Bath Lift Buyer's Guide. Choosing the Right Bath Lift For You

Health and Care provide an excellent selection of bath lifts allowing you to choose the right bath lift for your requirements. Choosing a bath lift can often be a difficult process, but at Health and Care, we try to make the process as easy as possible, with free fast delivery on all items. In this guide, we will explain how bath lifts work, which bath lifts are our most popular, what type of baths are compatible with bath lifts, how easy the bath lifts are to clean and other important information. So let's get started...

Why Do I Need A Bath Lift

Many people love to relax in a bath, swishing around in the bubbles in the company of a bright yellow duck called Norman. However, for some people bathing can be a difficult occasion. If you experience trouble getting in and out of the bath, have limited motion, or are disabled, a bath lift may be for you. Our bath lifts lower you into the water and raise your out of the water in a controlled motion making bathing a pleasure.

How Exactly Do Bath Lifts Work

Bath lifts provide that extra helping hand and assurance when bathing. Bath lifts are powered, so there is no need to lift yourself or lower yourself into the water by hand or using any strength. Each bath lift is supplied with a hand controller unit, which is similar to a large television remote control but easier to use and has fewer buttons. The hand controllers are designed to make it easy to press the "Up" and "Down" buttons with ease, even when the controller unit is wet or it you have limited dexterity in your hands and fingers.

The power to the bath lift is supplied through the hand controller. There is no need to plug the bath lift into a socket, so the bath lift is safe to use in a wet bathroom environment. Instead, the power comes from the rechargeable battery enclosed with the hand controller. This means that there is no need for a plug socket, nor for electrical wires. Simply attach the hand controller to the waterproof cord that runs to the bath lift and the bath lift will be safely powered. The bath lift hand controllers are easy to recharge. Simply unplug the hand controller from the bath lift and plug it into the recharging cable which can be placed elsewhere in the house. Often leaving the hand controller on charge for a few hours recharges the battery fully ready for the next day's bath. The bath lifts have a safety feature which does not allow the bath lift to lower you into the bath if there is not enough charge in the hand controller to raise you back out again. This enables you to have a worry free bath safe in the knowledge that you can get back out after a long and well earned soak.

The bath lifts rise and lower you using a scissor frame underneath the seat. This allows a smooth and stable lowering and raising motion and enables the bath lift to function in small spaces as the "footprint" of the bath lift is small.

Talking of footprints... the bath lifts are fitted with suction cups at the bottom which attach to the bath for stability. It is important that the suction cups make good contact with the surface of the bath to keep the lift in place. TheAquila Bath Lifthas 4 suction cups and theMinivator Bliss Bath Lifthas 6 suction cups, however both are very stable.

Most of the bath lifts that we stock are reclining bath lifts. This means that the back of the bath lift is adjustable, enabling you to lie down in the bath rather than sit up straight. Although the bath lifts do not full reline to a horizontal position, they do recline into a comfortable and safe position enabling most of your upper body to submerge in the bubbles.

Are Bath Lifts Suitable For All Baths?

Our bath lifts are designed to fit into a wide range of baths, even very narrow baths. The Aquila Bath Lift is especially good at fitting into narrow baths as the suction cups pivot and swivel to make a good contact even on the sloping sides near the bottom of the "V" or "U" shape of the bath. Each bath lift on the website will give dimensions allowing you to calculate whether your bath is large enough to accommodate the bath lift. Both the Minivator Bliss and the Aquila Bath lift provide enough leg room to stretch out in the bath.

If you have a corner bath, the options for a bath lift do narrow. The Neptune Bath Lift is a possible option, however this is not a reclining bath lift. It lowers the user into the bath in a sitting position, as though you were sitting upright in a high back chair. This bath lift is ideal for carers and is a firm favourite with occupational therapists. If using this item in a corner bath, ensure that the dimensions are suitable for your requirements before purchasing.

Are Bath Lifts Easy To Clean?

Probably the easiest bath lift to clean is the Aquila bath lift. It has an antimicrobial surface which protects against harmful bacteria, as well as smooth surfaces that stop any dirt getting trapped. This makes it easy to maintain a clean bath lift using  simple cleaning products. The Aquila bath lift can also be divided into two pieces allowing it to be cleaned easily as well as enabling it to be removed from the bath in two easy to manage parts without a struggle.

Our Best Selling Bath Lifts

The Minivator Bliss Bath Lift and the Aquila Bath Lift are our best selling bath lifts, however other bath lifts may be more suitable for your needs. The Aquajoy bath lift is also a fantastic item which can hold much heavier users and has a very strong motor (called an actuator).

The Minivator Bliss bath lift is available at the incredible price of £249.99 which includes free fast delivery and all VAT costs. For this reason, it is a very popular and affordable choice of bath lift. Here's what our customers have said about it:

"Great bath lift - good features, easy to use, and arrived in double quick time. Thoroughly recommend."

"Very easy to use and operate and a very reasonable price."

"Very Good bath lift at good price. Excellent very quick delivery."

"It is very good and the The reclining bath works very well indeed I work it for my partner as he has Alzyhmers"

"Easy to use site and excellent delivery service"

"A wonderful piece of equipment. For some time difficult to lift myself out of the bath, now no trouble at all. Delivery was the day after ordering, couldn't have wished for better. Keep the good work up."

"Excellent product all round don't know how we managed to cope without it and the quick response we received this item on the date you gave us. Highly recommended from this company."

The Aquila bath lift is probably an even better deal at only our price of only £299.99 including free fast delivery and VAT costs. With a recommended retail price of £499.99, Health and Care are offering this bath lift at a unbelievable price, with a huge saving of £200. There is no need for bath lift voucher codes or bath lift coupons. Our prices are permanently low, giving you the best deal possible. Here's what our customers have said about the Aquila bath lift:

"A simple to use, easy to manage lift which fits most domestic baths. Very prompt despatch from suppliers with excellent customer support. Staff when contacted were knowledgeable & helpful. Good value for money. Recommend to those who find difficulty in accessing the bath."

"Excellent bath seat. Couldn't believe the delivery time - arrived less that 36 hours after I'd clicked the order button on Sunday night - amazing (and free delivery!). Great price for this type of seat."

Can I Get VAT Relief On My Bath Lift?

Health and Care offer VAT relief if you are eligible. The important thing to note about bath lifts is that they are designed for the elderly or those with limited mobility and VAT relief is therefore available on these items. The person claiming the VAT or the person claiming the VAT on behalf of the eligible person must consider whether the disability or chronic condition means that a bath lift is needed. To use an example, someone who does not have the use of their legs will almost certainly be able to claim VAT relief on the item. However, someone who is deaf but does not have limited mobility or another condition that necessitates the use of a bath lift, would not be able to claim VAT relief for a bath lift. They may however be able to claim VAT relief on our vast range of amplified telephones. For further information about VAT relief, visit our VAT relief page or contact HMRC for guidance.

Can I Install The Bath Lift Myself?

Our bath lifts are all very easy to install and operate. Noramlly they will be able to work straight out of the box without the need for tools and screwdrivers. Before using the bath lift, the rechargeable hand controllers will require a long charge which normally takes about eight to twelve hours to ensure that the battery life is kept at its optimum. After that, simply plug the hand controller into the bath lift and away you go. We would recommend fully reading the instructions that are supplied with bath lift before operation. If you feel that you may need assistance with the installation or with setting the item up, we would recommend getting the help of a friend, family member or neighbour just to get going. The bath lifts are designed to be easy to operate and use on your own but a helping hand at the beginning can often be very useful.

More Information

If you need any further information about the bath lifts on the Health and Care website, please contact us directly, and a member of the Health and Care Customer Care Team will be happy to assist you with your enquiry. We hope you have found this introductory guide to our bath lifts helpful.