Bump Dots: How to Mark Appliances for Low Vision

Bump dots are small, raised, self-adhesive dots you stick on or beside a button or dial, so your fingers can find the controls you use most. A few of them can turn an oven, a microwave, a washer, a thermostat and a remote into things you run by touch. The method is the same everywhere: clean the surface, mark only what you use most, and put each mark in the same place every time.

Below: a simple marking system, each appliance, colors for low vision, other markers, and when braille labels make sense. Each tip links to the page it comes from. This is general how-to information, not a substitute for a lesson at home with a specialist; the last section says where to find one.

Key points

• "Bump dots" names a type of product. Sources also call them tactile dots, raised dots or, in the UK, bumpons (RNIB).
• Mark less, not more. The Texas Workforce Commission's guide says to remember "only to mark the most used settings, not every setting" (TWC guide).
• Start with the oven and microwave. An oven dial needs two marks that line up; a microwave needs one or two buttons marked (details and sources below).
• Dots have limits. A flat touch panel needs a reference marker and, ideally, an app or voice control as well (AFB).
• You don't need braille for dots. Braille helps when you want labels that say what something is.

Marking appliances at a glance

Sources: APH ConnectCenter, Hadley, Texas Workforce Commission, AFB.

What bump dots are

Bump dots are small adhesive dots, round or square, that you peel off and press onto a button, beside a dial or on any spot you want to find again. RNIB describes tactile bumpons as "self-adhesive dots, or squares, which come in different colours and sizes" (RNIB). APH's labeling guide lists raised plastic dots with adhesive backing in black, orange and clear, for appliances, computers and keyboards, and says not to put them directly on clothing (APH ConnectCenter).

Some of these names are product names, so this post uses "bump dots" for the type.

Start with a simple system

• Clean the surface first. The TWC guide says "Before marking an item, make sure it is clean" (TWC guide).
• Mark the few controls you use most. The TWC guide sums it up: "Simple is better!" Hadley suggests starting with the appliances you use a lot (Hadley).
• Don't cover every button. The Wisconsin Council of the Blind warns that a dot on every microwave button "will make it harder rather than easier" to find the one you want (WCB).
• Keep placement consistent. AFB says that if a washer's temperature setting is always in the same position on a dial, you can adjust it without relearning the controls (AFB).

Pick one appliance, mark two or three things, and use it for a week before you add more.

Colors and sizes for low vision

Bump dots are made to be felt. If you have some sight, color can do a second job.

• Choose a color that contrasts with the appliance. RNIB says a dot gives "a highly visible and tactile indicator" of things like your most used temperature (RNIB). APH lists black, orange and clear dots: a dark option, a bright option and one that blends in (APH ConnectCenter).
• Use bright tape on dials. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services suggests "brightly colored tape on the dials so they don't blend in with the background" (Wisconsin DHS). Hadley notes that bright or black tape may let you "see that mark as well as feel it" (Hadley).

Oven and stove

Oven with a dial. APH suggests you "Mark stovetops or the oven dial at the point you use most," and gives 350 degrees as a common baking example. Put one mark above the dial and one on the knob, then turn the knob until they match (APH ConnectCenter). Hadley describes the same two marks and says to "Line the two marks up by feeling them as you turn the dial."

Oven with a flat panel. Hadley suggests marks on the on and off buttons and on the up and down temperature arrows. In Hadley's description, most models start at 350 when you press on, and most ovens change five degrees per press, so 350 to 400 takes ten presses of the up arrow (Hadley). Check how yours behaves before you rely on the count. Another Hadley tip is to "Count clicks or beeps from a known starting point" (Hadley).

Stovetop knobs. The TWC guide suggests one dot on the knob at the low setting and two dots at the high setting. If the knob doesn't click or stop at "off," it suggests a line on the stove to feel where "off" is (TWC guide).

Near heat. The sources don't say how long a dot lasts next to a burner. Hadley describes a 3D paint as "three-dimensional, heat resistant paint to create raised dots, lines, or shapes" (Hadley). For knobs, you may prefer paint.

Microwave

Most microwaves have a flat panel with many buttons, so keep it simple. Hadley's advice is to "put a tactile mark on the one minute button" and another on the cancel button: press the minute button once for one minute, again for more, and press cancel to stop (Hadley).

The Wisconsin Council of the Blind suggests another pair: one dot on the center 5 button and one on Start (WCB). The TWC guide explains why the 5 works: a dot there orients you to where the numbers are (TWC guide).

Choose one of these systems, not all of them, and use the same one on the next microwave you mark.

Washer and dryer

Hadley says to mark washer and dryer controls the way you mark the oven: put marks on "settings on the outside of the dial that you use the most," such as normal or permanent press, then mark the dial itself (Hadley).

APH's laundry page lists braille control panels and "tactile marks, or count clicks to determine settings" (APH ConnectCenter).

Thermostat

The sources give less detail here, so this section applies the general rule. The TWC guide says thermostats can be marked with puff paint, and suggests asking the utility company about large-print attachments (TWC guide). The Wisconsin Council of the Blind lists thermostats among items commonly marked (WCB).

Mark the controls you touch every day, such as the up and down buttons or the dial position you usually choose, and leave the rest alone. Hadley's home guide has another idea: "Install a talking thermostat" (Hadley).

Phone and TV remote

Push-button phones. The TWC guide says most push-button telephones have a small raised mark on the number 5 that orients you to the keypad (TWC guide). You don't need to add anything. If buttons are hard to find, Wisconsin DHS suggests "Use a telephone with braille, extra large buttons, or a talking keypad" (Wisconsin DHS).

Smartphones. A dot can't turn a touchscreen into buttons. Wisconsin DHS points to the accessibility features built into phones, such as screen magnification and screen reading (Wisconsin DHS). See phones for blind people and screen readers for the blind.

TV remote. Hadley notes that many people can flip channels without looking, because the channel arrows are already tactile. The TWC guide also lists remotes among items people mark. Feel for what's built in first, then add a dot to the one or two buttons you reach for most (Hadley, TWC guide).

When dots are not enough

Dots work best on appliances that already have buttons or knobs. AFB describes two newer kinds of control surface that a dot can only partly fix (AFB).

• Touch-activated panels are generally inaccessible unless the area around them can be marked with tactile markers such as bump dots. A user may "locate a reference marker and slide a finger to the intended control." A dot gives you a starting point; you still need to remember the layout.
• Touchscreens need a built-in screen reader. Otherwise, for many appliances, the mobile app "is the most accessible control surface."

AFB says voice control "works best as a supplement rather than a replacement." If you are buying new, its advice is: "Look for tactile controls, consistent layouts, and meaningful audio feedback." APH adds that some manufacturers offer labeling kits made for specific controls (APH FamilyConnect); when buying an oven, APH advises looking for a model that automatically sets the oven to 350 degrees when it's turned on (APH ConnectCenter).

Other tactile markers

Dots are one option among several. APH's guide lists rubber bands, pipe cleaners, Velcro and fabric or craft paint for raised markings (APH ConnectCenter).

• Puff paint or a 3D pen. The TWC guide describes puff paint as fabric paint that dries raised, found at craft stores (TWC guide). The National AgrAbility Project calls it "a more permanent, more versatile, and cheaper alternative to self-adhesive bump-dot stickers" (AgrAbility). You can draw dots, lines, circles or an X beside a control.
• Rubber bands. Hadley uses them for objects, not controls: one band around the peas and two around the beans (Hadley).

There are more daily-life techniques, from watches to money, in how blind people manage everyday life.

When braille labels make sense

Dots and braille do different jobs. A dot tells you where a control is. A braille label tells you what something is, in words. For an oven dial, a dot is enough. For a shelf of spice jars, it isn't.

Braille labels make sense when:

• you already read some braille and want to read what's written;
• many items look and feel alike, such as cans, spices, folders or cleaners;
• you need the name of a setting, not only its place.

APH shows how little braille you need to start. It describes clothing tags with two to three braille letters that you can "learn to recognize by touch without reading the entire braille system" (APH ConnectCenter).

How labels are made, from tape to label makers, is in braille labels. To start reading braille yourself, see learning braille as an adult.

Free help with marking

You don't have to work this out alone.

• State agencies. The Texas Workforce Commission's program for older people lists markers for appliances, "marking common oven settings," among the assistive devices it may recommend. It serves people 55 or older who have a visual impairment that is a substantial limitation to living independently (TWC). Washington's Department of Services for the Blind lists "Tactile dots for appliances and home electronics" and says "We offer free help with assistive technology" to people who qualify (DSB). Each program sets its own rules, so ask your state; for the US definition, see what is legally blind.
• Hadley. It offers a free workshop, Labels You Touch, with a Marks and Labels handout (Hadley blog, workshop page).
• Vision rehabilitation therapy. The Wisconsin Council of the Blind says you may benefit from it if you need help learning to move around your kitchen (WCB).
• A family member or friend. If you're helping, ask the person where they want each mark, and mark what they use.

Where Braillito fits

Braillito, our app, teaches braille. It teaches the braille cells in lessons with exercises you play, with lives, levels and a daily streak: 59 lessons in 8 worlds in English. It also has a translator, a dictionary and a cell builder. The English lessons are uncontracted braille (grade 1); they don't teach contracted braille or transcription, and Braillito isn't a braille transcriber.

Bump dots don't need braille. You can mark an oven, a microwave and a remote today without learning a single cell. Braille starts to matter when you want labels you can read, for spices, cans or files, and not only a way to find a button. If you or someone in your family wants to start, the cells are the first step; Braillito teaches them, but it doesn't make labels and it doesn't replace a lesson at home with a vision rehabilitation therapist. Without paying, the braille translator works in any browser.

Braillito is a subscription with no free version; depending on the plan, it starts with a free trial or a discounted first period, if it's your first subscription (is Braillito free?). Get Braillito.

Frequently asked questions

What are bump dots?

Small raised, self-adhesive dots you stick on or beside controls so you can find them by touch. RNIB calls them tactile bumpons (RNIB).

Where do you put bump dots on a microwave?

Hadley suggests the one-minute button and the cancel button. Other sources suggest the 5 and Start. Pick one system and stay consistent (Hadley, WCB).

How do you mark an oven so you can use it by touch?

On a dial, put one mark beside the dial at 350 and one on the knob and line them up. On a flat panel, mark on/off and the up and down arrows (Hadley).

Which color of bump dots should I use?

APH lists black, orange and clear dots. If you have some sight, choose a color that contrasts with the appliance (APH ConnectCenter).

Do bump dots work on touchscreens?

Not by themselves. AFB says a touchscreen needs a built-in screen reader, an app or a smart speaker (AFB).

Do I need to know braille to use bump dots?

No. A dot marks a place, and you don't need to read anything. Braille helps when you want labels with words.