Website guide to mobility aids

[agate]

The United Spinal Association has a guide to a wide variety of mobility aids. I'm including the link in the Useful Websites thread revision and wanted to call attention to it here as well:

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

[Lazarus]

That is a very useful site. Thanks.

There is one thing I am looking into. Ceiling lights! All the ones in my house and all the ones I find when shopping, have those damn 3 little screws that have to be put in and it is the most insane system as well as impossible for me to do. Elderly people have the same problem.

I just bought 3 pole lamps to join the other floor lamps all over my house. I don’t even try to change lightbulbs in ceiling fixtures anymore. I used to have a fixture where the outside covering easily snapped into place. No longer available.

Maybe someone who reads this knows answers.

[Virginia]

I have that problem also Linda. There is no way to change a ceiling light. I use lamps and floor lamps. That is fine in most rooms, but I want ceiling lights in kitchen and bedroom.

I have just ordered some lights that stick under the kitchen cabinets which I think are going to make that area bright. I have a light over my sink and the one over my stove, but there are places that I really need a ceiling light. Laundry area is another place.

If I had a handyman I would just pay to get the light bulbs changed.

[stillstANNding]

One of Peter's nicknames is, "Mr Longarms." My Mom always has a fixture or two that she wants Peter to change the bulbs in.

Peter had to work part of MLK Day because of a hearing the next morning. So, he has tomorrow off. Yes!

ANN

[Lazarus]

I have that problem also Linda. There is no way to change a ceiling light. I use lamps and floor lamps. That is fine in most rooms, but I want ceiling lights in kitchen and bedroom.

I have just ordered some lights that stick under the kitchen cabinets which I think are going to make that area bright. I have a light over my sink and the one over my stove, but there are places that I really need a ceiling light. Laundry area is another place.

If I had a handyman I would just pay to get the light bulbs changed.

Thanks. It is nice to know I am in good company.

I bought the lights that go under your cupboards and was thrilled...for a couple of weeks! The batteries die quickly...4 AAA or is it AAAA? Anyway,the one John stuck in an area that lights an area that goes on only once a day is working well. It is just that the ones I stuck under kitchen cabinets go on and off too often. There are some that are identical but get plugged in but I have not read details.

What has worked better was just to put them flat on my counters. I discovered that this worked when one kept falling and when I left it on the counter I discovered that it gave enough light anyway!

[agate]

Ceiling lights have been a problem for me even before MS came along, especially the glass globes that have 3 little screws that you can't see while you're hanging onto the globe so as not to drop it.

In this building the ceiling lights are too high for anyone to reach them unless the person is quite tall and willing to get up on a ladder, and so the management changes those bulbs. Their solution has been to replace all bulbs with the compact fluorescents. They don't last forever but they do last a lot longer than any other light bulb I've dealt with.

I have a two-step stepladder that I use to change bulbs in a couple of the fixtures I can reach. One is on the bathroom wall--a glass casing with a couple of screws, with 4 light bulbs under it. Since I had the same type of fixture in my previous apartment, you might say I've had a lot of experience. There were times when I climbed up onto the washbasin/counter just to change lightbulbs but usually I use the stepladder.

The stepladder I've had for over 10 years came into use just the other day when I had to replace two bulbs in that bathroom fixture. I did it but wondered why some odd bits of black rubber appeared on the floor when I put the ladder back in the closet. After much investigation, I realized that the rubber feet on the stepladder were rotting away and crumbling off, and that was why the ladder had felt oddly wobbly when I was on it.

Maybe some people would save money and just keep the ladder for many years but I've fallen from enough stepladders, thanks. I've ordered a new stepladder, just like the old one, which was the most nearly perfect stepladder I've ever had. I'll just watch its rubber feet to make sure they're not rotting. Maybe these stepstools aren't expected to last so very long--like everything else.

I'd have thought it might last many decades but it didn't even last two. I've been expecting too much.

This is a very lightweight aluminum stepstool that actually locks shut and stays shut. The steps are wide enough to feel secure.

I

[Virginia]

That great Agate. I have a two step stepladder and did well on it for many years, but now balance is such that I cannot do it. Of course, with the two step one I couldn't reach any high places.

[Lazarus]

That great Agate. I have a two step stepladder and did well on it for many years, but now balance is such that I cannot do it. Of course, with the two step one I couldn't reach any high places.

Hello Virginia,
This is not about stepladders although I do have one that I love which has an arcing Hadley that goes over the top and gives me something very steady to hang onto.

I did want to say that I bought pole lamps through Amazon. I think one company was Boston Harbour. Anyway, each light can be turned on and off separately and using a 60 watt LED light gives all the light we need in the dark living room. I often buy something that is “Amazon’ s Choice” because I have found I can trust the product. Problem solved. The two kinds I bought are each only 64” tall which makes them shorter than most. Assembling requires pulling the cord through the bottom and thereby lining up the 3 parts of the pole that screw together. I have a bar of beeswax that made it super easy to screw the parts together as they stuck a bit at first.

Anyway, I am thrilled. The 3 60 watt bulbs used give so much light I can finally see details on paintings hanging on my walls!

[agate]

Linda, I'm so glad you mentioned pole lamps. I've never had one but it might be the answer to an ongoing problem I have.

The light in the living room isn't adequate but there isn't much room for any more lamps. I recall that pole lamps give a lot of light but take up very little space.

Nice to know that they aren't a huge assembly project!

[Virginia]

Funny, I have always called them "floor lamps" rather than "pole lamps". I have always had one in my living room, even before I had to concern myself about lighting. I just happen to like this one. It sits at one end of my couch and gives good light if I have strong enough bulbs in it.

Agate, glad your problem may be solved for you.

Linda, when my lights that go under kitchen counters come in (I ordered them) I will consider just laying them on counter top since you have told me about batteries giving out so quickly. There was a lady that I worked with who had some kind of lights stuck under her kitchen counters, which she just loved the way it made the kitchen look at night. She never mentioned that batteries had to be changed often and it was before LED lights. I wonder if LED light batteries give out sooner than regular ones.

[Lazarus]

[QUOTE=Virginia;72719]Funny, I have always called them "floor lamps" rather than "pole lamps". I have always had one in my living room, even before I had to concern myself about lighting. I just happen to like this one. It sits at one end of my couch and gives good light if I have strong enough bulbs in it.

Agate, glad your problem may be solved for you.

Could be that the batteries don’t last long enough because I am in and out of that area too much. Maybe it would help me diet if I tried to go there less frequently!

I wanted to say that these new lamps give a huge amount of light. In the 2 I bought I can turn on/off each of the 3lights on the pole separately. When all 3 are on they give a huge amount of light.

[Howie]

I bought a ladder that folds in all kinds of shapes from a 20' regular ladder, to a five foot step ladder. It can be folded to a shape that fits the terrain, so you can make it sit securely anywhere.

And for lighting, I bought two of those Tac Lanterns. It's VERY bright to light up anywhere. And a magnetic base so it holds it on any metal surface, or has the handles that fold over it to hang.

[Virginia]

Maybe if I had the right kind of ladder I might could use a two step still. Maybe I'll get one and see.