I bet not, unless it’s a specially designed kitchen or you have a special wheelchair. Creating a wheelchair accessible kitchen is the farthest thing from most builders’ minds most times.
Wheelchair Accessible Kitchen Sinks
Think about it; the kitchen sink is the one unmovable necessity in your kitchen. Yes, the stove, fridge, and dishwasher have their own places, but you can change them out to meet your needs. Your kitchen sink was in place from the moment the plumbing went in. Then too, most kitchen sinks are built with solid cabinets underneath to hide the plumbing, etc. Unfortunately for those of us in wheelchairs, all that stuff we keep under the sink is sitting right where our knees and footrests need to go.
3 Steps to Making Your Sink Wheelchair Accessible
To make the sink part of your wheelchair accessible kitchen, you or your remodeling contractor will need to:
• remove the doors
• remove the under-sink flooring
• make another place to keep the stuff that is now under the sink
When you’re done:
• your knees will fit underneath
• you’ll be able to reach the stuff you need
• and you’ll be able to use your sink again
Using Your Dishwasher
Another idea to make your kitchen a wheelchair accessible kitchen is to use your dishwasher in a slightly different way. I’ve found that I only need to do a few dishes at a time. When I’m done eating I put them in the dishwasher, and run the rinse & hold cycle. I’ve found I can get breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner dishes in before I need to run them through a wash at bedtime.
BONUS! The next morning, they’re right where I can reach them, clean and ready to go.
The author, Linda F. Collins, is president of Special Needs Home Consultants.
Photo at top shows kitchen sink before becoming wheelchair accessible.
