12 Things in Your Home That Can Become More Dangerous as You Get Older

Familiar household items can become more hazardous as balance, vision and mobility change with age. Rugs, stairs, bathrooms, poor lighting and clutter are among the easiest risks to reassess. Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

The house you’ve lived in safely for 20 or 30 years doesn’t suddenly become dangerous on your 65th birthday, but the way you interact with it can change. Vision, hearing, reflexes, muscle strength, balance, and mobility can shift with age, turning ordinary household features into hazards that were easy to ignore when you were younger. The National Institute on Aging reports that more than one in four adults age 65 and older falls each year, while CDC data show about 300,000 hip-fracture hospitalizations related to older-adult falls annually. The encouraging part is that many home hazards for older adults can be reduced with inexpensive changes rather than a major renovation. These 12 familiar things deserve a second look as you (or someone you love) gets older.

1. Throw Rugs Can Become Trip Traps