Largely, one of the most dangerous parts of a home is the staircase. Even short falls can result in serious injury and many more serious accidents happen on the stairs everyday. One of the reasons that some accidents happen is as the result of trying to carry something up the stairs, so using a dumbwaiter is something that can actually reduce the risk of a fall, in addition to making work around the home easier.



If you live in a multistory home, there is likely at least one time everyday that you carry something up the stairs. When carrying heavy or bulky items, such as laundry or groceries, it can be very difficult to move items safely up the staircase. This is especially dangerous when you must use both hands to carry the items, so it is not possible to use the banister. While when it is small things, such as a book or perhaps a purse, there may not be that much of an increased risk, even these items pose some increased fall risk. Using a dumbwaiter can actually reduce most of these types of risks.

Dumbwaiters are not anything new and in fact, people have been using them for thousands of years to help make housework easier. They are much like an elevator, at least in so far as how they move and look. Of course most residential dumbwaiters are much smaller, support much less weight, and require much less home modification to install.

At its most basic a dumbwaiter is simply a small platform with a rope attached to it. The rope is then used to hoist the platform vertically between the floors of a home or an area of different elevation. However today, most people opt to go with an electric dumbwaiter, which is easy to use and requires very little physical effort.

Electric dumbwaiters are typically hoisted using a cable drive system, which works in relative silence as it hoists or lowers the dumbwaiter car. The dumbwaiter car is the part of the lift that actually does all the work, with most using a square box like compartment, which can be shut and secured.

When you want to send the car between floors, all you need to do is push one of the call buttons and the lift will be instantly propelled throughout the shaft. Finding a place for the unit is often easier if you install the dumbwaiter into the home as it is being built, but they can typically also be retrofitted into an existing home. In the case of an existing home, it can be a little bit more difficult to find a space for the shaft, with many people using a closet and the area below and above it as a shaft.

People have been using dumbwaiters for many hundreds and thousands of years to make work easier and reduce the risk of a fall while carrying items between floors. Today, the electric dumbwaiter is very affordable and easy to install, making it a great option for most multi-story homes.