The bench is the piece people buy first and fit last. It has to fit the tub you have, not the tub in the picture on the box, and it works only when the therapist has seen where it goes. Do the install before the first bath, with the water off and the tub empty, so you know it holds before anyone trusts it.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Before you open the box

Read the discharge paperwork for any equipment order and the therapist's note about bathing. The family and the therapist decide whether a bench is the right tool for this bathroom. If the note is unclear, ask the discharge nurse or the therapist to write the plan down before the first bath, not after.

Find the manual and the model number, and put the manual in the folder you are keeping for the house. Check the labeled weight limit, the seat height range, and whether the model is made for your tub type. Some benches rest on the tub rim and some sit on the tub floor, and the instructions say which kinds are meant for which tubs.

Measure the tub and the path

Measure four things and write them on one sheet: the height of the tub rim from the bathroom floor, the depth from the rim to the tub floor, the width of the tub floor where the feet will sit, and the width of the rim where the bench will rest. Then measure the bathroom doorway and the walkway from the door to the tub edge. The walker or wheelchair has to reach the bench without a turn that the room cannot allow.

Set the height and the legs

Adjust the legs to the height the therapist named, not the highest setting you can reach. Set each leg the same, lock each adjustment pin or clamp, and check that every foot sits flat. A bench that looks level on the floor but sits high on one side will rock when someone sits down.

Place it and test the hold

Set the bench in the empty tub first. Mark the position of the feet with painter's tape so the placement can be repeated. Check that the outside end leaves room for the walker and for the family member who stands by. Press down on the seat with both hands, then push the bench side to side at the rim. If it moves, the feet or the rim contact is wrong, so stop and reset it before any bath. Suction feet need a clean, dry tub floor and a firm press. Check them again after each cleaning.

The first bath

The first bath is a supervised bath. A family member stays in the room, the therapist's plan governs how the parent moves, and the bench is one part of that plan, not a rail to grab. If the family is not sure how the transfer works, ask the therapist to watch the first one.

Write down the install

Keep one sheet with the model, the measurements, the leg setting, the tub type, and the result of the hold test. When the bench is moved, cleaned, or replaced, add a line. The manufacturer's instructions and the therapist's note are the two references to keep beside that sheet. For the general basics of bathroom safety at home, the National Institute on Aging publishes home safety guidance that is worth reading once before the first bath.

The Tub Transfer Bench Goes In Before the First Bath: Measure the Rim, Set the Legs, and Test the Hold