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Toilets for the elderly or disabled
A Macerating Toilet System Gives
Family Caregivers Total Flexibility
With family members providing 80% of caregiving for older adults and loved
ones with disabilities, a spare bathroom in or near the bedroom is essential
for millions of homes. A macerating toilet system is the cost-effective answer
to their needs.
When Carl Pearson’s ailing mother could no longer live alone
safely, he and his wife Rita brought her to their home in Dallas so
they could care for her. Wanting to preserve his mother’s independence
and protect the couple’s privacy, Pearson converted a billiard
room in the remodeled garage into a spacious bedroom suite.
Initially, he thought the arrangement would work well, but soon the
walking distance to use the bathroom inside the house became difficult
and too risky. “My
mother had dementia,” says Pearson, explaining she could get lost easily,
even in a small area.
The billiards room had been plumbed for a sink, but installation of a
conventional bathroom was impossible due to plumbing restrictions. Out
of concern for his mother’s welfare, Pearson put in a portable toilet, assuming it was his
only option. “For four months I cleaned and emptied a porta-potty two or
three times daily,” he recalls.
Then Pearson learned about a Saniflo macerating toilet while doing research
on the Internet: “I knew someone had the solution to our problem.”
Macerating technology is relatively new to North America: 15 years in Canada
and roughly seven years in the United States. But the French parent company of
SFA Saniflo actually developed its line of macerating systems in Europe more
than 50 years ago. Today, SFA markets its macerating systems through more than
500 distributor locations throughout the United States and Canada.
Installs anywhere: Although
the Saniflo product looks like a conventional toilet, there is one
very big difference: A macerating toilet can be installed virtually
anywhere. The “above-floor” technology uses a rotating cutting
blade to convert waste and toilet paper into a slurry that is flushed through
narrow diameter piping into the sewer or septic system.
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| BASEMENT MAKEOVER, USING A SANIFLO MACERATING
SYSTEM. |
“It fit the bill perfectly and
gave us the ability to put a toilet where we never could have one
otherwise,” Pearson says of the Saniflo unit he installed in
the garage suite. Placing a bathroom right inside his mother’s
bedroom greatly improved her safety and quality of life. “She
had her privacy, and we never had any problems with the toilet.” Meanwhile,
Pearson’s days of emptying the portable toilet by hand were
happily behind him.
The simplified installation makes removal a snap too, if desired.
After his mother passed away several years later, Pearson decided
to restore the bedroom suite to the original billiards getaway, and
no longer needed a spare bathroom. He removed the Saniflo toilet
and ended up giving it to a neighbor who happened to be looking for
a solution to a similar plumbing problem for his own mother’s
living area. “It was easy to install and easy to remove,” Pearson
adds. |
Genuine life-saver: For the Pearsons and other caregivers
of an older adult or a person with medical needs, the flexibility to
add a spare bathroom virtually anywhere in the house can be more than
just a convenience; it can also be a life-saver. According to the Home
Safety Council, falls are the leading cause of unintentional home-injury
deaths in the United States, resulting in nearly 6,000 deaths on average
per year. More than 17 percent of fatal home falls occur on stairs
or steps.
For older adults, falls are the leading cause of home-injury death, accounting
for more than 68 percent of all unintentional fatal home injuries for people
between the ages of 65 and 74. Traveling long distances to a bathroom can be
dangerous. The Merck Manual of Geriatrics reports that indoor falls among older
adults occur most often in the bathroom, bedroom and kitchen.
The statistics underscore the value of installing a bathroom in or close by a
sick room or guest room, saving steps and potentially preventing a serious fall.
Combined with the added level of privacy and convenience, a spare bathroom is
an invaluable home improvement. |
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Ideal solution: But
in many homes, the plumbing configuration makes it impractical or
impossible to add a spare bathroom. In others, a lack of space is
an obstacle. In either case, a macerating toilet system is the ideal
solution, because it can be added anywhere with access to water and
electricity – from the basement to the garage
to the attic – even to a closet or a nook under a stairway.
The system is installed directly on top of any finished floor, so there is no
need for costly excavation to install a drain line, even in the basement. Without
the need to dig up floors or tear out walls, a homeowner can add a spare bathroom
quickly and cost-effectively: A new bathroom can be up and running in about half
a day. With this kind of installation flexibility the choice of location is up
to the homeowner, not the plumber.
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BUILD A BATHROOM ANYWHERE
IN THE HOME, EVEN UNDER A STAIRWAY.
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Maceration is a quiet
and efficient process you’ll never see in action. The macerator
pump is fully enclosed, sealed for life and requires no maintenance.
In addition, a macerating system can handle
just a toilet or all the fixtures in a bathroom, including sink,
shower and tub – even on a septic system.
Adapting a home to
accommodate the special needs of an older adult or ailing individual
can be a challenging and emotional process. But with more and more
families providing care to loved ones at home, it’s a reality millions are facing.
AARP calls family members “the backbone” of the long-term
care system in the United States, finding that relatives make up
about 80 percent of the caregiving for people who need help with
daily activities.
When a spare bathroom is called for to make the caregiving home environment
safer and more comfortable, homeowners want an effective option that is also
a good investment. High quality, ease of installation and location flexibility
make a macerating toilet system more than just a good alternative to conventional
plumbing; it’s also a savvy home-improvement choice.
For more information on Saniflo and the Saniflo
product line, consumers and
trades people can contact the company at 1-800-571-8191. Or visit the Saniflo
web site at www.saniflo.com
Photographs used in this article, as well as other Saniflo product images,
are available upon request. Contact John O’Reilly, c/o LNC Communications
LLC at 815.469.9100; e-mail: John@LNCmail.com
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