Alzheimer's Caregiving: Strategies To Make Your Home Dementia Friendly
Learn strategies for making your home safer and more comfortable for a loved one living with dementia. Plus, download and print a home safety checklist. The home safety checklist will help guide you through ways to make your home more accessible, room-by-room, for your loved one with dementia while helping to prevent falls.
This content is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician, therapist, or other medical professional regarding a medical condition, or treatment. This content is for informational purposes only. See full disclosure.
All links in this post are non-affiliate links and are provided for your convenience.
Dementia Overview
Today’s resource is all about creating a safe and accessible home environment for your loved one living with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 6.9 million Americans are living with dementia in 2024. 1 in 9 people over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s Disease. Overall, dementia is not a specific disease, but instead a general term that describes the decline in memory and mental abilities that interfere with daily life.
The National Health Report states that dementia is a chronic condition that affects cognitive functioning, including memory and reasoning abilities. Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common type of dementia accounting for 60-80% of cases. Other dementias associated with aging include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and mixed dementia. Learn about the different types of dementia and the associated symptoms, as well as potential risks from this helpful article from the CDC. If you have questions regarding your loved one and memory loss, please contact your medical doctor.
Dementia and Home Safety
Individuals living with Alzheimer’s, or a related dementia, can pose safety risks inside and outside the home. Overtime as Alzheimer’s progresses, loved ones may begin having difficulty managing their home, have a higher risk of falls as well as difficulty managing self care tasks. When safety measures are in place, loved ones can live in the comforts of their own home more safely. It’s important to evaluate your home’s safety, room by room, and continue to talk to your care team about ways to make your home safer to avoid falls and other accidents.
Dementia Care General Home Safety
When keeping your loved one at home, it’s important to consider safety precautions and home modifications that are needed during the different stages of dementia. Making modifications as needed at home can help reduce anxiety, prepare for the future, and decrease caregiver stress.
Furthermore, adapting your home for safety can help maintain the independence of your loved one living with dementia. Consistency of the home environment is helpful and comforting for those living with the disease. Here are some strategies to adapt your home so that it is safer for your loved one.
Declutter Your Home
Declutter walkways and keep spaces open. Do not place furniture in the way of a walk through space. It is important to keep areas clutter-free as visual changes and perception can decline as the disease progresses.
Try to keep countertops clutter free as overcrowded areas can become overstimulating causing potential agitation, irritability, or other challenging behaviors. If frequently used items are difficult to find, it could trigger challenging behaviors. Keeping your home organized and replacing items in their specific locations can keep unwanted behaviors at bay. If frequently used items are difficult to find, it could trigger potentially challenging behaviors.
Make Personal Items More Accessible and Identifiable
It’s important to make personal items easily accessible and identifiable. Labeling drawers and cabinets in the bedroom and kitchen with words and a picture can be beneficial in sustaining independence long term. Make sure all personal items are within reach inside any cabinets or closets as well. Standing on tiptoes or using a stool to reach items should be avoided.
Lock Up Potentially Hazardous Items
When caring for someone with dementia, it is important to secure all potentially hazardous items. Hazardous items include firearms (locked in a safe), kitchen knives, medicines, lawn mowers, car keys, alcohol, and cleaning chemicals among others should be locked away and kept out of reach. Place locks on kitchen cabinets, and/or bathroom cabinets as needed.
Where To Lock Up Items
Consider keeping those items that need to be stored away safely in a cabinet or safe that is not typically used by your loved one. This will help to avoid triggering anger or agitation when your loved one is not able to gain access to a locked cabinet.
Remove or Secure Rugs and Furniture
Rugs and wrinkles in carpet can be a fall hazard. It is important to either remove or secure all rugs. All rugs in the home should be a solid color, minimizing patterns which can cause confusion with visual changes. Rugs should also have a non-slip backing or be removed. Do not staple rugs to the floor as the staples may cause a tripping hazard. Make sure all carpets are fastened firmly as well and do not have any wrinkles.
All unstable furniture should be secured, and wobbly chairs should be removed. Secure all hand railings, bookshelves, and large tv’s. Securing all furniture is important to help prevent falls as well as furniture being tipped or knocked over.
Chairs should also have armrests to provide support when moving from a standing position to a seated position and vice versa. Place a secure chair in locations where sitting is often needed for certain tasks such as putting on and taking off shoes as well as removing and putting on jackets.
If you have concerns regarding falls or fall prevention contact your personal physical therapist to discuss fall prevention.
Home Safety and The Importance Of Contrasting Colors
Color perception is the ability to see all three primary colors (red, green, and blue). Typically, individuals living with dementia may gradually lose the ability to see certain colors. Blue becomes absent early while green and red often remain intact. Therefore, adding contrast to the home environment using lime green, red or even yellow can help improve visibility.
Remove confusing patterns such as bold patterns and stripes that could be disorienting such as on rugs can be helpful.
Contrast tape can be added to the following areas:
- The edge of steps
- Door thresholds
- Other uneven surfaces such as sidewalks around your home
- Label hot water and cold water faucets with different colors so that it is easily seen (keep water heater below 120 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent scalding)
- Uneven surfaces in the bathroom
- Bathtub or shower edge
- Add a window decal to any glass doors to increase visibility
During mealtimes, try using placemats and plates with contrasting colors to help improve visibility during mealtimes for your loved one. Furthermore when plating food also use contracting colors. For example, if you having mashed potatoes, serve on a dark plate. Use solid color placemats and plates to avoid confusion and disorientation during mealtimes.
Consider A “No Soliciting” Sign
If you have a problem with solicitors at your home, consider posting a sign on your door, at the gate, or near the sidewalk to discourage solicitors.
A Special Note On Indoor Pets and Falls
Indoor animals, especially active dogs that get under your feet or move in front of you quickly, can cause falls. If this is a problem, consider finding your furbaby a sweet loving home or taking your dog to a trainer. Discuss your concerns with your dog trainer and find what can be done to train your dog to wait patiently while your loved one moves around the house.
Room-By-Room Dementia Care Home Safety Considerations
Since dementia can manifest and present differently for every individual, not all home modifications will apply to your situation. It’s important to discuss with your care team regarding home modifications and before purchasing medical equipment such as a tub bench, transfer bench, or raised toilet seat to make sure it’s a good fit for your loved one.
Kitchen Safety
- Check the refrigerator for any spoiled food regularly
- Add safety knobs and an automatic shut-off switch to the stove and oven
- Consider disconnecting the garbage disposal and add a drain trap in the kitchen sink instead
- Add safety stop signs such as “Stop” or “ Don’t Touch, Very Hot” after use of the oven, stove or toaster oven to prevent burns. Just make sure your sign is not too close to the burner to catch fire.
- Cabinet locks such as these invisible cabinet locks with key
- Label cabinets and drawers with picture of items inside
- Lock up potentially hazardous items such as cleaning chemicals, alcohol, medicines, and knives
- Use plates and placemats with contrasting colors. For example, when serving mashed potatoes use a solid dark colored plate to help bring attention and focus visually to the food on the plate.
Bedroom Safety
- Consider the use of a monitor similar to a baby monitor to alert you to any sounds and potential falls.
- Store away and do not use portable space heaters
- If box fans are in use, make sure no items can be slipped in.
- Be cautious with the use of electric blankets and heating pads as these can cause potential burns.
- Declutter any items, especially those on the floor to help prevent falls
- Remove or secure rugs and secure any loose wrinkled carpet.
- Add motion sensor night lights for nighttime bathroom trips
- Clear walkways
- Consider installing bed rails when needed, optional motion activated lighting for bathroom trips is an option on some types of bed rails.
Bathroom Safety
- Remove all electrical appliances and cover electrical outlets
- Depending on the stage of dementia, consider putting away items such as toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, mouthwash, soap or cologne as these items may appear as an edible food. Bring out when needed with supervision.
- Install grab bars or handrails around the toilet, sink, and shower
- Install a raised toilet seat
- Install a shower chair, transfer bench, or tub bench
- Put in place non-skid or textured strips and/or mats near the bathtub, shower, sink, and toilet to help prevent falls
- Add contrast tape as needed in the bathroom such as the edge of bathtub or shower, around installed safety equipment such as grab bars, and the toilet safety frame so that it can be easily seen.
- Automatic Faucet Shut-Off Valve
- Install cabinet locks such as these invisible cabinet locks with a key
- Set water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower help prevent scalding
Here Is Your Free Dementia Care Home Safety Checklist
* This is not a full, all-inclusive list for every family and every situation as each case is different, but instead it’s a list to help you get started making home modifications as you and your care team see fit.
Takeaways
Having an ongoing discussion with your care team (medical doctor, neurologist, occupational therapist, speech-language pathologist, physical therapist, etc.) on ways to adapt your home can be beneficial. All of these medical professionals can help guide you through caring for someone at the different stages of dementia.
I hope this article and the Home Safety Checklist was helpful for you. Have you done other home safety modifications to your home that were helpful? Let the community know in the comments below.
Resources
Dementia Care Resources and Research
- Alzheimer’s Association statistics
- Alzheimer’s Association Facts and Figures 2024
- Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation Home Modification Resource Guide
- Alzheimer’s Research Foundation
- Alzheimer’s home safety resource from the Alzheimer’s Association
- Research study Improving Safety Protocols for Aged Adults In Care Homes by Taiwo, Ejuone, and Paul, 2024
- The National Institutes of Health article, Alzheimer’s Caregiving: Home Safety Tips
- The National Institutes of Health article on Falls and Fall Prevention
- Validation Therapy for Dementia Care by Senior Living
- Redirection techniques by the CICOA on Aging and and In-Home Solutions
- Wandering resource from the Alzheimer’s Association
- Sundowning resource from the Alzheimer’s Association
Dementia Care Equipment
