Holidays, weddings, a week in summer. Somebody who manages perfectly well in their own house arrives at one they do not know, and spends several days navigating it.
That is a genuine risk and almost nobody plans for it.
Ask one question first
What do you use at home that you will not have here?
Not “will you be all right,” which gets a yes. The specific version gets you a list: a raised toilet seat, a grab bar beside the shower, a stairlift, a particular chair height, a night light on a route they know by heart.
Ask a few weeks out rather than the week before, because some of it takes arranging.
The three rooms that matter
The bathroom
Almost always the problem. Your bathroom has none of what theirs has.
A raised toilet seat, a shower stool or transfer bench, non-slip matting inside and a rubber-backed mat outside, and a handheld shower head if there is one. Those four cost very little and they address the highest-risk part of the day.
If there is a tub rather than a walk-in shower, a transfer bench is the single most useful item, because stepping over a tub edge in an unfamiliar bathroom is the riskiest movement of the visit. Our seating guide covers which suits whom.
Where they sleep
Ground floor if at all possible, even if it means somebody on a sofa for a week.
If it has to be upstairs, think about the route at night and light it. Bed height matters more than mattress quality: feet should reach the floor flat. Bed risers cost very little.
Clear the route from bed to bathroom completely and leave it clear, including the bag somebody puts down on day two.
The way in
The step at your front door, the threshold, whether there is a handrail. A portable threshold ramp handles a single step for very little and packs away afterward.
The free things, done the day before
- Rugs up. All of them, including the runner in the hall.
- Night lights on the route to the bathroom.
- Cables off the floor, including the ones from the tree or the extra lamp.
- A clear path through every room, with furniture moved rather than squeezed past.
- The chair they will sit in checked: firm enough, high enough, with arms.
- Outside lights working, and the path clear.
Twenty minutes, and it addresses most of what the CDC lists as ordinary household fall risk.
The gathering itself
Seating with arms, at a height they can stand from. A place to sit that is not in a thoroughfare. Somewhere quiet to go, because noise and crowds are exhausting in a way people underestimate.
Do not rearrange the furniture halfway through the day. Somebody navigating partly by memory has learned your room by then.
If they are staying more than a few days
Our transfer aids guide covers protecting the person assisting, and a gait belt is the single item we would want in any house where somebody is being helped to stand.
What to buy and keep
If this is going to happen regularly, a small kit lives in a cupboard: a raised toilet seat, a shower stool, non-slip matting, a threshold ramp, a couple of night lights.
Under a couple of hundred dollars, and it turns every future visit from an improvisation into a setup. It all ships free from our online shop.
After they leave
Ask what was difficult. People will not volunteer it during the visit because they do not want to be a nuisance, and they will answer honestly afterward.
That conversation frequently reveals something about their own house too, and our room-by-room checklist is the walk-through to suggest next.
Bathroom sizing, quickly
Two measurements before buying anything. Toilet height from floor to seat, and tub edge height from floor to rim.
A standard toilet sits around 15 inches. If theirs at home is a comfort-height one and yours is standard, a raised seat closes the gap for very little. Tub edge height tells you whether a bench is needed or a stool will do.
The Access Board publishes the technical requirements for bathing rooms, which are a sensible reference even for a temporary setup.
Medication and routine
Not equipment and it causes more trouble than equipment does. A different schedule, meals at different times and a late night all affect somebody more than families expect, and several common medicines cause dizziness on standing.
Keep the routine as close to normal as the occasion allows, and keep medication somewhere obvious rather than in a bag in a spare room.
Pets and children
Both are fall risks in an unfamiliar house and neither is going anywhere. A dog underfoot in a strange kitchen, a toy on a route somebody is learning.
Practical compromises: feed the dog away from walking routes, keep the route to the bathroom clear at all times, and make the tidy-up before bed a rule rather than an intention.
Getting them home
The last hour of a visit is when everybody is tired and rushing, and it is where the fall happens. Load the car first, walk them out unhurried, and use the handrail you put on the front steps.
Our falls guide covers what to do if it happens anyway, and everything on this page ships free from our online shop.
If they have a stairlift at home
Worth knowing that they are used to one and your stairs will feel considerably harder than theirs. Somebody who manages fourteen steps at home with a lift is not managing fourteen steps without one.
Arrange a ground-floor bed for the stay.
A week beforehand, in order
- Ask what they use at home that they will not have here.
- Order the bathroom items, which is most of the risk.
- Decide where they sleep and clear that route.
- Sort the entrance: threshold, handrail, lighting.
- The day before, rugs up and cables off the floor.
Six steps, most of them free. Our room-by-room checklist is the longer version if they are staying a while, and the bathroom items ship free from our online shop.