Do we want a Making Life Easier thread?

[agate]

Oh my. Yes, you could have had a bad fall!

That has been a concern of mine and I had real doubts about this but the indicator light is what sold me on it. I'm going to try to remember to notice that light daily and make sure it's always green.

I also had doubts about locating it on the side of a painted wooden cabinet but apparently that's OK. It's not in the shower. It's near the toilet.

My left-side weakness isn't getting any better and being able to hoist myself up from the toilet by hanging onto something is very helpful.

[flatcap]

Personally, I would not use one of these unless I had to and there was no alternative. Grab bars of this type have been known to fail, which can obviously be a problem.

If I did have one and use it, I would be taking it down with each use and putting it back up when I need it. That way, you might never take a spill because the darn thing popped off the surface it is supposedly to stuck to. The vacuum between the suction cups and the surface inevitably bleeds away after some time, so it needs constant renewal in order for the device to be safe.

Even then, I still wouldn't use one. I come from the school of hell-for-stout engineering and consider a properly mounted permanent grab bar a better, much safer alternative. It can be costly, yes, but you get what you pay for.

Last, if you're living in a rental property that doesn't have a grab bar in the tub or shower and the property owner refuses to have one installed, I would say you should either file a discrimination complaint with the proper authority or move somewhere else. I don't think it is worth taking a chance.

YMMV

[flatcap]

Untying Knots

This can be difficult to accomplish regardless of your disability or lack thereof. You don't have to be disabled in order to find it hard to untie a knot. What is needed is a tool with a hook on it, preferably made of some type of stiff plastic so it doesn't cut the string/rope/shoelace.

I used to be a small game hunter and would often have a rifle that needed cleaning after a successful day in the field. A tool of the type described here was produced in the late 1990s through the early 2000s for cleaning firearms. They were called "1K1 Tools" by the manufacturer because they have so many other uses.

The photo below shows what they look like, but sadly, they are no longer in production. I am fortunate to have a set. I would guess there are alternatives, but I don't know whether that is true or not. If there are, I would almost bet they are made of steel. Perhaps a dental tool would work.

Anyway, the concept here is The Practical Tool of the Day.

1K1 Tools still has a Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register..., but it is just an example of the work that was done by the firm that built it, and as I said, the tools are out of production.



1K1 Tools

[agate]

I'm going to look into this. As someone who's been crocheting and (previously) knitting for years, I often have knots to undo. Crocheting is just a process of making knots but sometimes there are unwanted knots that have to be dealt with. My usual method when fingers won't work is to grab a safety pin and use the pointy end to tease the knot open. Something with an actual hook on it would work better. There are tiny crochet hooks that I hardly ever use but one of them might work.

[flatcap]

Chemicals

I keep some around but not many. The two I always have on hand are acetone and rubbing alcohol.

As I am sure everyone knows, you can get acetone anywhere they sell nail polish. It is generally used to remove old nail polish before applying a new coat from scratch.

Acetone has other uses, such as dissolving adhesives. For example, if you have a label on a container you wish to remove and it's stuck there well and good, acetone will make removing the label as easy as a cake walk.

The problem comes when the labeled object is plastic. Acetone will dissolve most such objects.

That is one place where rubbing alcohol shines. If you take something like a paper towel, wet it with rubbing alcohol, then cover the label with it and let it sit there awhile, the glue attaching the label to the container will dissolve. You can then remove the label without having damaged the substrate. Rubbing alcohol will not dissolve most plastics, and as I am sure everyone knows, you can find it all over the place.

Whether using acetone or rubbing alcohol, removing the label can be a little messy, but it will come off if you are patient.

This is just one example of the utility of acetone and rubbing alcohol. There are many other everyday uses for these chemicals. They need to be safely stored where there is no fire hazard — both are flammable — but it's a small price to pay for what you can get out of them.

[agate]

I always keep those around. Also lighter fluid though I don't have a lighter. It's great for removing the sticky residue that you get after you remove some product labels.

And here's a question for anyone who has thoughts on this. I see people walking around with their cellphones in hand. But where do they put them on their person? In a handbag? Not everyone carries a handbag.

I've tried putting mine in my pocket but it throws me off balance. It's just too heavy. I have the impression that most people keep them in their pockets, however. Maybe some cellphones aren't as heavy as mine.

Anyway, it seems that clothes are being re-designed with cellphones in mind. I never buy anything from this catalog but for some reason I get their catalogs and leaf through them to see what the fashionable people are buying. This is described in the print catalog this way: "Our sporty, best-selling leggings have cellphone pockets on both legs."

Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

Does this style innovation appeal to anyone? Wouldn't a heavier cellphone put the person off balance with the phone stored on one leg?

I'm probably far more easily put off balance than healthier people but I'm just wondering.

[Virginia]

Agate, I think I have a pair of slacks that have what I call cargo pockets. I would not want to carry my iphone around in one of the pockets. Having said that the slacks make for comfortable slacks to wear around the house or neighborhood.

[flatcap]

Agate, cargo leggings? Doesn't that kind of defeat their purpose? Anytime I see a woman wearing leggings, I think to myself that she is showing off as much as she can without getting arrested.

I also see a lot of women carrying their cell phone in their back pockets. Even servers do it sometimes. I don't know how they get away with that. If I had an expensive smartphone, I wouldn't want to sit on it, that's for sure. At a minimum, I would crush it, and I weigh a lot less than 150.

I'm sure most people are smart enough to not sit on their phone. I'd like to think I am, too, but I am forgetful. It would only be a matter of time before I sat on mine if I carried it in my back pocket.

[flatcap]

I think I previously talked about cushions for shower seats and chairs, but whether I did or not, I thought to post an update.

First, I use my cushion sitting on the floor of the bathtub, not on a chair or seat. I also put a hand towel under it to keep the cushion from slipping around in the tub. The top of the cushion remains slippery, but there is nowhere to fall when you are already sitting on the ground. I don't have any problem slipping off it anyway. Whether this is due to the ergonomics of the cushion, I do not know. All I know is, it works. (You could also put a hand towel down on the cushion before you sit down; you most assuredly will not slip off that once it is wet.)

I bought another cushion on Amazon before this one that was some sort of miracle foam with a number of large [holes] through it for drainage and the entire thing covered by a netting material. Unfortunately, that one never would completely dry out, so it mildewed, and off it went in the trash. I don't think it could have ever been cleaned and, even if it could have, the cycle would have just repeated itself.

Anyway, this is the cushion I am using now: Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

I weigh about 140 and have a pretty bony butt, if that is any guide. The cushion is firm but not hard, at least not to me. I have been using it about two or three months, and it looks like it will probably last years. It dries almost instantly, so I don't think there is much to worry about in terms of it rotting the way the other one did. Some might argue it is expensive at $20, which it is considering how little it probably cost to make, but it is worth it to me. I might even buy a spare, just in case.

Last, as some Amazon reviewers noted, the listing is for the cushion only, not the chair shown with it in the photo. That need not be said here, I'm sure, but I thought I nevertheless would.

Hope this helps.

ETA: In addition to adding the word "holes" to my post, I thought I should mention that the cushion does not bottom out with my weight on it. How much more it could take before it did, I do not know, but I think it would probably be more than a little. It is rated at 300 lbs.

[agate]

Virginia and flatcap, sorry I didn't see your replies (of July 17) here until just now.

Virginia, I've often wondered whether people liked cargo pockets or whether they carried things in them and if so, did the things being carried (on the sides of the legs) throw people off balance. You say they're comfortable, and that is good to know. I wouldn't ever want to wear leggings but it sounds as if the cargo pockets on any type of pants aren't a balance problem.

flatcap, I would be worried about sitting on a phone too. Even just carrying one in my handbag, I'm entirely too apt to drop it. Those things are slippery!

That cushion sounds like an inspired idea, and I don't think $20 is too much for it considering what it's being asked to do. It has to be able to be soaking wet and then dry out in a timely way. I have a couple of kneeling cushions that aren't designed to get wet and they cost around $10-15 many years ago. I'm going to look into it. The kneeling cushions have been salvation for me every time I have to kneel on the ground. I've used them outdoors and in and they've never given me any problem.

[agate]

The previous post was entered as a "Comment" on my post of 7/12/23 (10:57 PM). I thought it would show up in a different way but as it is, nobody would know what I'm talking about.

The suction-type grab bar that fell down after almost 2 months of staying in place is now sitting around and waiting for me to decide what to do with it. I don't want it falling down with a crash in the middle of the night again.

I went back to the reviews of it on Amazon and found one reviewer who recommended putting it up only when needed and then taking it down. I might try that as it's easy to apply and remove. I'm not sure whether it will last very long that way but we'll see.

Stay tuned for the next episode in this exciting story!

[flatcap]

I agree with the reviewers, Agate.

As I mentioned above, I would recommend mounting the grab bar when you need it, taking it down afterwards, and remounting it when you next use it. Any vacuum seal will leak over time, so the vacuum needs to be reestablished periodically. The question is when. The answer when safety is of paramount concern is every time the seal is used.

If at all possible, I would recommend installing a permanent grab bar. Those are the only truly safe alternative. The property managers where you live might or might not be willing to do this for you, but the answer is always "No" if you never ask the question. I would ask — and press for it — if it were me.

I hope this issue is resolved to your satisfaction soon.

[Virginia]

I agree you need permanently installed grab bars. In my opinion, the suction type, no matter how good or nice are just not safe.

[agate]

Thank you, Virginia and flatcap, for the input!

That grab bar is just sitting around waiting for me to reinstall it but I'm not going to leave it installed. Every time I take a bath I might install it, then remove it afterwards.

I thought that the green light would gradually turn red, or at least stay red for a while, and I'd have time to notice that it was red and reapply it. I was checking it just about once a day, and still it fell down. It made quite a lot of noise when it fell too. So it must turn red and almost immediately come loose and fall. Maybe it turned red and stayed red for 15 hours or so and I didn't notice it.

The bathroom already has four permanently installed grab bars--one of which must have been installed by a previous resident because the management told me they didn't know what it was doing there. It's moderately useless for just about anyone but someone must have had a reason for putting it there. There's another removable one that I got and applied to the edge of the bathtub. It's been working well for several years now. It clamps onto the bathtub, and occasionally I tighten it up by turning a knob on it.

But I should definitely ask about another permanently installed grab bar. The management just might agree, particularly since more and more people here seem to be asking for (and getting) different bathtubs with doors on them, and having to install them for people is clearly a big pain for the powers-that-be. I already told the manager that I didn't want one because apparently the bathtub would still be 5 inches higher than the bathroom floor. I'm just having to train myself better on that.

As we age, we just have to work out new ways of doing things, eh?

I just can't bend over to pick things up off the floor, for instance. I can almost get there but miss by an inch or so. I've been getting very adept with the reacher and have figured out ways of getting pieces of paper off the floor with it by using a foot to lift the paper slightly, enough to grab hold of it with the reacher.

It's that kind of problem that we seem to have to solve quite often. I think these efforts are called "ADL" (activities of daily living)?

[agate]

I hardly ever do this but in this case it seems important to speak up. I put this review of the suction-type grab bar on Amazon:

I bought this item early in July and applied it as directed. I checked its indicator color EVERY DAY to make sure no red was showing. About 2 months later it fell down with quite a loud noise in the middle of the night, waking me up and possibly disturbing neighbors. I'm sure I had checked that indicator color at least 36 hours before that. Nowhere have I found any indication that I should have been checking that indicator more often than that. I returned to your Website and reread the comments, noticing that one person recommends installing it only when the user needs it, then uninstalling it immediately--in other words, never leaving it up for long. This is not an option for my situation, and the 30-day refund period has expired. So I have thrown away $26.00 and am quite unhappy about that. This seemed like such a good idea, and I assumed that it wouldn't fall down without showing that red indicator for quite a while--a couple of days at least. Nope.