Dr. Eboni Green
April 17, 2023
A wheelchair can help individuals move around when they have difficulty walking or can no longer do so due to illnesses, injury, age, or disability. This chair is the main component that gives this person mobility. If you don’t properly maintain a manual wheelchair, mobility, performance, and safety are on the line. As a caregiver, use the tips below to maintain your client’s manual wheelchair to ensure it works efficiently.
Your client is spending the majority of their day in a wheelchair going to various places around their home and community. Just like germs and bacteria can make their way onto your hands, smartphones, keys, etc., they will also accumulate on wheelchairs. We recommend cleaning the entire wheelchair with warm water and a mild detergent every two to three weeks to ensure everything is clean. You can do this more often if it makes you and your client comfortable.
Brakes are essential in a wheelchair. Without them, the device wouldn’t be safe for your client. Therefore, you must check them weekly to ensure they function correctly. Check to make sure the brakes are in the correct placement and not worn down.
To get the best performance from the wheelchair, the tires and inner tubes must be in working condition. The tire pressure will be the most significant component to check. Low pressure will make it difficult to propel the chair forward, and too much pressure could cause the tires to wear unevenly or pop. In general, you may need to adjust the tire pressure monthly.
Any part of the wheelchair with hardware or screws needs maintenance once every month. This includes components such as casters/forks, nuts, bolts, and all joints. You can likely see if something’s loose by listening for squeaky or weird noises on the wheelchair as your client uses it. Use your basic wheelchair repair tools to tighten this hardware to ensure the wheelchair is in tip-top shape.
Other components you should be inspecting to properly maintain a manual wheelchair include the cushion, seat sling, back support, footrests, and the frame of the chair. If you find that you need to replace parts, only use parts from the manufacturer to ensure the wheelchair works correctly.
How often do you perform maintenance on your client’s wheelchair? When was the last time you did this? Use the advice here to optimize your client’s wheelchair for better mobility, performance, and safety.
