The summer is almost here! On Saturday, June 20th, we will officially usher in what many consider to be the best season of the year. Of course, the COVID-19 crisis isn’t quite behind us yet. So, it’s bound to be a bit of a bizarre summer, to say the least. Nevertheless, it’s time of year to enjoy.
Part of enjoying the summer is staying safe. This is particularly true for our elderly population. In last week’s blog, we outlined a number of important ways for seniors to stay safe during the summertime. In this week’s blog, we’d like to highlight a few safety tips of a different kind. For individuals who use wheelchairs, these tips will come in quite handy. Keeping your wheelchair safe from damage and disrepair is one guaranteed way to enjoy a worry-free summer.
Make sure the battery is fully charged.
If you have a power wheelchair, a fully charged battery is integral. The last thing you want is to be caught out in the heat, or even a storm, without having any juice left in your mobility device. Keep in mind that the summer heat tends to cause wheelchair batteries to drain a lot quicker than normal. Be sure to charge your power wheelchair’s battery before leaving your home. It doesn’t hurt to carry along a few extra batteries as well.
Try to avoid puddles.
After a rainfall, puddles are commonplace. Generally harmless little pools of water, puddles can actually be hazardous to wheelchairs and their users. In many cases, it can be hard to tell just how shallow or deep a puddle is. If you roll your wheelchair over a big one, you run the risk of damaging the wheels. To avoid any damage, navigate around puddles and move as slowly as possible. You also don’t want any water splashing up onto your wheelchair and your person.
“Avoid any puddles and wet surfaces,” insists HealthNetCafe.com, “Splashing through a puddle with your motorised wheelchair can cause the whole wheelchair to become wet, slide, spin, tip and fall over. You may prefer to avoid the wet surface and skirt around the area instead. If it is raining outside, proceed with caution and at a slow pace.”
Clean the wheelchair regularly.
It goes without saying that your wheelchair can get a lot dirtier with outdoor use. As a rule of thumb, clean your wheelchair no less than once a week. Not only will you keep it from having a deteriorated appearance, you will likely prolong its usage.
Cleaning can be as simple as using a damp cloth to wipe the wheelchair down. Remove any and all debris, dirt and mud from all areas of the wheelchair. Accumulated dirt and grime can build up over time, decreasing the wheelchair’s effectiveness.
At Advantage Home Health Solutions, we offer a wide variety of high quality manual wheelchairs and power wheelchairs. For more information about them, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 403-460-5438. You may also email us by filling out the form on our Contact page!
