Safe-er-GripSafe-er-Grip Changing Lifestyles Suction Cup Grab Bars for Bathtubs & Showers; Safety Bathroom Assist Handle, White & Grey, 12 inches

This is a perfect option for someone who needs assistance with balance in the bath/shower. My parents are visiting and my mom, who has RA, has a very hard standings and getting in and out and needs to hold a bar for some balance. She has one in her home that was installed but for visiting, this was a perfect temporary solution with no install/drilling holes needed. Took me a couple times to get it to lock in place. I really had to use a lot of pressure and weight against it until it was hard to push the lock mechanism down, then I knew it was sticking. Once locked, it does not move. I bared quite a bit of weight on it to check. I can't speak on it in terms if someone is lifting themselves up with it, say from a chair and using a lot of weight baring, but for balance, hold and light pressure it is perfect.

I needed a temporary support bar in the shower. After looking through various models available I decided on this one. After reading several other reviews I almost didn't purchase but am glad that I ignored those. Let me start off by saying that if you need a full body weight support do not even consider any brand or make of the suction cup style. If you do you are setting yourself up for false security and potential future injuries. Due to a broke ankle I just needed a stabilizing support bar as I get in and out of the shower. I found out through trial and error that the suction cups hold like super glue if installed correctly. Don't put over any seams, cracks, or tile joints. This will allow air to seep in and release the suction. I have 4" tiles and found out that by angling the bar I could get each end fully in the middle of the tile. To fully seal pull the little lever up and then push the bar in before setting the lever back. It will get really hard to set the lever back down but believe me if you do this way the suction is super strong and will hold up. Next thing before each use is to test the bar by pushing sideways and pulling. If the suction has let loose a little bit this will tell you. I've only had to reset the bar twice since I had been using it over the last month. Since I cleaned the tile that it sets on and push in on the handle before setting the lever it hasn't released. Lastly, while trying to figure out exactly where to place I had one side stuck good and the opposite side not. I can easily see trying to get the really stuck side loose by just manhandling it off but if suction is strong you will break the cup off (another reviewer posted pictures of this). I find this is a good product if installed and used correctly.

I’ve had one of these for over 5 years though that one is not as long as this new one and is used at the entry to the bathtub. I wanted another one that I might hold onto while standing in the shower or, God forbid, grab onto if I fell. They’re very reliable. Every 2 or 3 months I grab the handle and jerk on it hard just 2 or 3 times. If I feel any movement at all I simply hold the handle where it is and open and close the 2 clips. It takes less than 20 seconds. I re-secure it once or twice each year. Better safe than sorry and it’s very easy. I’m pretty sure I would’ve had undesirable results were that handle not in place and this new one should notch up the safety factor even more! I’ve also bought one of these handles for an aunt and a for a 74 year old friend and they love them.As a quirky aside, these handles work wonderfully to secure refrigerators/freezers in RVs as they bounce down the road at a level 4.5 earthquake daily. Refrigerator doors often pop open in transit leaving a high holy mess. You can secure the side-by-side doors (aka French doors) by sticking one end of the handle on each door. Works perfectly and is so easy. It saves a lot of grief…who knew? Any other RVers out there?

I am an occupational therapist who does home health with geriatric patients. I am constantly searching for certain adaptive equipment to make my patients' bathrooms safer. As unfortunate as it is, many people are unwilling to give up aesthetics for safety! That means they won't install real grab bars into their tiled showers because it will mess up their tile.That's where this product comes in handy. I looked at several different brands before purchasing this one for my patients. I have since tried it on many different surfaces and it works with varying results depending on where you position it.I've tried it on walls - it sticks...for about 1/2 hour. Don't do it. You'll end up hurting yourself! Even if your wall isn't textured it will come off.If you're using it as a handle on the edge of your bathtub to get in/out, it'll work great! That sucker will not come off no matter how hard you tug on it. Plus, it's not high enough to catch your legs when you're trying to get your legs over the edge (thinking more of geriatric patients who have hip and knee range of motion problems).In the actual shower area, your results again are varied. Your best bet is a shower that has a smooth surface, like laminate or faux tile. However, I've had fairly good results with tiled showers too. Just make sure that at least one of the suction cups is exclusively over a tiled area and not a grout area. Sometimes the grout lines don't provide the surface area that the cup needs to get a tight suction.So the long and short of it is make sure you are putting this on a surface that can get a good seal. Let the grab bar sit un-used for about 4-5 hours. If it would fall off, it will on its own during this time. After that, if it's still on, you're probably good to go. But I'd tug on it a few times to make sure.The first time I bought it, I did a few test runs on surfaces in my own home. I decided that I'd hold onto the box and all packaging and not hesitate to return it if it didn't work out. So far I've placed 4 of them in patients' homes and that says a lot because I'm the one on the line if they don't work out.Update 3/13: Fast forward a few years...I was making this recommendation to a few patients back then but only with the advice that people use it for stability only. I am now withholding even that advice. I've had a lot more experience with them now and even the brands that I was "recommending" at the time are now off my list. They can not be fully trusted and it is better to be safe than sorry, to be cliche. I hate to go back on what I said but I've seen personally even a few weeks later of a good tight seal, coming off in a person's hands. This is not good. If you live in a rental and your manager won't let you install real bars, then you may not have any other option but I would tug and check these bars daily and especially before you intend to hold it. Even in these circumstances, there are tension bars and tub clamps that may give more stability than suction cup grabbars. That's my new take.