Our team knows that your wheelchair needs to be as reliable as possible. By keeping up on your wheelchair’s maintenance, you can avoid costly repairs in the future. Here are a few tips to help you make sure that your wheelchair stays in working order.
Charging and maintaining your Battery
If you are a power wheelchair user, there’s a good chance that you’ve had problems with your battery. When charging your wheelchair, be sure to leave it plugged in, until it has completely finished charging. If you charge your battery for short periods of time, or often plug and unplug it from the charger, it will experience permanent damage. When this happens, your battery will not last as long, and will get continuously worse. Please remember that it’s also important to disconnect your battery if they are in wet conditions, or if your wheelchair will be sitting for long periods of time. You should disconnect it if you will be away from your wheelchair for a month, or even longer.
Protect Your Joystick
As a power wheelchair user, you rely on your joystick to operate everything. Since you use your joystick to get around and operate your seating functions, it can be extremely frustrating to experience joystick problems. Firstly, it’s important not to panic. Before you do anything else, make sure to check if your joystick’s connectors are secure. If you continue to experience issues, and in order to get to safety, you may need help to change your wheelchair into “free wheel” mode. Additionally, it’s best to avoid heavy rain or anything that could expose your wheelchair’s electrical components to wet conditions. To prevent any of these issues, especially here in Florida, make sure to cover the entire joystick with either a plastic bag, or a different covering that’s waterproof.
A Clean Chair is a Healthy Chair
Though it might seem a little ridiculous, regularly cleaning your wheelchair will make sure that it stays reliable, and will allow the parts and pieces of your equipment to last much longer. If the components of your wheelchair stay dirty for long periods of time, it’s much easier for them to snap or break. Cleaning sandy, rusty, and dusty areas will keep your wheelchair looking fresh, and will give you peace of mind. What’s more, this nasty stuff can gunk up bearings, motors, casters, and connectors.
Assistance Operating Your Wheelchair
There may be some situations that arise in which you may need assistance to move your power wheelchair. In case you ever find yourself in an emergency situation, it’s important to teach your caregivers, family, or friends about the features of your wheelchair. Teach them how to turn it on and off, operate your seating function, adjust the speed, and use any other devices that might be mounted to your equipment.
