Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: steve.ternent on June 11, 2008, 06:41:42 pm
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:o
I met a W/C today by the name of Ralph, 70 years old and retired!
"I still do a bit to keep my hand in!" he said
He asked why I used pole system... told him "Health & Safety" 8-)
He tells me he fell of his ladder 8 months ago
Couldn't go backwards... Greenhouse, so I slid down the ladder!
THE SIDE OF THE LADDER OPENED HIS FOREARM UP ON THE INSIDE... SPINNING AROUND TO THE FRONT(BACK) OF HIS HAND WHERE IT EXITED... almost lost his hand!
"They managed to save the hand" he said
It looked like spaghetti junction white scars everywhere, with a nice lump of grizzle on the back!
Made me sick to look at it! :-[
Seriously get rid of those ladders! >:( :o 8-)
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I dont even carry one! Luke
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Seriously get rid of those ladders! >:( :o 8-)
Yeah, OK...I'll ditch my ladders and sign on tomorrow!
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When I say I'm ladders free, I mean it.
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Dont use ladders at all.
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100% ladder free and loving it ;D ;D ;D ladders kill in the wrong hands
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at that age he shouldnt have been on ladders,my dads an ex w/c and i took his ladders off him before he was seventy.ladders are safe in the right hands,you are just scaremainerying.
No I genuinely believe ladder-less w/c is safer and beneficial for all concerned!
::)
Ask any insurance agency for the statistics on ladder falls in the UK over the last Three years!
Insurance premiums (proper one's) prove their concern's and are reflected in the price! :o
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Wfp is clearly safer than ladders, however as stated if correctly used with ladder stops etc etc they are safe and essential for certain jobs!!! i wouldn't dream of going out in my van without mine!!!!
Been cleaning 5 years and i hve never fallen, touch wood!!!!!!!
I will never get rid!!
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the daft thing is custermers don t really mind once you explain the safety issues.you don t have to go wfp if you can t or don t want to.we started using extention poles years ago and never lost a customer,sorry just one who said the windows are fine but i like to see you earn your money.please don t fall off just to earn money ,family and life are to precious. cheers mick
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Get yourself a pair of safety spikes on the bottom of your ladders
Rubber mits on the top
Have a safe working practice
Work in a two man team as you will always need ladders holding
Bobs your uncle!
JUST ANOTHER THOUGHT.....in relation to my last point I wonder what percentage of those who have injured themselves have been lone workers...again you will always need ladders holding work in a 2 man team..
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Accidents happen. They happen because of some failure by the user. I presume we are all vehicle drivers on here and how many times have we had or nearly had an accident and why was that?
As long as the equipment is in good condition and you follow some basic rules you will be ok.
Some years back I had a few minor accidents and on each occassion it was my fault through the wrong angles or over reaching.
We probably use ladders now on less than 5% of all work because it is the only way the job can be done, unless we wanted to erect a 12 foot staffold tower once a month on a village location with 1700's leaded glass.
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at that age he shouldnt have been on ladders,my dads an ex w/c and i took his ladders off him before he was seventy.
I'd like to see you take my Dad's ladders off him!!! He's a 75 year old builder who's used ladders most days since he was 15 years of age!
Driving a car is far more dangerous than using a ladder (properly) but you won't stop driving your car will you? ;)
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my old man was still on the ladders till till he was 70 it kept him fit only stopped because hes got parkinons its not the ladder thats dangerous its the user but that being said he sees the the advantage of wfp and encourages it
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The trouble is that the more times you do something the risk is multiplied. A window cleaner will move and climb, move and climb. So eventually you WILL find that bit of dodgy ground or the difficult stretch that catches you out. If every house was perfect you might be in with a chance but we all know they are not.
Even though the chances of falling off may be very small, if you take that chance enough times the odds are going come up eventually.
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Morning Vince, I agree, statistics say that eventually you MUST come off your ladders. But by the same formula statistically you MUST have a car crash...but we still drive.
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Morning Simon, I agree with you. As a long term taxi driver I have had more than my fair share of road accidents, mostly involving people with no insurance.
Part of the reason I am cleaning windows is because I wanted to get away from all the stress and hassle of owning and driving a taxi.
My point is you may not be able to eliminate risk entirely but you can make choices.
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I have no choice but to use ladders unfortunately.
Anyway work beckons...gonna pee down methinks.
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I love ladders. :)
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I love ladders. :)
ahhhh thats nice :) although i personally prefer to love something of
the female persuasion... each to there own ;D
oh yeah ladders dont kill its normally the idiot using them
i have fell off once tore ligaments in leg was lucky when looking back
but was using incorrectly so was asking for trouble!! :(
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>:( >:( >:(
I have a friend who still uses ladders, works much harder than me
(because he is so slow!)
He is slightly older than me 47 I think and weighs around 17-18 stone
(on a good day ;D )
The Ladder's he uses are not professional but from a DIY store!
My point...
Take a look at the "I-Beam" type ladders and just look at the flimsy support you have! :o
By their design ladders are not supposed to be a too large an angle away from the wall!
I have seen loads of people walking up at a ridiculous angle (footed by car/spikes/sand-bags etc )
It's a very small piece of aluminum that's keeping you up! :o
My advice;
If you use ladders at the very least BUY GOOD ONE'S! ::)
I have another friend who bought a good trade standard ladder... only to return them, because they were "TOO HEAVY" ??? ??? ???
Life is too important! 8)
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the ladders your mate uses are rubbish i use diy ladders but titan which are box section,the ladders he has are only safe up to 15 stone so he is an accident waiting to happen
I wish you would talk to him, he won't listen to me! :o
Ladders are safe... It people who take risks! :o
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I am wfp and loveing it but will I ditch my ladders? Not on you Nelly.
I dont use them much, Some days not at all.But I allways carry a pair just in case.I would feel I was going to work naked if I never had my ladders. 29 years as a full time w/cleaner I will have been up and down a ladder more then many will do in a lifetime.
I did two guttering jobs(Cleaning them out) on Tuesday with my ladders,which paid me more the £50 an hour. I enjoyed the work.
I am a professional window cleaner and so I will allways carry a ladder. Yes I could fall,But I could get knocked over crossing a road.I may have an accident in the van, would I be crushed by my full tank of water if it broke free?
How many wfp chaps have fallen over their hoses and broken an arm?
Dont get me wrong I am wfp through and through,my biggest regret is that I had not switched to wfp as soon as it came out in this country.But I will allways use and carry my ladders, all be it in a limited capacity.
I have fallen off my ladders a few times whilst w,cleaning and its not nice. But I have lost more time off work as result of injuries sustained by playing football.
Neil
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the ladders your mate uses are rubbish i use diy ladders but titan which are box section,the ladders he has are only safe up to 15 stone so he is an accident waiting to happen
I wish you would talk to him, he won't listen to me! :o
Ladders are safe... It people who take risks! :o
Where'd he go? :(
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Hello everyone!!
It has been very interesting here reading different peoples opinions,
I would just like to say im a woman window cleaner and that is not the reason why I dont use ladders but I dont because I dont have to use a ladder my pole is all I need and have been managing absolutely fine for about 9 weeks now my dad hasnt touched a ladder for about 2 years.
Yes there dangerous if not used properly but not every business can have 2 people I certainly safety or not wouldnt want a job that involves having to foot a ladder all the time,even if you took t in turns would till be very dull.
Im very lucky with the business im taking over there has been 3 of us whilst been training and like today went out with no ladders one of us was cleaning at the front one out the back and one washing the concervatory it took us about 25 minutes and we were done,it was a big farm house mind you!but it was done and no accidents.
That was all well and good but soon ill be on my own as the other 2 want to be home more as my mum has M.S and my dad wants to be home to look after her theres no way I could even think about taking over if we still had to use ladders!
Its what suits you at the end of the day!!
Kind regards
Michelle x x 8)
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I am wfp and loveing it but will I ditch my ladders? Not on you Nelly.
I dont use them much, Some days not at all.But I allways carry a pair just in case.I would feel I was going to work naked if I never had my ladders. 29 years as a full time w/cleaner I will have been up and down a ladder more then many will do in a lifetime.
I did two guttering jobs(Cleaning them out) on Tuesday with my ladders,which paid me more the £50 an hour. I enjoyed the work.
I am a professional window cleaner and so I will allways carry a ladder. Yes I could fall,But I could get knocked over crossing a road.I may have an accident in the van, would I be crushed by my full tank of water if it broke free?
How many wfp chaps have fallen over their hoses and broken an arm?
Dont get me wrong I am wfp through and through,my biggest regret is that I had not switched to wfp as soon as it came out in this country.But I will allways use and carry my ladders, all be it in a limited capacity.
I have fallen off my ladders a few times whilst w,cleaning and its not nice. But I have lost more time off work as result of injuries sustained by playing football.
Neil
Good post.
Well said.
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I am wfp and loveing it but will I ditch my ladders? Not on you Nelly.
I dont use them much, Some days not at all.But I allways carry a pair just in case.I would feel I was going to work naked if I never had my ladders. 29 years as a full time w/cleaner I will have been up and down a ladder more then many will do in a lifetime.
I did two guttering jobs(Cleaning them out) on Tuesday with my ladders,which paid me more the £50 an hour. I enjoyed the work.
I am a professional window cleaner and so I will allways carry a ladder. Yes I could fall,But I could get knocked over crossing a road.I may have an accident in the van, would I be crushed by my full tank of water if it broke free?
How many wfp chaps have fallen over their hoses and broken an arm?
Dont get me wrong I am wfp through and through,my biggest regret is that I had not switched to wfp as soon as it came out in this country.But I will allways use and carry my ladders, all be it in a limited capacity.
I have fallen off my ladders a few times whilst w,cleaning and its not nice. But I have lost more time off work as result of injuries sustained by playing football.
Neil
Good post.
Well said.
Have to agree with Squeaky, as that is about spot on.
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I am wfp and loveing it but will I ditch my ladders? Not on you Nelly.
I dont use them much, Some days not at all.But I allways carry a pair just in case.I would feel I was going to work naked if I never had my ladders. 29 years as a full time w/cleaner I will have been up and down a ladder more then many will do in a lifetime.
I did two guttering jobs(Cleaning them out) on Tuesday with my ladders,which paid me more the £50 an hour. I enjoyed the work.
I am a professional window cleaner and so I will allways carry a ladder. Yes I could fall,But I could get knocked over crossing a road.I may have an accident in the van, would I be crushed by my full tank of water if it broke free?
How many wfp chaps have fallen over their hoses and broken an arm?
Dont get me wrong I am wfp through and through,my biggest regret is that I had not switched to wfp as soon as it came out in this country.But I will allways use and carry my ladders, all be it in a limited capacity.
I have fallen off my ladders a few times whilst w,cleaning and its not nice. But I have lost more time off work as result of injuries sustained by playing football.
Neil
Good post.
Well said.
Have to agree with Squeaky, as that is about spot on.
I agree , well said
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Will everybody stop agreeing with me.
It's un-natural. ;D
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Will everybody stop agreeing with me.
It's un-natural. ;D
I disagree!! Do you feel better now Squeaky? ;D
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Doesnt look any better!
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in 18.5 yrs of window cleaning ,luckily I've only had 3 serious falls, 1st time fell backwards so I jumped rather than hit the ground back 1st, fractureed my heel in 3 places, lost 5 months work time. 2nd time over reached and fell down the gap , fractured wrist, 4 weeks off , 3rd time fell off about 10 ft while doing a friend a favor, fractured ankle and back ,8 weeks off , just went back yesterday to dirty frames , so its gonna be slow for the next couple of weeks.
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in 18.5 yrs of window cleaning ,luckily I've only had 3 serious falls, 1st time fell backwards so I jumped rather than hit the ground back 1st, fractureed my heel in 3 places, lost 5 months work time. 2nd time over reached and fell down the gap , fractured wrist, 4 weeks off , 3rd time fell off about 10 ft while doing a friend a favor, fractured ankle and back ,8 weeks off , just went back yesterday to dirty frames , so its gonna be slow for the next couple of weeks.
You call that lucky!!!!!! :o
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How can you clean a window and frames and sills without seeing them, ladders in the correct hands are safe! poor old guy, that would have put me off, but why was he up a ladder at his age, surely he could have given a dole dodger 30 quid a day to do upstairs
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hi, window cleaning for 12 years( thrad) last 5 wfp, in the last 12years using the ladder no injures, us the pole, my back ache'S after long dayr my neck hurts alot from looking up for so long, my eye's hurt if suns out (if forget sun glasses) strip over hoses all the time
people make laugh with all this health and saftey stuff, people have not spent thousands for health and safety, they have changed over to make a lot more money
samuel h
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in 18.5 yrs of window cleaning ,luckily I've only had 3 serious falls, 1st time fell backwards so I jumped rather than hit the ground back 1st, fractureed my heel in 3 places, lost 5 months work time. 2nd time over reached and fell down the gap , fractured wrist, 4 weeks off , 3rd time fell off about 10 ft while doing a friend a favor, fractured ankle and back ,8 weeks off , just went back yesterday to dirty frames , so its gonna be slow for the next couple of weeks.
That's not lucky, that's dreadful!
I was working up ladders for 10 years and didn't have any falls, not even an un-serious one.
I don't know how people manage it.
Ladders aren't scary at all unless you're clumsy. ???
To be fair, I was careless.
I used to run up and down two rungs at a time, reach out, use it in corners...all sorts...
Still didn't manage to fall off though.
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i did all above and fell off twice but this was years ago when both times the ladder slipped from under me, since we spiked are ladders 7 years ago we have never had this problem... but honestly fast trad guys have to run up and down the ladder at daft pace and i wondered just how long my legs would help me do this for becase i know my legs were tireing at 30
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but honestly fast trad guys have to run up and down the ladder at daft pace and i wondered just how long my legs would help me do this for becase i know my legs were tireing at 30
Yes, same here! ;D
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im 30 now and already i was questioning how long a could trad fast for, i am extremely fast trad and good as well that is probably why wfp isnt significantly faster but my days are a lot more chilled and im making more money in the same time (im not gonna fall, unless i trip over a plant pot ;D) i love wfp and i do think it does a better job than trad but i dont think you can get this result from 1 or 2 cleans i think it taks 3 or 4..
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Good on yer MArtin.
Nice to see someone happy and relaxed.
Bob