We all know that climbing ladders and getting up on the roof of your house can be a dangerous task; and recent studies have shown that as we age the risk of a fall, and serious injury significantly increases. So, we thought we’d share a few points and safety concerns to consider before attempting to clean your own gutters by hand. We’ll also take a look at the techniques and safety equipment that Gutter-Vac technicians use to combat these issues.
- Access to the gutters
- How high are the gutters?
- Will your ladder safely reach the gutters with the base of the ladder a good distance from the wall and the top few rungs over hanging the gutter? If the gutters are too high and the angle of your ladder too steep, then you risk falling backwards.
- Is the ground below your gutters flat, firm and un-movable for your ladder?
- Can the top of the ladder safely rest against the gutter?
- And remember NEVER over-reach.
- The pitch and surface of the roof
- Is your roof too steep or slippery to safely traverse?
- Weather conditions
- Something people often don’t consider is the heat and dehydration factor in summer. Roofs can get extremely hot and you don’t want to risk passing out and falling.
- And NEVER GET ON THE ROOF IN WET CONDITIONS!
There is a lot to consider when taking on this sort of work, but your safety should come first and foremost. Saving a few dollars by doing it yourself isn’t worth the risk of injury. If it isn’t safe, call in the experts. Our Gutter-Vac Townsville technicians have completed Ballantyne Safety training which is a nationally accredited working at heights training course and use the Ballantyne Safety restraint system. Where necessary, they can also vacuum out your gutters from the ground using our groundworks kit, which completely eliminates the risk.
