How do I check that grab bars and railings are still secure?

Checking a grab bar or a handrail takes a minute and needs no tools to start: look at it, then test it from solid footing. A bar or rail that moves, creaks or turns is not doing its job, and the time to find that out is during a check, not during a slip. Here is a routine that covers bathroom grab bars, stair handrails and the rails on outside steps.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission's home safety checklist for older adults sets the bar plainly. Tubs and showers should have at least one secure and easily graspable grab bar,^[1] stairs should have solidly mounted handrails that run continuously along the full length of the stairs on both sides,^[1] and outside steps have handrails that are easily graspable.^[1] The check below is how you confirm yours still meet that.

Grab bars

Look first. Before you touch the bar, look at where it meets the wall. Warning signs are a gap opening behind a flange, a flange cover that has slipped, rust, cracked caulk, cracked tile or grout around the mount, and stains or soft drywall nearby.

Test from solid footing. For a tub or shower bar, stand on a dry floor outside the tub with your feet planted. Pull the bar toward you, push it toward the wall, press down, and try to twist it. It should feel like part of the wall.

Watch for a bar that turns. The ADA standards for public buildings are clear on this: "Grab bars shall not rotate within their fittings."^[3] On many bars, a bar that turns or rocks means loose set screws. On Moen's design, for instance, the bar is held onto each flange by set screws,^[2] and tightening them with the right hex wrench usually cures it.

Check the flanges. If the round flange itself moves on the wall, lift its cover and look at the screws. Grab bar makers expect those screws in wood: Moen says the screws must go into a wood stud for a secure installation.^[2] A screw that spins without tightening has stripped its hole or was never in a stud.

Check the gap. The ADA standards call for a 1 1/2-inch space between a grab bar and the wall,^[3] enough for a hand to close around it. A bar that now sits closer on one end, or at a slight angle, has probably shifted.

Moen's own warning gives the reason to do this regularly: "Check grab bar periodically after installation to be sure all screws are secure."^[2] If a bar fails the check, see why a grab bar comes loose for the causes and fixes.

Stair handrails

Run the whole rail. Slide a hand along the full length of each handrail, top to bottom. You are feeling for wobble, gaps, splinters and joints that have separated.

Press at every bracket. At each wall bracket, push the rail sideways and press down. A bracket that shifts usually has a loose or stripped screw. Tighten it where the screw bites into wood; where it spins, the bracket needs remounting into a stud.

Check both sides. If a staircase has a rail on only one side, that is worth noting too, since the checklist calls for rails on both sides.

Outdoor rails

Outside rails take rain, sun and freeze-thaw cycles. Look where each post meets the steps, porch or deck for soft or dark wood, rust and loose fasteners, then shake each post firmly. Rails on wooden decks and porches are tied into the structure, so a post that moves at its base is a framing problem; see how to tell if a deck is safe.

Why things work loose

Every pull on a bar or rail puts load on its fasteners, and outward pulls are the hardest on them. TOGGLER, which makes drywall anchors, notes that moving a load away from the wall greatly reduces what an anchor can hold,^[4] which is why bars and rails mounted on anchors rather than wood loosen first.

Water is the other cause. In a shower, water that gets into screw holes softens drywall and rots wood. Moen suggests silicone caulk on the back of the mounting plate to guard against water penetration,^[2] and caulk that has cracked or peeled is worth redoing before the wall behind it suffers. Mold can hide on the back side of drywall,^[5] and the EPA advises that water-damaged materials should be dried within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth.^[5]

When something fails

Fix what is simply loose: set screws, bracket screws that still bite into wood. Anything that still moves after that should be taped off or covered so nobody relies on it, and repaired before it is used again. Write down what you found and when, so you can tell if the same bar keeps loosening.

Stop and call a pro if

• A flange or bracket screw spins in place and there is no stud nearby to move to.
• The wall around a mount is soft, stained, wet or smells musty.
• Tile around a grab bar is cracked.
• An outdoor post moves at its base or the wood is soft or rotten.
• A bar or rail keeps loosening after it has been remounted into solid wood.

Getting help

Remounting a grab bar or a stair rail is common handyman work. See how to install a grab bar in a shower, browse grab bars and accessibility, find handyman businesses around Blacksburg, or read more handyman answers. When you are ready, describe the job on Loclis and local businesses quote it.