Shower chairs: types and features to compare

Quick answer

A shower chair or stool lets you sit while you wash instead of standing on a wet floor. The things to compare are the maker’s weight limit, the seat height range, the seat size, and whether it has a back and arms. Measure your tub or shower before you buy, because a chair that doesn’t sit flat and level isn’t safe.

Types of shower seats at a glance

Our guide to tub transfer benches and shower chairs explains when each one fits.

Where to buy shower chairs

Pharmacies, home health and medical supply stores, and hardware stores sell shower chairs in Canada and the US. You can also shop online. The table lists chairs whose makers publish their weight limits and seat sizes. The figures come from the makers’ pages, linked in the sources. We haven’t tested the products ourselves.

More options at Amazon: shower chairs (opens in a new tab), tub transfer benches (opens in a new tab) and handheld shower heads (opens in a new tab), which make washing from a seat easier.

Before you buy: measure and compare

From simpleaging.com. This checklist is general information, not medical advice.

Take these measurements with a tape, and bring them to the store or keep them by the computer.

Measure first

• The width of the tub floor, measured at the bottom where the sides curve in, not at the rim.
• The inside width and depth of a shower stall, and how wide the door or curtain opening is.
• The height of the tub wall, if you’re thinking of a transfer bench.
• The person’s lower leg: sit them on a firm chair with feet flat and measure from the floor to the crease behind the knee. A seat close to that height usually makes standing up easier.
• Where the shower controls and the shower head are, so they can be reached from the seat.

Features to compare

• Weight limit. The maker’s limit is above the person’s weight, with room to spare for pushing up.
• Seat height range. The range includes the leg measurement above.
• Seat size. Wide and deep enough to sit comfortably, and it still fits the tub or stall floor with all four feet flat.
• Back and arms. A back to lean on, and arms or handles to push up from, if getting up is hard.
• Feet. Non-slip rubber tips on every leg. The maker says they can be replaced.
• Drainage. Holes in the seat so water doesn’t pool.
• Assembly. Snaps together without tools, and the legs adjust with push buttons.
• Frame. Aluminum or another rust-resistant material, since it lives in water.
• Extras. A cut-out for washing, a handheld shower holder, a padded seat, or a folding frame for travel.
• Cleaning and warranty. Smooth surfaces you can wipe, and you know what the warranty covers.

How a shower chair helps

Bathrooms are where many falls happen.

About half of the injuries in the CDC study happened while people were bathing or showering, slipping, or getting out of the tub or shower [1]. A shower chair takes the standing out of washing. You sit, wash with a handheld shower head, and stand up only to leave. The Public Health Agency of Canada’s home safety guide puts it simply: “If you have trouble standing, or if you find it difficult to lower yourself into the tub, a bath seat will help you” [2].

A chair works best as part of a set: a grab bar to hold while you sit and stand, a non-slip mat or strips on the tub floor, and a handheld shower head with a long hose. Our home safety checklist covers the rest of the bathroom.

How to set it up

• Put the chair where all four feet sit flat. On a curved tub floor, that usually means the flat middle section.
• Adjust every leg to the same height, and check that the push buttons have clicked into place.
• Press down on the seat and rock it before the first use. It shouldn’t wobble or slide.
• Face the controls if you can, or place the chair so you can reach them without twisting.

Costs and funding for shower chairs

There’s nothing to install, so what you pay is the price of the chair. We don’t list prices because they vary by product, store and region.

Canada

Medical expense tax credit

The Canada Revenue Agency lists “bathroom aids to help a person get in or out of a bathtub or shower or to get on or off a toilet” as an eligible medical expense, with a prescription [3]. Keep the prescription and the receipt. Our medical expense tax credit guide explains how to claim. Our medical expense tax credit calculator adds up your medical costs, takes off up to 3% of net income, and estimates the federal credit [3].

Home Accessibility Tax Credit

This credit is for renovations that become a permanent part of the home. The CRA says an item that won’t become a permanent part of your dwelling is generally not eligible, so a freestanding chair or stool generally doesn’t qualify [4]. A seat that’s built into the wall during a bathroom renovation may be part of an eligible project. Our tax credit guide explains the rules, and our tax credit calculator estimates the credit for a renovation.

Ontario Assistive Devices Program

Ontario’s program doesn’t cover bath and shower aids such as benches, chairs and bath lifts, or commode chairs, grab bars and raised toilet seats [5]. Other provinces have their own programs. See Funding in Canada.

United States

Medicare

Medicare’s equipment list doesn’t cover bath seats. It calls them comfort or convenience items and hygienic equipment, not primarily medical [6]. Our guide to home modification grants and programs in the US covers other help that may apply.

Questions to ask

An occupational therapist, physiotherapist or doctor

• Would a stool, a chair with a back, or a chair with arms suit me, or my parent?
• What seat height should I look for? Can you check it with my feet flat on the floor?
• Is a transfer bench a better fit than a chair for getting over the tub wall?
• Should the chair have a cut-out, a padded seat, or a swivel seat?

A supplier or store

• What is the maker’s weight limit, and what seat height range does the chair have?
• Will it fit a tub floor this wide, or a stall this size? Can I return it if it doesn’t?
• Are replacement rubber tips available?
• Does it come with instructions, and what does the warranty cover?

Safety notes and when to talk to a professional

Fit comes first. A chair that rocks, tips or slides on a wet floor is a hazard, not a help. Check the fit with the measurements above, and test it dry before the first shower.

Check the feet. Worn or missing rubber tips let a chair slip. Look at them every few weeks and replace them when they wear.

It’s a seat, not a step. Never stand on a shower chair or use it to reach something. Makers say the same: NOVA’s user guide for its heavy-duty bench warns not to stand on it, and says all four legs must be set to the same height so it sits level [12].

Hot water. Sitting to shower means more time under the spray, so the water temperature matters. The Public Health Agency of Canada says mixing valves should be set so hot water comes out at no more than 49°C (120°F) [11].

Pair it with a grab bar. The CDC report on bathroom injuries says grab bars inside and outside the tub or shower, and next to the toilet, could lower the risk of injury for everyone in the home [1]. A towel bar or a soap dish won’t hold a person.

When to talk to a professional. If someone has fallen, feels unsteady or worries about falling, talk to a doctor. A doctor can look for causes and may suggest seeing a physiotherapist or occupational therapist. An occupational therapist can watch how a person gets in and out of the tub and suggest the type of seat and the set-up that suits them.