are carrying food or laundry when going up/down, I don’t know if a second handrail will help. Well when you start to fall you can drop the stuff you are carrying and grab onto both railings. I suggest moving the washer and dryer upstairs. Do they really need a freezer? Lots of people get along without one. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/15 "2020-02-11T01:51:42Z")
I’d move the laundry and freezer upstairs. Laundry is done every couple days, and the more trips that are made, the higher probability that sooner or later there will be an incident. Better to make the changes than regret waiting. For storage and other things, they can wait for help. Going up and down to get Christmas decorations once a year, or pull out winter clothes, etc. Considering how an older person’s health rapidly declines after a serious fall, an ounce of prevention, etc. StG ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/16 "2020-02-11T02:08:34Z")
Yeah, the freezer is necessary. They like to buy food in bulk and have a full size one which I assume is 20-30 cubic feet, and its mostly full. However my grandparents when they were alive had a freezer in their garage. That kind of setup could possibly work for my parents. Right now its not an issue, both of them can go up and down stairs. But I worry about 5+ years from now and I worry about a fall. ---
**Author:** ![Leviosaurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/17 "2020-02-11T02:32:37Z")
\ My father in law had reached his early 90’s, decided he should put a chair lift down to his basement stairs. As a retired engineer, he never bought anything new or had it professionally installed, not when he could buy something broken and old which he could fix. (The constant need for tweaking and repairs is a feature to him, not a bug.) So he found some house being remodeled which was getting rid of their own chair lift, had it sent to his house and installed it himself. And yes, we tried to talk him out of it, offered to buy a new one and pay for it ourselves… if you’ve never encountered the stubbornness of a guy who’s survived the dust bowl, the CCC camps of the great depression, and four years in the army during World War 2, well, you’ll just have to take my word for it, there’s no winning that argument. The main problem with this thing is that the motor had burned out. FIL solved this by removing the motor and adapting the gears to work with his high powered cordless drill. Now when he wants to go downstairs, he gets his drill, sits on the seat, shoves the drill into the side and **whizzz** , down he goes with a giant grin on his face. He’s immensely proud of this thing and brags about it to _everybody_. That was five years ago, he’s in his late 90’s now, still uses the damn thing, still brags about it. \ ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/18 "2020-02-11T05:52:42Z")
Definitely make sure there are non-slip treads (carpet on stairs is bad) and handrails on both sides. Also make sure there is good lighting. Many falls are due to not being able to see the floor/steps correctly. Consider enhancing the stair edges to make sure they are clearly defined. Strongly encourage them to put the washer, dryer and freezer upstairs. Carrying things and stairs is not a good combination. Remind them, a fall down the stairs could be game over. That means moving into a retirement home. Which brings the next question. Have they thought of moving and what they will do? My parents are in their late 70s are are talking about this. They like their house, but it’s not possible to access without stairs, and my mother’s already slowing down. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/19 "2020-02-11T09:23:16Z")
If a chairlift is not feasible, I have a couple suggestions. We built our single-level house in our 50s, preparing for aging, designing the outdoors front-side-back stairs with a wide tread and low rise, with handrails on both sides, and sandy friction paint on the steps for traction. If indoors, we’d have padded everything within range, and still have gone with wide tread and low rise steps, which do take more horizontal space. Can your parents’ basement stairs be extended for easier, safer climbing? My aunt, a polio survivor, found a most unusual (for southern California) modest suburban house with a basement for furnace, laundry, and freezer. A dumbwaiter let her move loads up and down without straining her weakened hands and limbs. Could an electric dumbwaiter be installed in your parents’ house? Then they could grip both handrails for safety and support. My wife and I have just finished physical therapy after trauma-induced orthopedic surgeries. The best way to avoid future trauma is MINDFULNESS a.k.a SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. We can no longer move thoughtlessly; we must look and plan. But we can’t always be alert. Maybe we should be bubble-wrapped for safety. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754/20 "2020-02-11T10:13:06Z")
If your parents are ever alone in the house (e.g. one is shopping or visiting a friend etc.), I recommend a personal alarm. You can wear it round your neck or on your wrist. It means if you need help, you only have to press a button on the device. The company will first phone you, then alert an agreed keyholder or emergency services as appropriate. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-ways-to-make-a-basement-staircase-safer-for-an-elderly-couple/847754.md?page=2)