Printable Bathroom Safety Checklist
The same twenty fixes as our full bathroom safety checklist, condensed onto a single page you can carry into the room. Print it, walk the bathroom with a pen, check off what is already in place — and whatever is left unchecked is your to-do list, roughly in priority order.
Prefer to answer on screen first? The Bathroom Safety Score walks the same items as a 10-question self-check and builds the to-do list for you. Libraries, senior centers and caregiver groups are welcome to print copies to hand out — and the score can also be embedded free on your own site.
Bathroom Safety Checklist
Walk the room top to bottom. Check off what is in place; anything left blank is a fix to schedule.
Tub & Shower
- Grab bars anchored into studs at the tub or shower entry and inside the enclosure (33–36 in. high — suction cups and towel bars don't count)
- Vertical grab bar at the entry, where a hand lands stepping in and out
- Shower chair or bench in place — or a transfer bench if stepping over the tub wall is the hard part
- Non-slip mat or adhesive treads on the tub/shower floor (replaced if it slides)
- Handheld shower head on a long hose, holder mounted at seated reach
- Soap and shampoo within seated reach — nothing balanced on the tub rim
Toilet
- Grab bars beside the toilet, or a secure toilet safety frame
- Seat height raised toward 17–19 in. (raised seat or comfort-height toilet)
- Toilet solid — base doesn't rock, seat is tight
- Floor beside the toilet clear — no scales, baskets or spare-roll towers in the transfer zone
If a Fall Happens Anyway
- A way to call for help within reach of the floor (worn alert button, or a help button mounted low)
- The door can't trap the person inside (opens outward, pocket door, or lift-off hinges)
Floors, Path & Light
- Throw rugs removed, or rubber-backed and taped flat
- Non-slip absorbent mat at the tub exit, big enough for both feet
- Walking line clear — no cords, laundry or clutter between door, toilet and tub
- Night lights along the bedroom-to-bathroom path
- Bathroom lighting bright and even; light switch reachable before entering, or motion-activated
Water & Hardware
- Water heater set to 120°F — the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's scald-prevention setting; test the tap after adjusting
- Single-lever or thermostatic mixing controls, so a flushing toilet can't spike the shower temperature
- Lever handles on faucets and the door instead of twist knobs (they work with a closed fist and soapy hands)
Start Here — The Big Three
- Anchored grab bars
- A non-slip surface + a seat for bathing
- Water temperature at 120°F
From MyElderHome.com — the full guide with placement details and product comparisons is at myelderhome.com/bathroom-safety/bathroom-safety-checklist-for-seniors/. General information only, not medical advice; for an individual assessment, ask an occupational therapist or certified aging-in-place specialist.
How to use it
Go in order. The groups follow the room: tub and shower, toilet, the floor and the walk in, then water and hardware. The grab bars, the non-slip surface and the water temperature come first in practice — if you only do three things this weekend, do those (they're repeated in the "Big Three" box on the sheet).
Test, don't eyeball. Pull hard on every grab bar. Stand on the mat in socks and shift your weight. Run the hottest tap over a kitchen thermometer. Several items on this list look fine right up until they are loaded.
Re-run it when things change. After a hospital stay, a new medication, or any fall — and at least once a year otherwise. Needs change faster than bathrooms do.
Sources: Item details drawn from our bathroom safety checklist for seniors: grab-bar load and height figures from the 2010 ADA Standards; water-temperature guidance from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, "Avoiding Tap Water Scalds" (Publication 5098).
MyElderHome publishes general information only — not medical advice. Coverage decisions are made by Medicare, the VA, and insurers; confirm details with the official source.