Moss grows while homeowners delay

Why is it that the longer we ignore something, the tougher it is to take action?  That’s certainly the case with writing a blog, as evidenced by the length of time since I last wrote.  But its also true about a host of things around the house.

In particular, I’m thinking

about roof care.  Here in the Pacific Northwest we do live up to our reputation as a wet climate, at least for 7 or 8 months of the year.  And if there is one thing that loves the wet, moss is its name.  Moss is beautiful growing on an old stone wall or as a verdant carpet in the Japanese Garden.  But it wreaks havoc on roofs, degrading shingles and retaining water. We do have hot, dry summers, but that does nothing to slow the moss down, it sleeps and then resumes its growth with the first mists of fall.

With regular treatment, it’s actually pretty easy to control.  But if you aren’t treating it regularly, the moss is going to get the upper hand.  And then you have to pay to have it removed.  And that costs a heck of a lot more than just having it treated on a regular basis.  In my case, a professionally applied spray product will last about 18 months—but removing a fairly light build up triples the price of the treatment.

And if I had regularly (2-3 times a year) applied home store products, I could have avoided the professional treatment.  But that is a lot of time on ladders, and it is hard to hit the entire roof with a hose-end or hand sprayer which means there is always some portion that is getting a buildup.  My roof is too tall and too steep to walk on with a safety harness—and even on a flatter roof, one misstep and I’m in the hospital or worse.  So, I’ve decided to let a pro with the right equipment do the job this year.

So, like so many other aspects of home maintenance, it really is cheaper in the long run to do it regularly, before the problem gets worse.  And I won’t have to keep looking at it getting worse and thinking that I better get something done.

Kinda like this blog has been since April. 

The cumulative effect of small risks

While shower safety is not really his point, Jared Diamond provides a great example of how we mentally minimize risks by not factoring in how many times we are exposed to them:

“Really!” you may object. “What’s my risk of falling in the shower? One in a thousand?” My answer: Perhaps, but that’s not nearly good enough.
      

Life expectancy for a healthy American man of my age is about 90. (That’s not to be confused with American male life expectancy at birth, only about 78.) If I’m to achieve my statistical quota of 15 more years of life, that means about 15 times 365, or 5,475, more showers. But if I were so careless that my risk of slipping in the shower each time were as high as 1 in 1,000, I’d die or become crippled about five times before reaching my life expectancy. I have to reduce my risk of shower accidents to much, much less than 1 in 5,475.

Now, one way to mitigate this risk is to only shower once a month, whether I need it or not.  (Need, by the way, seems to be a subjective judgement.  It seems I'm quite content stretching the interval between showers out quite a ways--but my wife and children prefer I adhere to a much shorter cycle. Apparently they don't have my safety in mind. Humpfh) 

A much smarter way to address the issue and reduce risk is to change the environment in which you shower.  Modern surfaces with better slip resistance, nice grab bars, alcoves to keep things tidy, controls in easy reach.  These and other things will make for a much reduced cumulative risk.

The same applies to other areas--small changes, reducing what seem like small risks, that over time have a high likelihood of happening and bringing about nasty consequences.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/science/jared-diamonds-guide-to-reducing-lifes-risks.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0

The where's and whys of falls

We’ve been providing our free online home assessment for nearly 7 years now and about 500 people have taken it. I’m starting to look at some of the data for patterns—while it is not a scientific survey, we can still see some interesting things by looking at what people are experiencing.
One thing that we do is ask if they have fallen recently and if so, how often. We also ask them where they have fallen. I plugged these “where” responses into a word cloud—if you are not familiar with these, a word cloud simply counts the words and shows words that occur more commonly in a larger font size. The results are interesting and confirm much of what we know about falls:

• First, 43% of people completing the assessment reported falling, and that 43% reported an average of 5 falls in the past year—underscoring that once falls begin they can become relatively common due to chronic issues like poor balance, dizziness, vision problems or strength issues like “weak knees" or medical issues like a drop in blood pressure or "low blood sugar”

• Tripping over any variety of objects is another common issue—rugs, stools, garden hoses, even the family dog are all mentioned.

• Stairs or steps stand out as a key item related to falls—interestingly, when looking at the actual comments it is clear that this is much more commonly related to a single or short set of steps than a long stairway. We spend a lot of time worrying about staircases between floors but it is those hidden steps like sunken living rooms or entrance steps that appear to be the bigger culprit in falls--many who don't feel safe navigate long stairs probably simple avoid them--we've had a number of clients who have only lived on the ground floor of their house and avoided the upstairs or basement.

• It's no surprise that the bathroom comes out as the most common location for a fall followed by the bedroom—where people report falling getting out of or around the bed. Ensuring that we have adequate support around the bed and taking our time here is and important but often overlooked area for home mods--my own mother fell getting our of bed and broke her pelvis, starting her long spiral of decline.

• The kitchen is also a common place to fall—often because we are leaning or bending over and lose balance. Better cabinet design and retrofit pull-out shelving can help.

• Living rooms/Dens are also common mentions. Some of this may simply be becuase these are rooms where we spend time--reading, watching TV, visiting. Steps, tripping hazards, loss of balance are all mentioned--the only pattern appears to be that these are rooms where we spend time, and so are going to get their share of falls.

• Falls are hardly limited to the interior of the home. Sidewalks and outdoor garden areas come up regularly (look for the words individually). Tripping over objects or uneven surfaces appears to be quite common—reinforcing the need to ensure that pathways are smooth and continuous.

I’ll be sharing more insights from our assessment tool over the coming months.

The cost of falls

CBS News reported yesterday on new survey findings from the CDC on the prevalence and risk of falls. According the report, 1.8 million report falling in the prior three month period--up from prior numbers of 5.8 million per year. Costs of these non-fatal falls is estimated at $19 billion. The CBS report notes that many senior adults may not take wise precautions because of "embarrassment"--but don't really touch on the fact that many safety modifications do not need to look institutional nor signify frailty.

Watch the news report here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3919186n&channel=/sections/health/videoplayer204.shtml

Temporary solutions can help caregivers

When I did my bathroom options post awhile back, I didn't include a practical option for shorter term needs. We frequently get calls from families providing care for a loved one who, realistically, is in the final stages of being in the family residence or nearing the end of their life. A full bathroom remodel may not be needed or would create too much disruption. There are portable and temporary shower units available that can make life easier for a family in this situation or for someone who is recuperating from an injury or illness and needs a shorter term solution.

I've used portable showers out camping, but those aren't a solution in the home. But there are new solutions being designed that can make it practical.

FAWSsit is folding shower with an electric pump that can be set up in a room where there is sufficient space and an available source of heated water and a drain (sink, toilet, floor drain, etc) Laundry rooms and kitchens are obvious options. Since it can easily be folded and stored away, you don't need a dedicated space, making it possible to provide a shower to someone with greater ease and less stress on everyone. www.fawssit.com

Another resource is Shower Anywhere. These are more what I would call temporary rather than permanent shower solutions, so they require some dedicated space, but are an option when remodeling is not practical or in the long term interests of the homeowner.

Neither of these would be a great long term solution--having a home designed to have an accessible bath and bedroom on the ground floor is still the best precaution, but when that is not the case, a solution like these can certainly make life easier.

As we age one thing we can look forward to is more technology and non-traditional solutions like these to help us navigate this journey.

I've seen some interesting data lately about strength and safety in later life. One was this article about strength training--actually making muscles "younger."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070523/hl_nm/strength_training_dc_1

And there is this bit out of London saying that older adults are net contributors to society, not the drain they are commonly portrayed as:

The future ... is not penury or dependence," said Clive Bannister, managing director of HSBC Insurance, which asked the institute to conduct the study on the elderly so it could learn about consumer behavior. "They have become turbos rather than the brakes of our community."

Researchers interviewed more than 21,000 people between the ages of 40 and 79 in more than 20 countries for the largest study of its kind. The aim was to explore attitudes about retirement and the sunset years.

Contrary to the commonly held belief that older people are draining state resources, the study indicates they are more independent and active in social and economic life than previously thought. (http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5971357?source=rss)

These are just a few of the items that paint a much more positive picture of aging. But then today I see this from an AP story showing that falls and safety concerns for older adults are are the increase. And this story only deals the the injury and death rate--just as concerning is how expensive and life changing a non-fatal fall related injury is
(http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-accidental-deaths,1,3008203.story?coll=chi-news-hed):

The rate of deaths from falls for people 65 and older rose 31 percent from 1999 to 2003, the council reported, which means that deaths from falls are increasing faster than the older population is increasing. A death within one year after a fall can be attributed to the fall. "We tend to see our home as our safe haven. The data tell us it's not," McMillan said, adding that families can take steps to protect the elderly from falls by removing hazards and installing stair rails and grab bars.

Deaths from falls climbed from 16,257 in 2002 to 17,229 in 2003, the most recent year for which data are available. The rate also went up, from 5.6 deaths to 5.9 deaths per 100,000 people.

My thought. We always say staying fit is your best fall prevention strategy. No amount of adaptation will prevent a fall for someone who is frail. But since we have this potential to stay stronger, more active and vital, shouldn't we consider proactive modifications to our home that will improve safety, or allow easier rehabilitation at home should we be unlucky? Research has shown that those who benefit the most from supportive adaptations are those who are still relatively fit. And my designing our environment to support us more completely, we can ensure that the changes are pleasing, not ugly stop gaps, and keep home a place we love being. Proactively designing a home environment for our later years is one of the things we can do ensure we stay active, stimulated, safe and comfortable and make the most of a positive future. When you envision your future, re-envision your environment!