As the warmer weather arrives, homeowners with good intentions and ambitions begin to clean, maintain, and improve their homes. This often involves roofs, gutters and ladders. Working on a ladder can prove dangerous.
Consider this: According to the World Health Organization, 164,000 Americans visit emergency rooms each year because of ladder injuries.
Recent survey results published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in which more than 50 percent of ladder-related injuries were found in the United States in 15 years underline the problem of ladder safety.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission offers safety tips that can be used by professionals and non-professionals alike.
Stand firm. Place a ladder wherever you want it to be.
You can go alone or with a partner. For extra safety and support, bring another person to help you hold the lower part of a ladder. A ladder should not be climbed by more than one person to ensure it doesn’t get too heavy and falls over.
Don’t climb to the top. Don’t stand on the ladder’s top rung. Instead, climb down to move the ladder to the place you prefer.
-Watch for doors. Avoid placing a ladder near any opening doors. Unexpected exits could result in a ladder accident.
-Be shoe-savvy When working on ladders, wear shoes with dry soles and clean soles. Avoid flip-flops and sandals.
But most importantly, remember the rule three: According the American Ladder Institute, “Three Points of Contact”To reduce the chance of a slip, fall, you should always keep two hands and one feet in contact with the steps, rails or sides of a ladder.
Gutter maintenance and cleaning are the most dangerous activities that can lead to ladder injuries. Install rain dispersal gutters, which don’t need routine cleaning, to reduce your risk.
Rainhandler Rain Dispersal systems, such as the Rainhandler Rain Dispersal System, are designed to keep leaves and debris from gutters.
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