Tips to make your home easier to navigate

Regular features in housing can be everything from an inconvenience to a danger to people with mobility problems.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 2 million older adults in the U.S. use wheelchairs, and another 7 million use canes, crutches or walkers. The Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies found that fewer than 10 percent of seniors live in residences that accommodate wheelchairs or walkers.

Here are some tips provided by Kaiser News to make a house easier to live in.

• Take out the weather strip at the bottom of the front door and replace it with an automatic door bottom. This will make the threshold as flat as the floor.

• Consider installing an electronic lock that prevents the need to lean in and insert a key.

• Doorways should be 34 to 36 inches wide to allow easy access. Widening a door can be expensive, but swing-free hinges are more cost effective. The hinges wrap around the door trim and add about 2 inches of clearance to a door.

• Since people in wheelchairs have a reach of 24 to 48 inches, cabinets should be removed from underneath sinks and stove tops. The control panel also needs to be moved to the front.

• Light switches on walls need to be placed no more than 48 inches from the floor and electrical outlets raised to 18 inches from their usual 14-inch height.

• Older people find it difficult to see contrasts, so more light is needed. Distribute lighting throughout each room and consider repainting walls so the color contrasts sharply with the floor.

• Side-by-side doors on refrigerators or those with the freezer on the bottom are easier for them to use.

• For laundry, get a side-by-side front-loading washer and drier to allow for easy access.

• A movable toilet paper holder is easier for someone with arthritis to use, because they don't have to extend their arm sideways.