Stair Lift History

The first stair lift was developed in the early twentieth centuries. A young man, named C. C. Crispen, saw the way that one of his neighbors, who used a wheelchair due to polio, struggled with the stairs. He was moved to action and developed a device that could physically carry his neighbor up and down the stairs. This early stair lift was incredibly innovative, but it would not be until more than fifty years later that these lifts would be come affordable and reliable.

Prior to the mainstream adoption of the stair lift, individuals who could not safely use the stairs only had a few options, which were costly in one way or another. The most common practice was to simply avoid all areas that used stairs. This is usually not a big problem when dealing with public areas, but avoiding the stairs in your own home is very difficult. In the home this can often mean simply avoiding the whole upstairs portion of your home. Others would be forced to move to a new home or a permanent care facility, which did not use stairs.

The other common option was to rely on others to help on the stairs. Hiring a permanent nurse can be very expensive and relying on others can put a large amount of stress on your family and friends. Often those who rely on a spouse are putting their spouse at increased danger as well, because it is likely that if you can’t use the stairs safely, then your spouse probably shares similar difficulties.

These were the two main options that were available to individuals who could not safely use the stairs until the mid seventies. In the mid seventies, the stair lift became not only available, but was cost effective. A stair lift, generally using a chair, is designed to carry its occupant safely along the distance of the stairs. They can then safely exit at the top or bottom of the stairs, without fear of falling.

Even with the popularity of the devices that began in the seventies, they were still pretty costly and hard to install. This changed in the late nineties, when several companies started making do it yourself stair lift kits. These kits can be easily installed onto a straight staircase by the homeowner. Usually it only takes a few hours and you don’t need any special tools. The price also dropped considerably during this time. Today a stair lifts are incredibly safe and reliable.