Closomat is offering housing providers a new bathroom solution to help accommodate the needs of the growing number of older renters.
The manufacturer and supplier of toilet technology is developing a range of fixtures to futureproof homes to accommodate tenants’ needs as they change with age. Central to the package are Closomat’s wash & dry (automatic shower) toilets. The units look like — and can be used as — conventional WCs, but have integrated douching and drying, which can be selected as each user wants or requires. The douching and drying processes save the user having to wipe clean or be wiped clean with toilet tissue, of benefit with the onset of mobility or dexterity impairing conditions.
Closomat’s range covers contemporary wall-hung WCs to floor-standing automatic height adjustable variants. It also has an in-house service and maintenance team, ensuring timely facilities management of the kit.
Robin Tuffley, Closomat Marketing Manager, explained: “The bathroom is the most common room to be altered under a housing adaptation, and changes to the toilet one of the most common alterations therein.
“Installing a Closomat at the outset can save that disruption and cost. Uniquely too, our brand leading Palma Vita can be retrospectively accessorised to accommodate changing needs, so further futureproofs the capital investment.
“Provision of such fixtures also means the tenant isn’t being forced to live in unsuitable accommodation, or have care, during the often lengthy process of organising the adaptation.“
The Centre for Ageing Better is already lobbying for housing providers to change their approach, providing longer-term tenancies and more accommodation for older people. Research also shows older tenants tend to be more satisfied with renting.
Robin Tuffley added: “Research suggests that up to a third of 60 year olds will be renting by 2040, so it’s a market that is going to expand, and is therefore worth accommodating — even in such detail as bathroom fixtures.”
