How to Close a Door in a Wheelchair

Fingers in the gap by the hinges. That's how the person who started a thread in r/wheelchairs closes a door behind them: roll up, open it a crack, back up while pulling it wide, roll through. Then reach round behind and pull the door shut by the gap at its hinges until the knob comes within reach.

Three replies said the same thing three ways. One person's occupational therapist tells them off for it. Another called it an emergency room visit in the making. The third put it in capitals:

Do NOT put your fingers in the hinge gap of a door, any door!

u/knewmenot, in r/wheelchairs

If you use a wheelchair, or your shoulder won't let you reach behind you, the problem is where the knob is. Getting through is the easy half, as long as the chair fits the doorway at all.

Once you're through, the door stands open behind you. Its hinge edge is at the frame, within reach. Its knob is at the far end, swung out of reach.

Put a handle where your hand already is

The fix is a second handle on the door, near the hinge edge. One person in the thread fitted one and pulls the door shut with it.

A United Spinal Association tips page has a wheelchair user named Bob who screwed a cabinet knob to the outside of his door near the hinge. He wheels out, reaches back, grabs the knob and the door comes with him.

You don't have to pull it all the way shut from there. Pull the door round until the real handle comes within reach, then finish the job on that. That's how a renter in the thread does it with a suction-cup grab bar: push through, grab the bar and pull the door closed enough to get the actual handle.

Which handle for your door?

Four things people fit. Which one depends on whether you own the door.

• A drawer pull and two screws, for a door you own. Someone in the thread screwed a basic drawer pull on near the hinges and says it works perfectly. The United Spinal page suggests a pull over a knob if your fingers don't grip well, since you can hook them through it.
• A rope or strap on the knob, for a door you can't put a screw in. Tie a short length round the handle, grab it on the way out and pull as you roll away. One person loops a luggage strap round a heavy door. A disability equipment guidebook calls a rope on the handle the quick and easy version.
• A suction-cup grab bar, for a rented place. The renter above stuck one on the door where they can reach it and never needed the landlord's permission. Their trick for keeping it stuck is silicone lube on the cup, the same stuff they use on the fridge seals.
• The handle made for this job. The T-Pull door closer is a T-shaped handle that sticks to the door with adhesive, no drilling. It swivels out of the way when you're not pulling on it. The box has screws as well, meant for heavy wood or metal exterior doors. The one owner in the thread says it costs more than the homemade versions but works great.

Does the T-Pull's adhesive hold?

Owners say it holds on an ordinary interior door. A heavy door or an exterior one is where the screws come in. Put them in from the start rather than waiting for the adhesive to let go.

The handle is plastic, and a few owners have had it break after a couple of months. Most haven't, though. The same listing has an aluminium version if that worries you. Nobody we read has lived with one yet, so we can't tell you it's tougher.

If you'd rather the door closed itself

One person in the thread went the other way and put spring hinges on their doors, so the doors swing shut on their own. Some of their doors needed one spring hinge, the heavier ones more.

A door that shuts itself can fight you on the way through, though. That's why the person with the second handle suggests taking the closer off, the arm at the top of the door that pulls it shut.

Start with the door you go through most. A drawer pull and two screws does it on a door you own, in about the time it takes to find the screwdriver.

On a rented door, or one you'd rather not drill, stick the T-Pull near the hinge edge, where your hand lands when you reach back. Still, a heavy door needs its screws, so if you can't drill that one, tie a rope to the handle.