Find Senior Care (City or Zip)
Join Now Log In
G
GrannyGrew Asked February 2012

How can you block a lift chair from raising too high?

My mother has a lift chair that she managed to use o.k. for the last 5 months but in the last three weeks she has raised it so high that she has "dumped" herself out on the floor. I contacted the seller to see if there was any to block the chair from raising too high but they were of no help. Does anyone know of a way to keep a lift chair from raising past a safe position?

EXPERT Carol Bradley Bursack, CDSGF Feb 2012
I don't know of any. They are designed to operate smoothly. Maybe someone who knows electrical gadgets can figure out something. I'm surprised it goes that high. If anyone else has a solution, please chime in.
Good luck,
Carol

anonymous158299 Nov 2013
raise it to the desired height, flip it over and add two small gauge chains to the base and chair. theyre made of wood, shouldnt be a problem to screw chains to.

ADVERTISEMENT


Windyridge Jan 2016
I with Pam here. These chairs are for folks that still have basic cognitive skills. Chains or other modifications could lead to real disaster. Don't mess around with Jack leg modifications. There are only 2 solutions: Get rid of the chair or unplug it and plug it in only when the use can be supervised.

Rainmom Jan 2016
I know this is an old thread revived - can't resist posting. My mom has a lift recliner, my brother and I bought it for my dad about seven years ago then mom inherited it after daddy passed. It's in the NH with mom - at some point mom must have spilled something on the hand control as the buttons stick badly - other than that it works great especially for its age. Mom keeps punching holes in the wall behind the chair from not being able to stop it from going back too fast. We keep pulling it away from the wall but it keeps working its way back. After patching the wall three times in 10 weeks they are now just leaving the hole - which is fine by me. I don't know why but I find this situation incrediably funny.

mcs175 Oct 2013
Since my MIL had her stroke she does the same thing only hasnt dumped herself out YET.I think we are going to get rid of it because she thinks she knows what she is doing and I would like one less thing to have her getting angry about. But,if anyone one knows a way to remedy this I would be interested too!!

blannie Nov 2013
Boy, that would be hard to do, because you have to continually hold the button (or toggle switch) in the position to keep the thing going. Does your mom have dementia? My mom (who doesn't have dementia, but has no short-term memory) keeps getting hers half-way up and then gets up, which scares me that she'll trip on the partially extended footrest. Or she doesn't put herself into the standing position before she gets up, which negates the whole purpose of the chair. Her old lift chair died, so I immediately got her a new one and she's had trouble adjusting to the new one. I wish I could have gotten her old chair to work again. Sigh.

blannie Nov 2013
Flip it over? Captain, those chairs weigh about 80-150 pounds. Not too many women are going to be very good at flipping them over and screwing in chains unless they have a strapping guy like you to help them!

pamstegma Nov 2013
If she is dumping, either her legs are too weak or she can't feel her feet hit the floor. If she lacks the cognitive ability to safely operate the chair, get rid of it. They are deliberately made to take the person to a nearly upright position, assuming they can balance themselves and hold themselves upright. Unfortunately they are only a temporary help, as the patient will reach the point where even a lift chair is not enough.

LRichard Jan 2016
I LOVE the idea of the chains. My mother is cognitive and able to use the chairs control BUT because someone else was in the Nursing Facility dumped themselves out of a lift chair, they made a policy that NO ONE can use a chair on their own. So either an aide has to use the control for her OR it has to stay unplugged UNLESS we can come up with a way to keep it from going beyond 95 degree angle. This is worth trying, so thank you Captain!!!

Windyridge Jan 2016
Oops...Didn't realise this was outdated, but sticking to my guns. Don't screw around with these chairs if the person is incompetent. It's the same as putting a stick under the gas pedal so granny cant go to fast.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ask a Question

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter