Easy Ways to Slip-Proof Common Household Surfaces

Falls pose a unique danger to elderly folks. In fact, accidental falls are the number one cause of unintentional injury leading to death among seniors. Around 10 percent of falls result in significant injury. While it’s possible to reduce your risk of a fall, there’s little you can do to completely prevent these accidents. Slip-proofing common household surfaces, like tiled kitchens and slippery plastic bathtubs, can decrease the risk of falling.

That said, the best way to ensure you receive necessary medical care after a fall is to invest in a medical alert system, ideally with fall detection. This device will allow you to access help without needing to pick up the phone or call for help. Medical alert systems from Alert1 offer fall detection services, allow you to feel safe in your home.

If you’re looking for ways to reduce your risk of falling, household floors are the biggest challenge. Slip-proofing the floors in your house, especially tiled kitchens and bathrooms, can reduce your risk of suffering an injury. Hardware and home improvement stores have several options for various home surfaces, and some stores offer installation services.

While commonly found slip-proof solutions will work well on most household floors, you’ll want to pay special attention to the bathroom. For seniors, around 80 percent of falls will occur in this part of the house.

Non-slip mats are the easiest way to slip-proof a bathroom surface, whether it be in the shower, the bathtub, or a tile floor. If you don’t like the look of a rubber non-slip mat, textured fabric bathmats can provide helpful traction when getting into and out of the shower. If you don’t want to change your bathroom’s appearance, you might even consider adding non-slip backing to your decorative mats. Additionally, adding grab bars and rails in strategic places around the room can help to further prevent slipping. As always, keep your medical alert system nearby in case an accident happens. 

Falls can happen anywhere, but preventing accidents in the home is far easier. However, there are some strategies you can use to decrease your risk of falling while outside. Wearable medical alert systems can reduce risk of injury, but slip-proofing shoes can help prevent accidents.

Non-slip soles are widely available at shoe and accessory retailers, but you can also slip-proof shoes by manually wearing them down. Adding texture to the bottom of a shoe increases friction, which can help to prevent falls. Here are some easy ways to add friction to your shoes.

• Sandpaper – Abrading the soles directly with sandpaper is a great way to add texture to the bottom of a shoe. This works best with very coarse sandpaper. Keep in mind that this is not an ideal solution for shoes with cardboard-like or natural soles, such as those found on flats and sandals.

• Adhesive Bandages – Seniors can add traction to their shoes by sticking adhesive bandages to their sole heels. However, this should only be used as a quick solution, as an adhesive bandage can easily fall off.

• Puff Paint – Puff paint, a type of paint commonly used in children’s arts and crafts, is a great solution to making shoes less slippery. When the paint dries, it produces a rough and textured surface. To try this solution, apply a thin layer of the paint to the shoe’s sole, then let it dry for several hours before wearing.

Whether you’re inside the house or out for a grocery trip, a medical alert system with fall detection is the best way to prepare for an accident. While slip-proofing surfaces can significantly decrease the risk of a fall, it won’t prevent emergencies altogether. Invest in a medical alert system with built-in fall detection to feel safer both inside and outside your home.