Wheelchair Ramp Maintenance Requirements

Maintaining a wheelchair ramp is more than just giving it a simple once over and thinking, “Yeah, that looks good”. There are a few different areas of your wheelchair ramp that you’ll want to make sure are in fine working order so that anyone who uses it is safe.

In this article we will be discussing general upkeep, handrails, and ways to improve your wheelchair ramp if continued maintenance becomes too much.

Looking for ways to upgrade your wheelchair ramp? Contact our team who would love to assist you with your plans to improve wheelchair accessibility.

Routine Wheelchair Ramp Maintenance

There are simple daily or weekly tasks that can be done to make sure your wheelchair ramp to continues to be in the best and safest condition.

One routine check you can do is making sure the ramp is clear of debris such as snow, leaves, or tree branches. All of which can make it difficult for a wheelchair to use the ramp safely.

Just doing a quick sweep (literally and figuratively) of your ramp will ensure that anyone who needs to use it will have easy and safe access. 

To sum up daily wheelchair maintenance:

• Make sure your wheelchair ramp is clear of debris.
• Sweep or brush off any leaves, sticks or other objects from your wheelchair ramp.

Winterize Your Wheelchair Ramp

For those who live in the snowy regions of the world, you know the struggle of having to shovel your driveway along with your wheelchair ramp.

Along the same lines as making sure your wheelchair ramp is clear of debris, snow is something you’ll want to make sure is cleared away on your wheelchair ramp daily so that anyone who needs to access it has a clear path.

A buildup of snow could lead to more struggles later with it simply being harder to clear away more snow as it piles up, and the snow could turn to ice on the ramp which creates and even more difficult situation.

A way to prevent a lot of snow build up is to salt your ramp as they do roads or other walkways. While this isn’t a miracle cure to the problem, it does aid in prevent a lot of snow and ice buildup. Now don’t go over salting your ramps because having mounds of salt can lead to its own slipping hazard and could damage wheelchair tires and bearings.

When creating your winter checklist, make sure you check these points:

• Shovel your ramp as you would a sidewalk or driveway.
• Don’t allow a buildup of snow or ice.
• Salt your wheelchair ramp, but don’t over salt it.

Wheelchair Ramp Railing Maintenance

A critical part of your wheelchair ramp maintenance are your handrails. Whether you have wood or metal handrails you’ll want to make sure they’re in a safe and usable condition. Having a well maintained and sturdy handrails with a smooth and continuous surface, will ensure the safety of anyone who is walking up the ramp. Those who needs the support will be assured that the handrails won’t give way and those in wheelchairs will stay up on the ramp safely.

With a metal railing, this can simply be done by making sure that your screws or bolts are tightly fastened to the ramp and any walls they made be installed on. Additionally, if you have a welded system, checking for any rust or chipping around the welded points because this could be a sign that the integrity of the railing is failing.

For a wood railing you again want to check that where you have screwed in the railing to the ramp or wall is still tightly secured. You’ll also want to routinely check for any splinters, breaks, or rot in your railings.

Small splinters can cause a great deal of pain to someone running their hands along the railing, and any breaks or rot in the wood is a potential hazard to someone supporting themselves on the railing.

Routine checking of your railing, just like the ramp, can be super beneficial for the longevity of your railing and better assures safety for those using the ramp.

In summary, what you should be looking out for with your handrails are:

• Check that your screws or bolts are tightly fastened.
• For a metal railing, look for any rusting or chipping around welded areas.
• For wood railings, check for splinters, breaks, or rot in your wood handrails.

Wheelchair Ramp Railing Solutions

If you have noticed that you need to improve or replace your current ramp or railing, there are many solutions.

For a wood railing, simply replacing the wood can fix any rot or breaking problems. If you do currently have a wooden wheelchair ramp or handrails that you want to make sure are safe and even up to code if you are running a business. There are ways to retrofit your handrails to make them ADA compliant.

Our ADA Wall Mounted handrails can be installed onto the existing wood railing to allow you to maintain your current wheelchair ramp with upgraded and up to code handrails.

You may also want to do away with a wood railing entirely. In that case, there are metal railing solutions that are perfect for ramps and are also ADA compliant. Our pipe and fitting railings can be modified to fit any style or shape of your existing ramp.

When searching for handrail solutions:

• Replacing the wood can be a quick fix.
• Retrofitting metal handrails will allow you to keep your current handrails and get you up to code (if needed).
• Replacing wood or metal railing can be done quickly with a pipe and fittings system. 

Wheelchair Ramp Solutions

However, if you’ve come to a point where your wheelchair ramp is “beyond repair” or you’re just looking for an upgrade. There are metal wheelchair ramps that will decrease the amount of maintenance that other wheelchair ramps may need.

With aluminum and galvanized steel wheelchair ramps, the maintenance needed for them is minimal, if any. The modular system also helps you install the wheelchair ramp with ease and can be designed to fit any home or business entrance.

Looking to replace your current wheelchair ramp? Here are the benefits to our metal modular wheelchair ramps:

• Galvanized steel is corrosion resistant so rust and other maintenance will be minimal, if any.
• The modular system can be designed to fit any entrance or front steps.
• Installation is quick and easy with just a couple simple tools.

In Review

There are many ways to maintain your wheelchair ramp that range from simply cleaning it, to brand upgraded handrails. All of which will help maintain your wheelchair ramp and ensure the safety of all those who use it. 

Please contact our team with any questions you have about your current wheelchair ramp and any plans you have to improve your wheelchair ramp.