Accessible - Seats

Suitable for: bathers with difficulty standing to bathe, e.g. poor balance, mobility difficulties, stiffness, heavily pregnant, high fever.

Construction	Advantages	Disadvantages	Improvements / variations	Cost / labour
Stone seat	Locally available materials (e.g. stones, concrete slab) Durable, strong Repels water, easy to clean	Stones could be heavy so hard to move Might be rough and uncomfortable	Use bricks plastered with cement screed or clay paste to make seat smooth Inflated inner tube can be placed on rock for comfort	Low
Wooden stool or chair	Seat made or bought locally according to the user's specifications	Seat lacks drainage Unfinished wood will quickly deteriorate	Seal wood with paint/varnish to make it waterproof To improve drainage, replace solid seat with slats, or add holes in seat (see below)	Medium
Metal framed bathing bench with woven seat made of recycled tyre inner tubes	Soft seat is comfortable to sit Rubber repels water Webbing provides good drainage	User sinks into seat, so can be difficult to get up without support Might start to sag with extended use	Wood frame instead of metal	Medium

Acknowledgements

• Content and images: Compendium of accessible WASH technologies WaterAid.