A survey has revealed we spend on average three hours a week on the toilet.
Does it not make sense therefore to take steps to ensure that our time spent sat there is as comfortable and hygienic as possible? Think about it, if you were choosing a sofa, you’d try them out to find the most comfortable for you.
Yet a toilet’s function and comfort is not even considered in the selection process. Most of us have probably inherited our WC with the property; if we are choosing a new one, it is the style, the aesthetics, the design which influence the decision, rather than its comfort, its height, its effectiveness, its ease of use.
Yet, if you have any degree of limitation, such issues have a huge impact on how well you can manage to ‘go’, how much you can do this very intimate task independently.
Imagine if you could customise your loo? Actually, you can!
Toilet seats are actually one of the most common household objects to be changed as part of a home adaptation. They can be raised. They can be padded. They can be coloured. They can be gender appropriate: a horse shoe seat, for example, is more accommodating for a man. They can be size appropriate: bariatric seats are wider but designed to still position you correctly and accurately over the pan whilst paediatric seats have a smaller aperture than standard.
You can add supports, above and beyond conventional grab rails. Drop down support arms can be fixed to either or both sides; some WCs can be fitted with integrated fold-away arms.
The flushing mechanism can be changed: depending on your toilet, it can be a lever, a pad, a button, even a remote control or infra-red.
The height can be altered too- useful if you have trouble bending at the knee, have balance issues, or are transferring from a wheelchair or frame. Plinths can be added to floor-standing units. Wall-hung WCs can be fixed at the outset at a convenient height for you.
No two people are the same, so what comfort factors you want will be different. You want your WC to be as comfortable as possible, bearing in mind how long you can be sat there. So accessorise, adapt(*), and an activity, a chore, you do on average eight times a day can become a more pleasant experience….
Note:
(*) toilet adaptations such as changing the seat, WC height etc can be undertaken, where appropriate, under a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG)/ home adaptation, and may often be ‘fast tracked’ without means testing because of the comparative low cost.
Closomat wash & dry toilets are the only ones of their kind that can be accessorised, initially AND retrospectively, to accommodate individual needs. Their provision in place of a conventional WC may be covered under a home adaptation/DFG.
