Are you someone who enjoys working on your home? Perhaps you are somewhat of a DIY enthusiast. If so, you will likely need to use a ladder once in a while. It is also a time of year when people like to decorate the exterior of their houses and generally need a ladder to do it. With this in mind, we thought it was a good idea to highlight a few safety tips when using your ladder.
A ladder can be extremely dangerous to use if you do not put safety first. For example, the ladder may look like it has a secure footing, but you still need to double-check, even if you are not going to be very high up, as you could still suffer a serious injury from a fall. If you use the ladder and walk away from it, be sure to secure the footing again before ascending it.
Although you do not want to be too afraid when using a ladder, neither do you want to be overly confident or too relaxed – this is especially important when you are near the bottom of the ladder. As we mentioned, you can still injure yourself even from a short height.
Avoid overreaching on a ladder. It can be very tempting to overreach, especially if you are doing a job that requires you to constantly move the ladder over a little bit each time. But is it worth the risk, just to save a few extra minutes?
Finally, you never want to place your ladder in a doorway unless the door is locked and you have informed everyone in the home that they should not use it. It is also a good idea to place a sign on the door in case they forget.
