A surgeon from Portsmouth recently stated that he was 'lucky to be alive' after suffering an eighteen-foot fall. Professor Peter Brennan's rubber-footed ladder slipped while he was cleaning his gutters, resulting in what he called the "most terrifying 2 seconds of my life", followed by "lots of injuries and multiple fractures".
As we've discussed previously on this blog, there are several precautions you can take to reduce the risk of ladder slippage - but Prof. Brennan "checked and double checked" to make sure that his ladder was safe, and he endured a nasty fall nonetheless.
This goes to show that, no matter how careful you are, you can never be 100% sure that an accident will not occur. So what should you do if you're standing on a ladder and, in spite of all safety measures, it begins to fall?
When purchasing a ladder, it's helpful to know what length you need. But what about width? Should you be taking that into consideration too?
It can be difficult to stay safe on a step ladder when your hands are full. If your work requires you to use several different tools in quick succession, you may not be able to hold them all at once, and it's laborious to climb down off the ladder every time you need to change tools.
This is why many of our step ladders come with built-in tool trays. A tray at the top of the ladder makes a great place to keep tools you're not currently using, and it means you can concentrate on staying safe and getting the job done as efficiently as possible.
Before using a step ladder - or any other type of ladder, for that matter - it's important to carry out a thorough risk assessment. This will help you to determine whether a step ladder is actually the safest and most suitable solution for the task at hand.
Most of the step ladders we sell here at Ladders UK Direct are made of either aluminium or fibreglass. Both of these materials have their respective benefits and drawbacks - the right choice for you will depend on how you intend to use your ladder.
LEFT: Professional Swingback Aluminium Step Ladder
RIGHT: Super-Trade Swingback Fibreglass Step Ladder
To help you make an informed buying decision, let's take a quick look at the pros and cons of aluminium ladders, glass fibre ladders, and steel ladders...
