Bath lifts, bath boards and bath seats

Bath lifts

A bath lift is a seat that sits inside your bath. Living Made Easy says a bath lift can lift you "from near the bottom of the bath (approx 80mm) up to the height of the bath rim".

To use one, you sit on the seat at the level of the bath rim, swing your legs over the side, and then press a button to lower yourself into the water. When you have finished, the lift raises you back up.

Powered bath lifts

Most bath lifts use a rechargeable battery. Living Made Easy explains:

• the battery "must be recharged regularly"
• some lifts will not lower you if there is not enough charge to lift you back up again
• the handset is waterproof
• chargers plug into the mains, so charging "should be carried out away from the bathroom"

Other types

Living Made Easy also describes:

• hydraulic lifts, which need good arm strength
• inflatable lifts, which may be less stable
• lifts with no back support, which it says are not safe "unless you have very good core stability and strength"

Is a bath lift good value?

Living Made Easy says that, although bath lifts can be expensive, a bath lift "may be more cost-effective than installing a special bath or shower".

Bath boards

Living Made Easy describes bath boards as "waterproof boards that fit across the top of the bath". You sit on the board, swing your legs over into the bath, and wash sitting on the board.

To use a bath board or seat safely, Living Made Easy says you need:

• reasonable grip and strength to move on and off the board
• good balance while sitting
• to be able to bend 90 degrees at the hips

Check that the rims of your bath are level and the same height on both sides. Living Made Easy gives a minimum rim width (it gives different figures on different pages), so measure your bath rim and check the board's instructions.

Bath seats

A bath seat sits inside the bath, so you do not have to lower yourself all the way to the bottom. Living Made Easy recommends using a bath seat with a slip-resistant bath mat, and says most plastic (acrylic) baths "are not strong enough to take wedge-in bath seats".

Safety checks

• Weight limit. Living Made Easy says to check the weight capacity of any bath lift, "particularly if you are a large person".
• Brackets and fixings. Check board brackets regularly, especially if the board is taken off for other people to use the bath.
• Bath size. Living Made Easy says a bath 1700mm long allows room for most bath equipment.

VAT

If you are 60 or over, bath lifts have VAT at 5% when they are supplied and installed in your home. If you are disabled, equipment designed for disabled people can be free of VAT. See our VAT relief guide.

See bath aids in our list.

Bathroom aids to look at

• Bath board (Bath lifts, boards and seats)
• Bath seat (Bath lifts, boards and seats)
• Powered bath lift (Bath lifts, boards and seats)

This guide is general information, not medical, financial or legal advice. Everyone’s needs are different. Speak to an occupational therapist, your GP or the organisations we link to before making decisions.