Patient Lift and Carpeting

Status
Not open for further replies.

Kayo1234

New member
Joined
Jul 17, 2015
Messages
4
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
06/2016
Country
US
State
New Jersey
City
Middletown
With the arrival of a patient lift We have been told to get a couple of office chair carpet protectors to ease moving the lift on carpet. There appear to be hundreds of different types, sizes and material. Can anyone provide guidance?

Thanks,
Kevin
 
We never put anything down. Our carpet is medium indoor, not shag. The lift went a lot of places and throwing down protectors all over would have been impossible, besides which getting it over the "lip" of a protector durable enough to handle that weight would have been a whole 'nuther issue.

I use one for my office chair, but I would never have put the lift on top of it. Seems like a recipe for sliding. I bought some sticky plastic stuff for the carpet once just to see if it would serve any purpose w/ the lift. It didn't.

Do you have shag carpet? If not, I would try the lift out on it as is and see how you do, before considering another purchase.

Best,
Laurie
 
Welcome firstly!

I think it also depends on the weight of the person in the lift.
My Chris was around 62kg when we started with the lift and around 57 or 58 (couldn't weigh him anymore) at the end.
So a short pile carpet gave us no problems at all.
 
My husband weighs over 200lbs, and it's tough to push him in a lift (we use a ceiling lift mostly, but have a rolling one for "special occasions". I just started using one of those pads under the lift where I can pick him from his chair and place him without moving very far. One pad works like a dream. It is somewhat flexible, but for short moves is working great so far.
 
My weight was 175 the last time at the ALS clinic in October. Our carpet nap is less than 1/2 inch, with carpet padding under it. I believe it would be best for my petite CALS, Peggie, to have a "chair pad" under the lift. Nuts, can you tell me where you got yours?
 
Any place that sells office supplies such as Office Depot or Staples has them. You could shop online for comparison and information but with purchasing online, shipping will be a consideration. You don't want any type of mat made for cushioning for more comfortable standing. There are basically two types of mats made for rolling office chairs. The more solid ones, a strong plastic or plexiglass, are more expensive. The standard plastic ones have little spikes on the underside to grip the carpet and hold it in place. These are less expensive an will do the job well though they don't look as nice. Be careful not to let these overlap off the carpet. The spikes are plastic but will damage non-carpeted flooring. They will also damage bare toes if they get slid under an edge!
 
Larry was 250#, I'm 120# and all we have is carpet. Our loaner lift was 93#.

A lot of it is the level of maneuvering you have to do in your particular space. If you're doing tight turns, friction is more of an issue, and the difficulty in opening the legs of the lift varies by weight/surface as well.

The chair mat I have, which theoretically could have worked w/ the lift if we had more space, is more solid than squishy, spiked but not so dangerous for feet/floor (sort of intermediate more rounded spikes). More importantly, it's beveled since I have a tendency to roll my chair off it. The same consideration could apply to your lift, depending on where/how you are using it. But Diane is right, shop around and since they are somewhat pricey, return privileges are advised.
 
The casters on the lift can also be replaced with larger ones. Larger wheels will roll much easier, especially on carpet.
 
We have the type with spikes on the back, and it came from Office Depot (I think). I repurposed it from my sewing room, so it's been around for awhile. Beveled edges would be smart...much easier to get back on if you roll off it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top