Ladder Safety: Some Tips

Every year ladder accidents cause over one hundred thousand hospital emergency room visits. With a bit of common sense and proper maintenance, you can avoid being one of these people.

Before using your ladder, take a moment to inspect it. Wooden ladders should be free of cracks, and splits. Fiberglass ladders should also be inspected for cracks and chips. Aluminum ladders should be free of sharp edges and have no dents or bent / twisted steps. You should check for loose rungs or steps on all types of ladders. Any of the above defects can cause a ladder to break. If needed, take a few minutes to tighten loose bolts, steps, ladder hinges and tie / reinforcing rods.

It is also important to keep you ladder clean. Slippery steps due to oil, paint or water should be removed promptly. You should also check the rope (lanyard) on extension ladders for fraying or wear and replace it if needed.

Using your ladder

Always use your ladder on a level firm surface and be sure to use leg-levelers if the surface is unlevel. Never use bricks or stones underneath a ladder leg to level the ladder.

Also don't lean a straight / extension ladder against a tree trunk unless both supports of the ladder touch the trunk. If it balances only on the rung, the ladder will be unstable. If you are running your ladder onto a roof edge, make sure that it extends 3 feet above the roofline. This will allow you to safely get on and off the ladder.

It is also important to provide enough angle on the ladder to ensure that the ladder does not fall forward or backwards. Fore every four feet high on a wall the ladder is, you want to have the ladder one foot away. So if you have an 8 foot ladder, you want the base of the ladder two feet away from the wall. That will provide you with a safe 75 degree angle.

When using an extension ladder, always be aware of possible hazards such as power lines and bee nests. Also take note of people around you as a dropped item such as a hammer can cause significant injury.

Be careful of pinch points on ladder--any place where parts come together and present a possibility for injury. Spreader bars with a single pivot-point tend to open and close more smoothly, but some can pinch fingers. Hinges on multiuse ladders are also finger pinchers.

Be careful of your fingers when closing or retracting a ladder and store your ladder in a sheltered area. This is especially necessary for fiberglass ladders as over time direct sunlight can weaken the ladder. This is also good so that burglars cant use the ladder to gain access to your upstairs windows.

Finally, never use a ladder during inclement weather such as rain and high winds and only use wooden or fiberglass ladders when doing electrical work.