Published on 8th July 2008 by Brad Brubaker in Health

People who suffer from osteoarthritis or other joint disorders often find that they can not safely use the stairs. This can make large areas of a home inaccessible or can mean that you must rely on others to help you up and down the steps. A stair lift is a personal lifting aid that can be installed in many cases to ensure that you are always able to use the stairs. A stair lift will actually carry a single person up and down the stairs. They usually use a chair to carry the person, but some models do use a small platform called a perch. A strong metal track system is secured to the stairs and the chair or perch is sent up and down the stairs. Some stair lifts are capable of supporting over 500 pounds, but most support around 300 pounds. A perch lift is used by people who can not sit and stand easily. When using a perch lift, the rider will remain standing while they are carried up and down the stairs. This requires a good sense of balance, but most perch lifts do have extra handholds to improve safety. Your average perch lift can not support as much weight as a stair chair. Usually perch lifts can support around 250 pounds. There are many models of stair lifts available and many are designed to be elegant additions to your home. If space is an issue, you can invest in a folding stair chair, whose seat folds up when not in use in order to take up less space. A variety of different colors are available for the chair of the stair lift as well. Browns and tans are some of the more popular, but there are many other colors to choose from. Battery powered lifts are very popular and many people decide to install this kind of lift. The major advantage to a battery powered lift is that it can be used even if the power is to go out. The battery is constantly charging in a quality battery powered lift, so you always have a full charge. They tend to be a little more expensive though and you will have to replace the battery from time to time. The cost of the battery varies, but they usually cost less than $70 to replace, but usually last for 2 or 3 years. Traditional electric stair lifts are still available and remain popular as well. These types of lifts get their power directly from the wall and are less expensive than a battery powered lift. Of course the downside to this type of lift is that if the power goes out, your chair will not work. Both these types of lifts and battery powered lifts plug directly into a normal electrical outlet. Not being able to safely use the stairs is a major concern for many people. It presents a very large obstacle that might prevent a person from using their home to the fullest. A stair lift can usually be installed to ensure that the stairs can be used safely and without any outside assistance.

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