Good grief, Ann, I would not be going down to that basement! I have considered renting a house my son owns in Seattle (my childhood home) but I could not go down to the basement to wash clothes. I would be safer taking the load a couple times a week to the laundromat. The stairs are steep and I could not carry stuff up and down anyway. There used to be a "lift" in that home but it's probably stuck now after so many years ( a lift for firewood). I hope you are not carrying stuff up and down from the basement. That's the real danger, the reason I fell at nephew's house. At my son's present home I hang on the bannister with two hands and go down sidewise, placing each foot carefully before lifting another one. I can't carry anything. The grandkids are mobilized to carry whatever is needed. And I never hesitate to ask.