Business Segments (Information by Segment) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended						9 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012		Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011		Sep. 30, 2012		Sep. 30, 2011		Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges including Inventory Markdowns	$ 1,175,000		$ 1,999,000	$ 548,000			$ 3,722,000				$ 10,870,000
Revenue from external customers	452,981,000				456,519,000		1,341,470,000		1,351,429,000
Intersegment revenues	38,050,000				33,209,000		123,556,000		102,206,000
Restructuring Charges	1,175,000				1,311,000		3,722,000		1,742,000
Earnings (loss) before income taxes	7,939,000				17,150,000		28,870,000		35,415,000
Restructuring Reserve, Settled with Cash	1,488,000		1,346,000	3,026,000							5,638,000
Restructuring Reserve	3,094,000		3,407,000	2,754,000			3,094,000				5,232,000	0
North America/HME [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue from external customers	170,983,000				188,428,000		527,467,000		564,996,000
Intersegment revenues	24,832,000				21,699,000		82,040,000		64,766,000
Restructuring Charges	352,000				406,000		2,214,000		406,000
Earnings (loss) before income taxes	1,587,000				11,454,000		13,102,000		38,332,000
Invacare Supply Group [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue from external customers	85,764,000				74,197,000		246,434,000		223,980,000
Intersegment revenues	20,000				18,000		55,000		58,000
Restructuring Charges	0				59,000		(20,000)		59,000
Earnings (loss) before income taxes	2,090,000				2,302,000		5,124,000		4,986,000
Institutional Products Group [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue from external customers	38,974,000				28,048,000		112,631,000		89,579,000
Intersegment revenues	2,222,000				1,450,000		5,836,000		4,765,000
Restructuring Charges	0				0		35,000		0
Earnings (loss) before income taxes	1,805,000				3,865,000		8,690,000		11,448,000
Europe [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges including Inventory Markdowns	481,000		0	291,000							5,466,000
Revenue from external customers	141,705,000				142,107,000		401,721,000		405,354,000
Intersegment revenues	3,239,000				2,635,000		8,448,000		7,267,000
Restructuring Charges	481,000				846,000		772,000		1,277,000
Earnings (loss) before income taxes	10,218,000				11,379,000		23,504,000		25,819,000
Restructuring Reserve, Settled with Cash	267,000		195,000	1,597,000							3,650,000
Restructuring Reserve	529,000		315,000	510,000			529,000				1,816,000
Asia Pacific [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges including Inventory Markdowns	342,000		261,000	118,000							186,000
Revenue from external customers	15,555,000				23,739,000		53,217,000		67,520,000
Intersegment revenues	7,737,000				7,407,000		27,177,000		25,350,000
Restructuring Charges	342,000				0		721,000		0
Earnings (loss) before income taxes	(2,301,000)				933,000		(4,139,000)		3,826,000
Restructuring Reserve, Settled with Cash	342,000		261,000	118,000							186,000
Restructuring Reserve	0		0	0			0				0
All Other Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Earnings (loss) before income taxes	$ (5,460,000)	[1]			$ (12,783,000)	[1]	$ (17,411,000)	[1]	$ (48,996,000)	[1]

[1] Consists of un-allocated corporate SG&A costs and intercompany profits, which do not meet the quantitative criteria for determining reportable segments. In addition, the “All Other” earnings (loss) before income taxes includes loss on debt extinguishment including debt finance charges, interest and fees.