Comfort and Safety in the Bathroom

Update: AXS Wingman in the running for a Mission Main Street Grant

Before reading about this fantastic product we wanted to let you know that it’s in the running for a potentially life-changing grant. The AXS Wingman is in the final running for a Chase Mission Main Street Grant where they will be awarded $250,000. The company has big plans for this kind of money and believe it will help them take the product to a larger scale – allowing it to be rolled out further afield. As a unique inclusive toilet seat design it is the kind of product the world genuinely needs. The more funding they can get the better and we’re supporting their drive for votes. You can cast your vote for them here and voting is open until November 15th.

What is a Mission Main Street Grant?

A Mission Main Street is a grant programme which sees 12 small businesses in America given a grant of $250,000. The final grant winners are decided over December and in January 2014 all winners will be notified.

To apply for the grant businesses have to be for profit and the business also has to have been actively engaged in the current business activity for a minimum of two years to the Launch Date of the program.

We’re keeping our fingers crossed for AXS Wingman and you can find out more about the company below.

The AXS Wingman, A Safe Inclusive Toilet Seat

Wheelchair users who regularly do toilet seat transfers will know what a problem this can be. We were really pleased to discover this new brilliant design from the US.  It is a toilet seat with a difference, there are supports built in to the seat which make transferring from the wheelchair to the toilet much easier and safer.  The name ‘Wingman’ gives you some idea as to how it works.  It has wings!  These ‘wings’ mean that you have quite literally something to hold on to and lean on when you’re hauling yourself onto the toilet.

To see just the transfer click below:

Support on all sides for safer use with the AXS Wingman

Installing the super strong toilet seat

The Wingman can be fitted on any standard toilet in place of a normal seat  so you won’t need any special fitting equipment which will cost you extra.  No hidden costs at all.  This is a very simple, effective design that installs with a minimum of fuss and with maximum benefit to people needed to transfer.

Using a transfer wheelchair toilet seat

People who use a wheelchair regularly know how hard it is raise and lower yourself onto a standard toilet seat.  There’s not much to hold on to and it’s not great having to hook your hands around a wobbly toilet seat, especially if the toilet you’re using is in a public place.  It’s just not very hygienic to put your hands so close to the toilet bowl.  The AXS Wingman is perfect because you don’t have to put your hands as close to the actual bowl of the toilet itself, much nicer to use. The surface of the Wingman is made from material which is easier to grip and has “smoothly integrated palming surfaces”  as it’s designer describes them. This is a very well thought out bit of equipment.

Easy and safe toilet transfers

With the Wingman you can lean and hold onto the wings and at the front of the seat without worrying about breaking the seat, and for added stability too.  Twisting your body and leaning to either side isn’t such a worry, because you have something sturdy to hold on to.

The AXS Wingman wing can take the weight of 767lbs, it is a very strong toilet seat!

When you lift yourself from your chair, you can easily hold onto one or both of the wings or the shaped front of the seat and hoist yourself onto the toilet.  No more worrying about breaking the seat or falling whilst transferring.  The surface of the Wingman is made from material which is easier to grip onto as well, so this is a very well thought out bit of equipment.

Durability – a very strong toilet seat

Traditional toilet seats can end up breaking over time because of the pressures put on them.  The AXS Wingman has been tried and tested so you know you can trust it to support you even after a lot of use. If you have a wall bar in your bathroom, it makes using this toilet seat even easier as you have even more handholds. You can use this seat in whatever way you find most comfortable for you.

Designed for a need

The AXS wingman was created by inventer Stephen Cowen who saw that his 87 year old father was struggling with a traditional seat. It is being made in small batches at the moment. Seats produced are going into ‘Case and Pilot studies’.  When installing a public toilet, architects should be thinking of installing a toilet that is easiest for anyone to use, particularly in a disabled toilet. For wheelchair accessible toilets in shop or an office, this design should be added to the budget.

Unfortunately it isn’t available in the UK. As soon as it is we will let you know. The best way to keep in touch with them is via the Wingman Google + page. or via twitter @axswingman

@silverandblue Alumni Universal Design Product in six Campus locations including Events Center for ease of transfers twitter.com/AXSWINGMAN/sta…

— AXS-WINGMAN (@AXSWINGMAN) December 1, 2012

Until the Wingman is available there are  a range of seat raisers and rails available here .

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