Best Shower Chairs for Elderly Users

Falls in the shower are a common cause of injury for elderly users, especially those with reduced mobility. If you or someone you care for is unable to stand for long periods of time, a shower chair is an ideal solution to ensure stability and prevent falls while bathing. Shower chairs allow the user to sit comfortably and safely in the shower, they are usually portable, have aluminium legs, and have non-slip rubber feet, ensuring safety when in contact with water and slippery floors.

But with so many out there, which shower chair is right for your needs? This guide breaks down our best shower chairs for the elderly according to various needs and requirements, helping you find the right shower chair to support you.

What's Covered in This Guide?

• Best Shower Chair with Arms and Backrest
• Best Shower Chair with Wheels
• Best Height Adjustable Shower Chair with Wheels
• Best Folding Shower Seat
• Best Shower Chair and Commode
• Best Bariatric Shower Chair and Commode
• Best Shower Chair Stool

Best Shower Chair with Arms and Backrest

Our Top Pick: Alerta Adjustable Stationary Shower Chair ALT-BE005

Why We Love It: Its simple, lightweight, but sturdy, design make the Alerta ALT-BE005 Shower Chair perfect to provide general stability for those with restricted mobility at home or in care settings. The chair features a classic arm and backrest for all round support during bathing, rubber grip feet that won't budge under slippery floors, and is also height adjustable to suit user requirements. As a bonus, this shower chair has a stackable design making it ideal for when maximising storage space in care homes. Thanks to its molded plastic-coated steel frame, the chair is also very easy to clean, ensuring hygiene is always maintained for both the patient and carer.

Not the Best For... Maximising storage space at home. Should you prefer a shower chair that takes up less space, a folding shower chair which can be mounted permanently on the wall in the shower, like the Invacare Aquatec Sansibar Folding Shower may be more convenient.

Not quite what you're after? Check out our full range of shower chairs for even more choice.

Best Shower Chair with Wheels

Our Top Pick: Alerta Mobile Wheeled Shower Chair ALT-BE002

Why We Love It: The Alerta Mobile Wheeled Shower Chair ALT-BE002 makes it easy to transport a patient from their room and into the shower, making it ideal for elderly users with more serious mobility issues, or who cannot walk as much. The chair features a push handle and four wheels for effortless manouvering, and two rear braked castors to ensure safety and security when parked in the shower. During bathing, the patient is supported by the arm and backrests, promoting user independence, and of course preventing falls from occurring.

Not the Best For... Height adjustability. The Alerta ALT-BE002 shower chair is not height adjustable, meaning it can't be adjusted according to user heights. For the height adjustable version of this shower chair please see the Alerta ALT-BE004 shower chair below.

Not quite what you're after? Check out our full range of shower chairs with wheels for even more choice.

Best Height Adjustable Shower Chair with Wheels

Our Top Pick: Alerta Adjustable Mobile Wheeled Shower Chair ALT-BE004

Why We Love It: The Alerta Adjustable Mobile Wheeled Shower Chair ALT-BE004 offers users with restricted mobility a seat with arm and backrests for support during independent bathing. The chair also comes with four wheels and push handle for easy manoeuvrability in and out of the bathroom, rear braked castors to ensure safety and security, and finally features height adjustability,  meaning its frame height can be easily raised or lowered to suit the patients requirements for showering.

Not the Best For... If the user requires a more comfortable seat. Although the Alerta Adjustable ALT-BE004 Shower Chair is comfortable enough to sit during a shower, if a user requires a more comfortable seat some of our padded shower chairs such as Harvest Mobile Shower Commode Chair might be a better option.

Not quite what you're after? Check out our full range of height adjustable shower chairs for even more choice.

Best Folding Shower Seat with Legs

Our Top Pick: Etac Relax White Foldable Shower Seat

Why We Love It: A folding shower chair helps elderly users with restricted mobility to independently shower, while saving storage space too. The Etac Relax White Foldable Shower Seat can be easily assembled and mounted to the wall, and when not in use can simply fold against the wall to maximise storage space. What's more is this shower seat is height adjustable to suit individual needs and provide support regardless of flooring.

Not the Best For... Users that require support from an armrest. Those with more serious mobility issues may require additional support whilst bathing, therefore may require a wall mountable shower seat with armrests such as the Invacare Folding Shower Chair R8804-60.

Not quite what you're after? Check out our full range of folding shower seats for even more choice.

Best Shower Chair and Commode

Our Top Pick: Alerta Aqua Shower, Commode and Transfer Chair

Why We Love It: Offering a shower chair, commode, and transfer chair, the Alerta Aqua Shower, Commode, and Transfer Chair offers three chairs in one, making it a highly efficient and economical investment. This practical chair is ideal for care homes looking to maximise on value and space, while also helping patients with severe restricted mobility be able to shower and use the toilet. It also features removable parts should not all its functions be required, has four wheels each with brakes for maximum safety, is easy to clean to maintain hygiene, and has an adjustable footrest which can be elevated or stowed away when not needed.

Not the Best For... for wider or heavier users. Elderly patients who are larger in size may require a wide chair to support bathing such as the as Harvest Bariatric Shower Commode below.

Not quite what you're after? Check out our full range commode shower chairs for even more choice.

Choosing the Right Shower Chair

As discussed in this guide shower chairs are highly useful for elderly patients with restricted mobility, or those who simply feel unsafe standing for long periods of time under the shower and require just a little support. When choosing the right shower chair it is important to factor in the types of conditions a patient may have such as:

• Pain or weakness in the legs
• Balance problems or dizziness
• Back pain
• Inability to bend to reach feet or body parts

The type of shower chair required will depend on the condition a patient has to ensure the best possible care is given. It is then important to consider the following when choosing the right chair:

• Is the shower chair non-slip?
• Does the shower chair suit the height, shape, size of the patient?
• Are armrests, footrests and head rests required?
• Is the shower chair easy to clean and maintain?
• Is a wall mountable shower required?

At MedicalSupplies.co.uk we're confident we've got a shower chair to suit all requirements. If you've not found the right one in this guide please check our full range of shower chairs. Alternatively if you would like to talk to someone for further advice, please see the contact us page or leave a comment down below.