Most falls at home happen in the bathroom, and most of those falls are preventable. "Aging in place" — staying in the home you love as you get older — starts with making the riskiest room in the house genuinely safe. Here's a practical checklist to work through, whether you're planning changes now or just want to know what to look for.

Entry and flooring

  • Low or no-step entry into the shower — a tub wall or high shower curb is one of the biggest fall risks in the home.
  • Slip-resistant flooring, both inside the shower and on the bathroom floor.
  • No loose bath mats — use non-slip-backed mats, or better yet, textured flooring that doesn't need a mat at all.

Grab bars and support

  • A grab bar inside the shower, positioned where you'll actually reach for it — not just wherever it's easiest to install.
  • A grab bar near the toilet, if getting up and down has become difficult.
  • Never rely on a towel bar as a grab bar — they're not built to support body weight and can fail exactly when you need them most.

Seating and reach

  • A built-in or fold-down shower seat, so standing for the full length of a shower isn't required.
  • A handheld showerhead, so you can rinse off while seated without needing to stand and turn.
  • Shower controls and storage placed within easy reach from a seated position.

Lighting and visibility

  • Bright, even lighting — dim bathrooms make it harder to judge depth, footing, and water on the floor.
  • A nightlight for safer trips to the bathroom after dark.
  • Good color contrast between the floor, walls, and any grab bars, so edges and fixtures are easy to see.

What to do with this checklist

If you're checking off most of these already, that's great — keep it up. If several boxes are unchecked, especially the entry and grab bar items, that's worth addressing sooner rather than later. Small fixes like adding a grab bar can often be done on their own, but if the tub or shower itself is the core problem, a proper conversion solves several of these issues at once.

Curious what a safer bathroom could look like in your own home? Our Tub-to-Shower and Shower-to-Shower conversions are built around this exact checklist — and your first consultation is always free.