Are throw rugs really a fall hazard?

Yes — the CDC's home fall prevention checklist specifically asks whether throw rugs are on the floor and recommends removing them. If you want to keep one, secure it with non-slip backing or double-sided carpet tape so it cannot slide or curl at the edges. Rugs at the top or bottom of stairs and in bathroom doorways are the ones to deal with first.

Where should grab bars be installed in the bathroom?

The CDC checklist recommends grab bars inside the tub or shower, next to it where you step in and out, and next to the toilet. They should be anchored into the wall framing by someone who knows how to install them, because drywall anchors alone may not hold under a sudden pull. A towel bar or a suction-cup bar is not a substitute — neither is built to carry a person's weight.

Is it safe to stand on a chair to reach a high kitchen shelf?

No. The CDC checklist is direct about this: never use a chair as a step stool. Move the items you use every day down to about waist height, and when you do need something stored high, use a sturdy step stool that has a bar to hold on to.

Do I need a nightlight between the bedroom and the bathroom?

It's one of the simplest fixes on the list and the CDC checklist recommends it, because the trip from bed to bathroom often happens half-asleep and in the dark. Choose a nightlight that switches on automatically when the room goes dark so nobody has to remember. Pair it with a lamp you can reach from the bed without standing up.

How much of a home safety checklist can I do without hiring anyone?

Most of it. Clearing the stairs, moving furniture out of walking paths, removing or taping down rugs, coiling cords against the wall, changing bulbs, adding a nightlight, putting a non-slip mat in the tub and moving kitchen items to waist height are all do-it-yourself. The jobs that usually need help are grab bars, a second stair handrail, repairing uneven steps and adding light switches or outlets.

Home Safety Checklist for Older Adults

A home safety checklist for older adults is simply a room-by-room walk-through of your own home that asks one question about each hazard and gives you the fix. The free CDC checklist “Check for Safety,” published in 2017, organizes it into five areas — stairs and steps, floors, bedrooms, bathrooms and the kitchen — and most of what it asks you to do costs little or nothing: clear the stairs, secure or remove throw rugs, move cords out of walking paths, put a lamp and a nightlight within reach of the bed, add grab bars and a non-slip mat in the bathroom, and bring everyday kitchen items down to about waist height. The reason to spend an hour on it is plain: more than one out of four people age 65 and older falls each year, and falls lead to about 4.5 million emergency department visits a year.

The Detailed Answer

Print this out, or keep it on your phone, and actually walk the house with it — kitchen to bathroom to bedroom to stairs, including the outside steps. Looking at a room you’ve lived in for 30 years is harder than it sounds, which is why the checklist format helps: it asks a question, you answer yes or no, and the fix is already written down.

As you go, sort fixes into two piles. The first is what you can do today for free — picking objects up off the stairs, moving a side table out of the walking path, changing a burned-out bulb. The second is what needs a handyperson or an electrician, such as a second handrail, grab bars or a new light switch. The free pile is usually longer than people expect.

Stairs and steps, indoors and outdoors

Are there papers, shoes, books or other objects on the stairs? Keep the steps clear at all times — nothing “parked” there to carry up later. Are any steps broken or uneven? Have them repaired. Is there a light and a light switch at both the top and the bottom? If not, an electrician can add one, and switches that glow in the dark are easier to find at night. Replace any stairway bulb that has burned out. If the carpet on the steps is loose or torn, refasten it or take it off and add non-slip rubber treads. Finally, grip each handrail and shake it. Loose or broken rails get repaired, and if there’s a rail on only one side, add a second one that runs the full length of the stairs on the other side.

Floors and walking paths

Walk the route you take most — bed to bathroom, door to kitchen — and see what you have to step over or squeeze past. Move furniture so the path is clear. Throw rugs are the classic hazard: the safest choice is to remove them, and if you keep one, use non-slip backing or double-sided carpet tape so it can’t slide or curl. Pick up anything left on the floor, including shoes, baskets and pet bowls. Lamp, telephone and extension cords should be coiled or taped along the wall, never stretched across a walkway and never run under a rug; if the cord only crosses the room because there’s no outlet nearby, have an electrician add one.

Bedrooms

Two questions here. Can you reach a lamp from the bed without getting up? If not, move the lamp closer or add a touch lamp on the nightstand, so you are never crossing a dark room to find a switch. And is the path from the bed to the bathroom lit? A nightlight solves it — some models turn on by themselves when the room goes dark, which means nobody has to remember. Keep that path clear of laundry baskets, shoes and the corner of a rug.

The Mr. Beams MB710 Motion-Sensing Night Light is one example sold this way, a battery-powered LED night light described in its listing as motion-sensing for bedrooms and stairs.

Bathrooms

Put a non-slip rubber mat or self-stick strips on the floor of the tub or shower. Install grab bars inside and next to the tub or shower and next to the toilet. Two cautions worth adding, from general practice rather than the CDC list: grab bars need to be anchored into the wall framing by someone who knows how, and a towel bar or a suction-cup bar is not a substitute — neither is built to hold your weight. A bath seat and a handheld shower head are reasonable additions if standing for a whole shower is tiring.

One example of a bath mat sold for this is the Gorilla Grip Bath Tub Shower Mat, a tub and shower floor liner with suction cups that its listing describes as machine washable. For the grab bar itself, the Moen Home Care 24-Inch Grab Bar is sold as a stainless steel grab bar with concealed screws for the bathtub and shower, for instance.

Kitchen

Move the things you use every day — coffee, plates, pans — onto lower shelves at about waist height, so reaching overhead stops being part of breakfast. When you do need something high up, use a sturdy step stool with a bar to hold on to. Never stand on a chair to reach a shelf, and that includes a kitchen chair with arms. Wipe up spills right away, and keep a small flashlight in a drawer you can find in the dark.

Beyond falls: general household safety

These items aren’t in the CDC fall checklist, but they belong on any walk-through. Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms monthly and replace batteries on a schedule you can remember. Post emergency numbers and your own address in large print near the phone. Keep medications organized and stored somewhere well lit so pills don’t get mixed up. If you use a medical alert system, keep the button within reach day and night, including in the shower — it does not prevent a fall, but it’s one fewer thing to search for if something happens.

Which fixes should I do first?

Start with the stairs and the bathroom, because those are where a slip is least forgiving and where the fixes are most concrete: clear steps, working lights at both ends, a full-length handrail on each side, grab bars and a non-slip tub surface. Then do the free floor work — rugs, cords, clutter in the walking paths — which usually takes one afternoon. Our Home Safety guides go deeper on individual rooms and on behavior changes like exercise and medication review that sit alongside the physical fixes.

How often should I go through the checklist?

Once a year is a reasonable rhythm, and a good excuse is the same weekend you change smoke alarm batteries or set the clocks. Repeat it sooner after anything that changes the picture: a new health condition or medication, a hospital stay, new furniture or rugs, a move, or a fall or near-fall. Homes drift back toward clutter, so the floors-and-paths section is worth rechecking more often than the rest.

Does a medical alert system make a home safer?

A medical alert button does not prevent a fall and cannot replace fixing a loose handrail or a sliding rug — it’s a way to call for help after something has already happened, and it complements rather than replaces calling 911. For people who live alone, it can be a useful last item on a safety checklist, provided the button is worn rather than left on the dresser. If you’re weighing it, our overview of Medical Alert Systems explains how the pendant, base unit and monitoring center actually work and what the monthly costs cover.

Can someone come to my home and assess it for me?

Yes. Ask your doctor for a referral to an occupational therapist, who can do a home safety evaluation and recommend specific equipment and placement — Medicare may cover this when it is ordered as part of your care. Some local Area Agencies on Aging, fire departments and fall-prevention programs also offer free or low-cost home assessments and, in some areas, help installing grab bars.

When to Talk to Your Doctor

A checklist handles the house. It does not handle the things inside you that raise fall risk, and those are worth a conversation.

Bring it up at your next visit — or sooner — if any of these apply:

You have fallen in the past year, even if you weren’t hurt, or you’ve had a near-fall where you caught yourself.
You feel dizzy, lightheaded or unsteady, especially when standing up from a chair or bed.
You’ve started a new medication, or you take several — some combinations affect balance, blood pressure or alertness.
You’ve begun holding furniture to cross a room, or you avoid stairs or outings because you’re afraid of falling.
Your vision has changed, or you haven’t had an eye exam in more than a year. New bifocals or progressive lenses can take getting used to on stairs.
Your feet hurt, or your usual shoes have worn smooth soles.

Your doctor can review medications, check blood pressure sitting and standing, test your balance and strength, and refer you to physical or occupational therapy. The National Institute on Aging and the CDC both treat home modification as one part of fall prevention, alongside strength and balance exercise, medication review and vision care — the checklist is the easiest part to start on today, not the whole job.

Sources:

CDC — Check for Safety: A Home Fall Prevention Checklist for Older Adults (2017) — Source of the room-by-room hazards and fixes for stairs, floors, bedrooms, bathrooms and the kitchen.
CDC — Facts About Falls — Supports the statistics on fall frequency among adults 65+ and annual emergency department visits.
National Institute on Aging — Falls and Fall Prevention — Supports the point that home modification is one part of fall prevention alongside exercise, medication review and vision care.