Rules for equipping sanitary facilities for people with disabilities with handrails

To solve this problem, special equipment is installed in toilets and bathrooms, which is a system of handrails with fasteners. It facilitates self-care for people with limited mobility and reduces the risk of possible injuries. Such systems have a number of requirements, in particular:

• High rigidity and strength of attachment. They must be securely fastened to the walls and be designed for high static and dynamic loads;
• Corrosion resistance. All hand-holding surfaces should be made of aluminum alloy or steel with a protective coating;
• resistance to aggressive media and high temperatures. Equipment should be easy to clean and disinfect, includinli with the use of various chemicals of high activity;
• convenience of arrangement. Handrails should be mounted so that they can be easily found even in twilight or the complete absence of its (for example, in case of emergency blackout artificial lighting);
• anti-vandal design. All elements of the system must be fixed so that they cannot be dismantled by improvised means or otherwise rendered inoperable.

Placement of auxiliary support equipment should be carried out in sanitary units of all facilities and institutions of social and other orientation, visited by people with low mobility. In addition, it is recommended that it be installed in the bathrooms and toilets of apartments and apartment buildings where persons with disabilities reside. This will help them to perform independent hygienic service without the help of accompanying persons and at any time.

Types of handrails for the disabled

There are several basic varieties of special handrails, namely:

• stationary. They are mounted in rooms with a lot of free space;
• hinged. Suitable for standard sanitary facilities in apartment buildings;
• sliding. Universal, and are used both in apartments and public toilets.

They all include such types of elements as:

• straight walled;
• semi-circular wall-mounted;
• angular;
• supporting with several fixing points;
• vertical supporting (with fixation to the floor).

Their combination makes it possible to make visiting the sanitary unit by people with limited mobility the most accessible and safe.

A typical set composition

The standard set of equipment includes everything necessary for its installation:

• brackets of several types: lateral, cup-shaped, spherical, universal;
• stands with holders and fasteners;
• hinges;
• plugs;
• main and additional fixing elements.

In some cases, kits are supplied without fasteners, which positively affects their cost, but requires its separate purchase. It is important that during the installation of all parts must be fixed securely and absolutely still. To this end, you should use bolts of considerable length and strength, as well as dowels and other devices that allow fixing the supports to stone and concrete surfaces.

Rules of installation of handrails for disabled people

Handrail mounting locations must be chosen so that they provide the greatest degree of freedom for people with disabilities when using sanitary equipment. Thus, their installation is obligatory near the bathtub. Most often a fixed angle handrail is mounted there. Near the sink, corner products of rounded or rectangular shape with rounded corners are mounted. In the toilet is usually attached hinged or sliding handrails, providing ease of moving from the wheelchair to the toilet and back.

Longitudinal supporting auxiliary handrails are also installed along the main walls of the toilet. They make it easier not only for people with low mobility, but also for the elderly and people with mobility problems. Thus, about 6-7 handrails of various types are needed for large public sanitary rooms, and about 3-4 for homes (assuming that the bathroom and toilet are separate).