Buying a Chair Lift for Stairs

As we age, moving about gets more and more difficult.  Going up and down stars can actually become impossible for some.  After injury or illness it just may not be possible to get from one floor to another, cutting off access to our own home.  A chair lift for stairs can change all of this.  When you have a chair lift you can once again begin using the stairs in a safe and efficient manner. 

Buying a chair lift for stairs would seem like a straight forward process, but when you begin looking you might find that there are many more options than you would have ever thought.  The fact of the matter is that there are a lot of different options for you to choose from, so you need to focus on features. Safety and ease of operation should always be the most important features for you to consider.  When you look at these features you will quickly be able to weed out a lot of the options and focus on those that will fit your needs and budget. 

When shopping, you should only consider a battery powered unit.  A lot of people wouldn’t think this makes sense, but in the event of a power outage you want to be able to continue to use the chair lift, otherwise you could be trapped on one floor or another when you need to be able to move about freely.  Having a battered powered unit will also make the unit more safely as there are less cables that can become tangled and provide safety hazards. 

Also, it is a good idea to at chair lifts for stairs that are installed on the stairs not the wall.  Over time when the wall units are used, they can begin to come away from the wall.  In addition, if your wall curves at all or settles over time this can cause dangerous hazards for the individual.  Instead of trying to accommodate the wall, you can install the tracks on the stairs so the lift really is customized for your home so there will be less of a chance of problems over time with the unit coming away from the wall and imposing safety concerns. 

Consider safety features, the more the better. Even though you are only going from one floor to another, if you fell or something happened it could be disastrous, even fatal.  You definitely want a seatbelt which will hold you in while you ride from one floor to another.  In addition, you want safety sensors, and if possible a wireless remote that will allow you to stop and start in between floors if you need to adjust seating positions.