Home fall hazard checklist
Walk through your home room by room and tick anything that is true. You will get a personalized fix-it list — only the items that apply to you.
Hazards and fixes from the CDC STEADI Check for Safety checklist
What this checklist covers
This is an interactive version of Check for Safety, the home fall prevention checklist from the CDC's STEADI initiative. It walks through 17 specific hazards across five areas of a home — floors, stairs and steps, the kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms — and pairs each one with the fix the CDC recommends. Instead of reading a static brochure, you tick what applies and get back only the actions relevant to your home.
Most home fall hazards are, in the CDC's own phrasing, easy to overlook but easy to fix. Loose throw rugs, a burnt-out stairway bulb, and a dark path from the bed to the bathroom are all low-cost problems that account for a meaningful share of falls at home.
Why home hazards matter
More than one in four adults aged 65 and older falls each year, and falls are the leading cause of injury in that age group. There are roughly 3 million emergency department visits and about 1 million hospitalizations for older adult falls annually in the United States, with total healthcare costs of about $80 billion per year based on 2020 data (CDC). A meaningful portion of those falls happen at home, in rooms people have walked through thousands of times.
Do this alongside a risk check
A home checklist addresses the environment. It does not address balance, strength, vision, or medication side effects — which are the other half of the picture. Pair it with our fall risk self-assessment, which uses the CDC's 12-question Stay Independent screening tool, and take both to your next medical appointment.
The National Institute on Aging also publishes room-by-room guidance and notes that a physical or occupational therapist can assess your home and recommend specific changes.
Frequently asked questions
Where do most falls at home happen?
Falls occur throughout the home, but bathrooms, stairs, and bedrooms are recurring problem areas because they combine slippery or uneven surfaces, poor lighting, and transitions such as getting in and out of a tub or up from bed at night.
What is the cheapest change with the biggest effect?
Lighting and rugs. Adding a night-light on the path from bed to bathroom, replacing a burnt-out stairway bulb, and securing or removing loose throw rugs cost very little and remove some of the most common hazards on the checklist.
Should I remove all my rugs?
Not necessarily. The CDC's recommendation is to remove them or secure them with double-sided tape or a non-slip backing so they cannot slip. The hazard is movement and curled edges, not the rug itself.
Are grab bars really necessary in the bathroom?
If you need support getting in or out of the tub or up from the toilet, grab bars are the recommended fix. They should be properly installed into the wall structure — towel rails and suction-cup handles are not designed to take body weight.
Is my answer data stored?
No. The checklist runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is transmitted or saved.
Can I print my fix-it list?
Yes. The results screen has a print button so you can carry the list around the house or hand it to whoever is helping with the repairs.
