Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: dazmond on April 04, 2010, 04:43:53 pm
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ive been a trad window cleaner for 16 years.
1st fall:id been cleaning about 2 years when the ladder slipped down the wall on imprinted concrete.i landed on my feet.result:sprained ankle/damaged ladders and custys window sill.
2nd fall:id been cleaning about 4 years when ladders slipped down the wall on shiny flagstones.i landed on my heels.result:hurt heels a bit and hurt back.
both times i knew the ladder climb looked a bit dodgy but i carried on anyway
i was back window cleaning within a few days both times.i was very lucky.
ive now had no falls for 12 years.i use ladderstopper/mitts and use a trad pole for dodgy windows etc.
i will be wfp in the next few months and will keep ladder work to an absolute minimum.
too many imprinted concrete/gravel/sloping driveways,decking,shiny flagstones etc not to switch to a safer method.
i personally cant wait to be up and running with new van/wfp etc for my own piece of mind and safety regardless of cleaning any quicker although i hope that will be the case over time.
best wishes to you all
dazmond
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u wont regret it .once u get into it . happy easter
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yes iv bin of wonce every 2 1/2 years but not once since iv WFP ,and thats why i went with WFP
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thanks tacky.all the best to you as well! ;) :) :)
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My only serious fall was when I was working 3 stories on a residential home in Plymouth. My ladder snapped!!!!
I'd been saying to the wife for quite a while that I really should think about replacing it and I was right.
I landed on the steps in the basement, spraining my ankle and with just a few cuts and bruises I was very lucky.
The thing that upset me most??????
The poxy soldiers standing guard at The Durnford Street Barracks, RIGHT ACROSS THE ROAD didn't even blink out of time. I could have been dead but they didn't even ask if I was okay - miserable buggars :'(
I invested in WFP after that ;)
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both times i knew the ladder climb looked a bit dodgy but i carried on anyway
like ive said could have been avoided
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I'd been saying to the wife for quite a while that I really should think about replacing it and I was right.
another one could have been avoided
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I know it could have been avoided but in time you won't have to worry about things like ladder falls because nobody will be allowed to use them. They WILL be banned, it's just a matter of time. This nanny state we live in would ban going out of the house if it could ;D
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yes iv bin of wonce every 2 1/2 years but not once since iv WFP ,and thats why i went with WFP
what ??????????
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yes iv bin of wonce every 2 1/2 years but not once since iv WFP ,and thats why i went with WFP
what ??????????
he fell off every 2and half years like clockwork ie 4 x in 10 years ;D
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How about you Stan? Any falls?
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How about you Stan? Any falls?
oh yes and both could have been avoided,and a few slides which have been stoppd when the spikes have caught a raised flag or groove, 3 years next month since last one,a lot more careful nowdays
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I fell in my first year. A hot sweaty day, tired and in a hurry!
I had a few scrapes, and a couple of bruises; some nasty; but nothing serious. I landed with my legs through the ladder, sort of standing up.
I think that unless you aren't human, the chances are you'll make a mistake with a ladder one day.
The laws of averages suggests that if you use ladders on a daily basis; say climb a ladder 50 times per day (which is a tame figure), four days a week (just say), that's 200 climbs a week. So imagine you work a slack 40 weeks per year, that's 8000 ladder climbs per year.
Imagine you work 10 years as a window cleaner, that's 80,000 ladder climbs, and my figures are based on really low estimates; it could be a lot lot more climbs than that.
The chances are that during one of those 80,000 climbs, something bad is going to happen.
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same as driving your car Tosh the more milage the more chance of an accident which with the numptys on the road today wont be your fault
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same as driving your car Tosh the more milage the more chance of an accident which with the numptys on the road today wont be your fault
That's a rubbish analogy because we haven't got a safe PRACTICAL alternative to using the roads to travel, whereas we have a simple PRACTICAL and safe alternative to using ladders for the majority of routine window cleaning.
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10 years, 80,000 climbs according to Tosh...no falls. No probs.
Slipped off a 5ft pointer ladder once on a mossy decking, but got straight up and carried on, so that hardly counts.
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Squeaks, you're so lazy you adopted your children! You won't have done 80,000 climbs, probably a quarter of that, so no wonder you never fell! ;D
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Squeaks, you're so lazy you adopted your children!
LOL that is so funny. Thats the funniest thing youve said Tosh, ever.
;D ;D ;D
There wasn't much competition though...
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same as driving your car Tosh the more milage the more chance of an accident which with the numptys on the road today wont be your fault
That's a rubbish analogy because we haven't got a safe PRACTICAL alternative to using the roads to travel, whereas we have a simple PRACTICAL and safe alternative to using ladders for the majority of routine window cleaning.
dont you have trams and trains yet
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fell yrs ago doing stanney lane high school
in ellesmere port broke ma right elbow
as i lived in stoke at the time i changed belt to left side
carried on in agony lol though in all sincerity
a m8 was rushing not waiting to b footed
on old staffordshire blue bricks
the type u find in old terraced back yards
slipped fell result was left leg amputated below
knee :( :( :(
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once the pointers slipped away from were i had them leaning on the wall and i went with them but was unhurt due to no great height could probably have been avoided though :-\
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I used ladders for about 7 1/2 years.
Fell off 5 times.
Every time through complacency.
Never injured anything but my pride luckily enough.
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thats terrible m8,sorry to hear that about your m8!must have been very hard for him to deal with.
fell yrs ago doing stanney lane high school
in ellesmere port broke ma right elbow
as i lived in stoke at the time i changed belt to left side
carried on in agony lol though in all sincerity
a m8 was rushing not waiting to b footed
on old staffordshire blue bricks
the type u find in old terraced back yards
slipped fell result was left leg amputated below
knee :( :( :(
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i think people have to realise you can get injured doing the silliest things.I think the wfp vs ladders posts are getting very boring,i know this is asking about peoples falls but it seems to be having a dig at the same time.
Lots of people get injured doing diy,but they still do it.
Some people prefer traditional cleaning to pole cleaning some the otherway.
Who cares?
We are all window cleaners and do it for one thing,to make a living.
Some people like old cars some like new,its upto the individual.
Lets learn to respect what everyone prefers and not dig people etc.
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i think people have to realise you can get injured doing the silliest things.I think the wfp vs ladders posts are getting very boring,i know this is asking about peoples falls but it seems to be having a dig at the same time.
Lots of people get injured doing diy,but they still do it.
Some people prefer traditional cleaning to pole cleaning some the otherway.
Who cares?
We are all window cleaners and do it for one thing,to make a living.
Some people like old cars some like new,its upto the individual.
Lets learn to respect what everyone prefers and not dig people etc.
I personally don't think any one on here really cares all that much.
I have never been offended by anything posted on here and have never intended to offend others.
I have gleaned some useful insight into how others are operating their businesses via this forum, sometimes though I think some of you should not take the ramblings of a window cleaner (who should really be out cleaning windows but is instead typing away on a forum) quite so seriously.
;D
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good point Clee.
I've been at this game since 1989. Fell once in my first or second year I think it was, set the ladder at a stupid angle. It slipped from under me and I went down. Hurt the soles of my feet and couldn't walk for a few days. I was lucky and it made me more carefull.
By the way, when the ladder slips away, don't start thinking you have time to turn or react in any way. You don't!!! Maybe if you are up on a 3rd floor (God forbid), you may just have enough time to scream. :-\ I don't do any work over first floor. Don't need to, but I'm lucky because I only use ladders on Squaddie houses. German custies are all cleaned from inside and by appointment only.
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Not fell before once i forgot i was up the ladder and went to walk off bum twitched then also had it slip once but it caught hold in beetween slabs on the pointing it goes so quick and stopped me from rushing so much ;D
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In 13 years I have had 3 occasions where the ladder slid from under me. The first was on a slightly mossy flagstone when I was 15 feet or so up. The second was when I was about 10 feet up on slippery decking. The third was when over a porch with a pitched roof. On a fourth occasion the ladder was blown sideways in a gust of wind. The ladder went one way, and I jumped clear the other.
I walked away from every fall. Each time, I was 100% in the wrong by misjudging the risk. I am still 100% trad, just a less complacent one!
In addition to this, I fell off a ledge once (1st floor) when standing back to check the window after I had cleaned it. Landed on my backside! Again I was very fortunate and was able to carry on working once my embarrassment had subsided!
John
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In 13 years I have had 3 occasions where the ladder slid from under me. The first was on a slightly mossy flagstone when I was 15 feet or so up. The second was when I was about 10 feet up on slippery decking. The third was when over a porch with a pitched roof. On a fourth occasion the ladder was blown sideways in a gust of wind. The ladder went one way, and I jumped clear the other.
I walked away from every fall. Each time, I was 100% in the wrong by misjudging the risk. I am still 100% trad, just a less complacent one!
John.
when its windy have you tried cornering the ladder
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Hi Stan,
Yes I do corner the ladder now! On this occasion the window I was trying to clean was on the side of a block of flats, in the middle, 3 floors up. I only got about 10 feet up the ladder, realized I wasn't going to make it and was coming down again! (Sooner than I had hoped though ;D)
John.
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like the new pic Stan the Man ;D but wot is it :-\
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Not fell before once i forgot i was up the ladder and went to walk off bum twitched then also had it slip once but it caught hold in beetween slabs on the pointing it goes so quick and stopped me from rushing so much ;D
Are you serious? :o ;D
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thats terrible m8,sorry to hear that about your m8!must have been very hard for him to deal with.
fell yrs ago doing stanney lane high school
in ellesmere port broke ma right elbow
as i lived in stoke at the time i changed belt to left side
carried on in agony lol though in all sincerity
a m8 was rushing not waiting to b footed
on old staffordshire blue bricks
the type u find in old terraced back yards
slipped fell result was left leg amputated below
knee :( :( :(
hes dealt with it remarkable e even stil does a few windows
e was a pro footballer as well yrs before e was at port vale
finished thru injury went on the windows for bout 11yr then
the accident which resulted in his amputation the guy jus gets on wiv it
honest the guy is a top m8 n a crackin lad to boot 8) 8)
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faire play to him no point giving up :)
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thats good to hear m8!
thats terrible m8,sorry to hear that about your m8!must have been very hard for him to deal with.
fell yrs ago doing stanney lane high school
in ellesmere port broke ma right elbow
as i lived in stoke at the time i changed belt to left side
carried on in agony lol though in all sincerity
a m8 was rushing not waiting to b footed
on old staffordshire blue bricks
the type u find in old terraced back yards
slipped fell result was left leg amputated below
knee :( :( :(
hes dealt with it remarkable e even stil does a few windows
e was a pro footballer as well yrs before e was at port vale
finished thru injury went on the windows for bout 11yr then
the accident which resulted in his amputation the guy jus gets on wiv it
honest the guy is a top m8 n a crackin lad to boot 8) 8)
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Not fell before once i forgot i was up the ladder and went to walk off bum twitched then also had it slip once but it caught hold in beetween slabs on the pointing it goes so quick and stopped me from rushing so much ;D
Are you serious? :o ;D
Are you serious?
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The ladder slipped on me twice in 2 years, both times on concrete, luckily both times it stopped after moving a few feet and I got away without injury.
My father law fell and landed on a brand new car,.. it cost him a trip to A&E, a few stitches, a week off work and a hefty repair bill. It was the deciding factor in our switch to wfp!
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sham he dident run of like acow boy then no hefty bill ;D ;D ;D ;D
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like the new pic Stan the Man ;D but wot is it :-\
crest of Burnley football club ;D ;D
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10 years on the ladder, hardly a scratch.
5 years WFP then broke my shoulder falling off a small A-frame