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Stair Chair Lift

People who have (or know someone who has) difficulty climbing stairs can read this and find out about the stair chair lift and its amazing solution to home accessibility.

For most people living in a house that rises one floor or more upwards (or downwards in some cases), there is no problem accessing every part of that house via the stairways. But for people who have limited mobility, climbing a flight of stairs can be so difficult or even impossible that those parts of their home become closed off to them forever.

This is a situation that does not have to exist thanks to the incredibly inventive and simple idea that created the stair chair lift. No longer do the elderly, infirm or those with disabilities have to be restricted to a single floor of their home with an easy to use chairlift that can take them comfortably up and down stairs.

I have written this article to take a look at the many advantages of having a stair chair lift fitted to a stairway in the home for the benefit of its occupant(s) that need assistance with mobility.

Advantages of Stair Chair Lifts

One of the major advantages of having one of these devices fitted in the home is that it provides freedom of movement throughout the home for those who without it would have become restricted to the main, or ground floor, or that floor which is serviced by the front door of the house. It can make all the difference to the lives of its users.

Not all houses have additional floors above the ground floor, as some are built into the side of steep hills and have additional floors below the main floor with the lowest leading out to a rear entrance yard or garden area. For people with limited mobility living in a home such as this, their access to their rear garden would be cut off without the assistance of a stair chair lift to take them down and bring them back up again.

In general however, the majority of houses with additional floors have them above the ground floor and it is these upper floors that generally provide bedroom and bathroom space. Without access to upper floors, the home dweller with limited mobility would be cut off from their bathroom and be forced to sleep in a ground floor room. In a small house this would be the main sitting room, which is hardly practical.

How Does a Stair Chair Lift Work?

These devices work in a very simplistic manner. A steel or aluminum rail is fitted either directly to the stair risers or to the wall which will bear the carriage and guide its travel up and down the stairway. The carriage comprises of a small mechanical base which attaches to the rail and the cable or chain that pulls it along the track, for which is sits on small rollers to make the movement as smooth and silent as possible.

Above this is the chair itself, which can either be fixed or foldaway for very narrow stairways. The chair will have one or two armrests, to one of which is attached the simple lever control. This is quite movement sensitive, specially for people with restricted movement in their hands and controls the up, down or stop positions.

The chair on most modern stair lifts can swivel and be locked in position, so that when the user gets to the top of the stairs, they can swivel the chair to face the landing, lock it firm so that it doesn't move and get off easily and safely. Similarly, when coming back down the stairs, the user can easily get back in the seat, unlock and swivel it back to its running position (generally facing out 90 degrees to the wall), lock it in position and then begin their descent.

Maintenance for stairlifts is fairly low and apart from ensuring the track and carriage remains free of debris and grit, the owner will have little to do. Professional maintenance should be carried out by a reputable company according the manufacturer's schedule, which may differ from make to make.

So you can see that by having a stair chair lift fitted in a home will greatly improve the quality of life if its inhabitant(s) should they have restricted mobility by opening up their entire home to them which is as it should be.