Not tractor related but: Coworker injured on step ladder last weekend...

[kebo]

A guy I work with came in to work today with a very noticeable limp. He explained that he was half way up an 8ft step ladder when the front legs collapsed and pitched him off the ladder. He said he was banged up with bruising on the chest and hip and had a lot of soreness, but he had gone to the local urgent care center to be x-rayed for broken bones, etc. Nothing broken, so he was pretty lucky.

Upon checking the aluminum ladder, which belonged to his son who had recently purchased it new, it was rated for 250 lbs. He weighed 305lbs. Maybe time for a good diet for him! Anyway, to the reason for my post... check any "unknown" ladders for their weight rating if you are on the "heavy side", before climbing up it... not after!

The older I get, the more I hate ladders lol. I need to pressure wash the algae off of the north side of my 2 story house, and I am dreading climbing up my 20 ft extension ladder already. I've tried the 18ft extension wands, but it just didn't work for me. Be careful out there!

 

[s219]

The older I get, the more I hate ladders lol. I need to pressure wash the algae off of the north side of my 2 story house, and I am dreading climbing up my 20 ft extension ladder already. I've tried the 18ft extension wands, but it just didn't work for me. Be careful out there!

I used to climb up wet ladders to pressure wash, but then found and bought a "2nd story" nozzle kit. It lets me spray the soap mix up to the top of the house and rinse it back off. The key is to use a good soap mix that will melt the algae off so you don't need high pressure (which is bad for the house anyhow). I used a mix of pool shock (12% bleach), dawn, and tide in water. Spray on, wait a few minutes, and rinse off. All from the ground!

 

[SPYDERLK]

A guy I work with came in to work today with a very noticeable limp. He explained that he was half way up an 8ft step ladder when the front legs collapsed and pitched him off the ladder. He said he was banged up with bruising on the chest and hip and had a lot of soreness, but he had gone to the local urgent care center to be x-rayed for broken bones, etc. Nothing broken, so he was pretty lucky.

Upon checking the aluminum ladder, which belonged to his son who had recently purchased it new, it was rated for 250 lbs. He weighed 305lbs. Maybe time for a good diet for him! Anyway, to the reason for my post... check any "unknown" ladders for their weight rating if you are on the "heavy side", before climbing up it... not after!

The older I get, the more I hate ladders lol. I need to pressure wash the algae off of the north side of my 2 story house, and I am dreading climbing up my 20 ft extension ladder already. I've tried the 18ft extension wands, but it just didn't work for me. Be careful out there!

Anyone weighing that much should have long since developed an understanding of climbing or sitting on ordinary things.

 

[Henro]

I had a aluminum step ladder fold under me some years ago. I quickly switched to fiberglass.

My mistake was I was drilling upwards into something that required a fair amount of pressure, and two legs folded and sent me flying as the result.

True or not, someone told me that fiberglass ladders can be inspected and you can see if they have been damaged rather easily. Aluminum ladders do not show damage as easily.

I don't know if this is fact or fiction, but I now use fiberglass ladders exclusively, both extension and step ladders.

Probably most important to keep in mind the rating of the ladder and the fact that if you are pushing upwards when doing something, that whatever force you are applying is added to your body weight as far as the ladder goes...

Bill

 

[GoldenCityMuse]

True That.

Many ladders at Wal-Mart, Home Depot & Lowes are only homeowner grade, and simply too light for even moderat duty work.

 

[Ed of all trades]

Even good fiberglass ladders can soon have enough slop so that the front legs can mis-align and throw you. You must watch out for that with any ladder. Ed

 

[Gem99ultra]

A guy I work with came in to work today with a very noticeable limp. He explained that he was half way up an 8ft step ladder when the front legs collapsed and pitched him off the ladder. He said he was banged up with bruising on the chest and hip and had a lot of soreness, but he had gone to the local urgent care center to be x-rayed for broken bones, etc. Nothing broken, so he was pretty lucky.

Upon checking the aluminum ladder, which belonged to his son who had recently purchased it new, it was rated for 250 lbs. He weighed 305lbs. Maybe time for a good diet for him! Anyway, to the reason for my post... check any "unknown" ladders for their weight rating if you are on the "heavy side", before climbing up it... not after!

The older I get, the more I hate ladders lol. I need to pressure wash the algae off of the north side of my 2 story house, and I am dreading climbing up my 20 ft extension ladder already. I've tried the 18ft extension wands, but it just didn't work for me. Be careful out there!

Ladders are basically scary to start with. They slide, buckle, break, pinch, and just about any other painful event. But - my advice is NEVER use that power sprayer from a ladder. They can have enough push to just push you right off that ladder before you know what happened. And once you pull that trigger, its hard to just let go of it. Yeah, I've seen it happen, and it's a long recovery spell, if you do recover at all.

Sure, it's a lot more effort to work from the ground to wash a multi-story building. But if you don't have a scaffold or a man-lift, there are no other good choices. Power washing from a ladder though, is no anything like safe.

 

[Deere Dude]

Was helping a friend put soffit and siding on his house yesterday. I was extending my reach as much as possible and standing on the top of his 6' step ladder. It was rated for probably 225 and I am 270 so I pushed my luck. He told me never to do that again as he wasn't sure about his insurance coverage. Stay down a notch or two all the time is my advice.

 

[My Hoe]

This seems like a possible alternative, depending upon topography, etc...:

35 ft Towable Boom Lift Rental
35 ft Scissor Lift | Aerial Equipment | Compact Power Equipment Rental | English Content

And of course they have bigger ones, self-propelled, all-terrain ones, etc....

 

[kthompson]

Sorry do not remember the name right off but paint shop here sells it along with bleach for pressure washing and you mix it with bleach and lower pressure spray it on and let it set a few minutes and then use normal pressure to rinse it off. It does much better job than the bleach/water mix and is much easier on the siding and again no high pressure. I use a tractor pto pump and hand wand to spray it on and while our house is not two story our dormer winder is and reach it fairly well. BTW, have 50 gallon sprayer and it is sure is easier to ride the tractor with the sprayer than moving and handling pressure washer.

The chemical comes in 1 gallon judges and is green in color. I have some normally any way if I need to get the name. kt