Why cheap shower and bath chairs aren't worth it
Buying cheap shower chairs in our view is not a great idea for anyone with significant mobility challenges. The price may be tempting, but there’s many downsides.
If you’re looking for a shower chair that provides everything a mobility impaired person could possibly need from assistive technology in the bathroom, then Showerbuddy is the choice. Through decades of ongoing research and development, the Showerbuddy product range brings a level of comfort, independence and ease to the bathroom process than anything before it.
What makes Showerbuddy’s range so appealing to both users and their families is that it provides support across the entire bathroom process. As a shower chair, the sturdy frame, arm and feet rests, and reinforced cushioning is simply best in class for support during bathing. It’s also a reliable companion for using the toilet, washing up, and even getting from the bedroom to the bathroom and back again. There’s a reason why it’s called a complete bathroom mobility solution.
Our shower chairs once again allow users to enjoy a relaxing shower. Best of all, this solution requires no permanent bathroom modifications.
Showerbuddy’s well known for making the transfer process hassle-free and much safer. This is because our chairs don’t require manual lifting of the user to use the shower – they stay seated in their Showerbuddy, and are moved (or move themselves depending upon the chair model) into the shower area.
The Transfer range works with a 3 part system consisting of the shower chair itself, a bridge that clears the edge of shower unit or bathtub, and an in-shower base that is firmly fitted. The user stays in the chair the whole time, but is moved up to and connected to the bridge. Once connected, the top half of the chair can be slid across the bridge, over top of the in-shower base, where the user has 360 swivel motion available, in the shower enclosure SB1 chair, helping the carer access and position the user easier.
It’s not just the shower that our systems are used for though. The Showerbuddy is designed to be positioned over top of most standard toilets that, with the included commode opening in the cushion, gives users a supportive, comfortable toilet option.
The entire bathroom process can be done without a single manual lift. Once the user is safely back in the bedroom, they can be transferred out of the Showerbuddy.
The ability to tilt back in a shower chair helps in a number of ways. First, some users may require a reclined body position in order to take body weight pressure off. Other users may need to be tilted in order to allow safe bathing by a carer. And for many users, clearing legs across the edge of the bathtub is much easier when the chair itself tilts back vs. manually lifting these.
Whatever the reasons behind a tilting requirement, Showerbuddy offers tilting options of our bathtub transfer range, that come with neck rests to support the head in these reclined positions.
Showerbuddy doesn’t just create shower chairs for use with a carer. Many of our users with mobility challenges have full upper body control and use a wheelchair routinely on their own. We offer the SB6w Roll-InBuddy Solo which brings the format of a wheelchair to the bathroom. All the same functions and comfort of a standard roll-in style Showerbuddy chair, with large drive wheels that give full control back to the user.
For the mobile or keen traveller, Showerbuddy offers a shower chair especially built for the task. The SB7e Eco Traveller also has an accessory travel bag that can be purchased separately and packs down to a footprint that fits in a standard hatchback vehicle and makes for easy luggage on a flight. It’s also ideal for a shower chair that needs to be packed down and stored in the home.
The Showerbuddy range offers an incredibly safe showing experience. The build of our chairs keeps the user in a comfortable, secure position, with safe access for a carer to assist. For users that need extra support keeping stable, our chairs come with seat and chest belts to stay in place.
All our showerbuddy chairs from the Roll in range to the Transfer range are locked securely into place with strong brakes. The build of our chairs and bases ensures that the equipment stays firmly in place, even with rapid change in weight distribution and wet, slippery environments. This gives users and their families peace of mind every shower.
We understand that users come in different sizes. For the typical open plan wet room style shower, we offer the Roll-InBuddy options for a number of different sizes, with seat widths including 18, 22 and 26 inches. Our range can accommodate users of up to 200kg depending on model.
For the small user and children, we offer the PetiteBuddy which brings the dimensions of Showerbuddy down to accommodate shorter and slimmer body types.
We prioritise our users’ comfort during bathing. The Showerbuddy range is manufactured with thick foam and vinyl covered seat cushions, combining the soft adaptable cushion feeling with a reassuring sense of stability and durability.
And if you require a cushion opening for commode use that’s non-standard, such as a smaller opening, we have a large range of cushion options to suit including our softer comfort foam cushions. When it comes time to clean, the whole cushion can be removed and cleaned thoroughly.
What makes Showerbuddy chairs so popular with our mobility impaired community is that we create products that work around the individual. We don’t expect our users to adapt to the limitations of a chair.
That’s why our range has key adjustments built in across the board:
Different models have other adjustments available, such as tilting the seated position back up to 30 degrees for comfort and clearance.
Our shower chairs all come with an included commode pail that enables bedside use or away from bathroom operation. The pail is easy to remove, and can be replaced with the user in the chair. The pail is also designed with a handle and lid for safe protective cleaning.
The benefits of showerbuddy extend to the ability to customise the chair to fit the user’s specific needs. Our accessories range modifies the transfer bridge length, provides neck support, offers different seat openings, narrows armrest width and more. Showerbuddy models can be ordered with accessories, or have these added on later as the user’s needs evolve over time.
We take designing and producing shower chairs seriously at Showerbuddy. From the CAD design through to the production and shipping of our products, every element is considered carefully.
Our non-rusting, powder-coated frames are made from hardened aluminium. They’re designed to be wet in a shower for the long term with no signs of wear. The chair frame is covered by a lifetime warranty against rusting and corrosion, so they can be used with total peace of mind.
The assembly of our shower chairs are also affixed with high grade stainless steel, brass and plastic hardware and fittings. The whole package is shipped and out of the box assembled 90%, meaning that users can be using their Showerbuddy in under an hour of delivery. The small amount of assembly required at the home is tool-free.
Showerbuddy makes sure to reduce non-recyclable materials, including packaging. In 2020 Showerbuddy removed all polystyrene and non-recyclable packaging as well as reduced general plastic packaging to a minimum in order to protect our environment, yet still protect the chair quality during shipping.
The Showerbuddy chairs can be recycled at the end of their life, simply talk to your distributor.