Living Dangerously

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SPRING CLEANING: 

In the event you have been using a ladder while doing Spring Cleaning, including the cleaning of  rain gutters, eaves, windows, or the roof, you may want to consider the following before starting that residential or business maintenance chore. 

Leaning an extension ladder against your rain gutters can dent and damage them. Don’t be tempted to hang a bucket from your gutters, since the added weight can pull the gutter away from the fascia and you will incur expensive repairs.  After you have cleaned out the gutter debris, flush them with a garden hose.  Next, check for clogs in all downspouts.  Unclogging  or cleaning downspouts maybe the hardest part of cleaning your gutters.

We know the cause of moister left in the eaves, valleys, and gutters which attract carpenter ants, termites, mosquitoes, and roaches.  These insects build their nests in moist wood including rotting trees, tree roots, tree stumps, and logs or boards lying on or buried in the ground. They can also nest in moist or decayed wood inside buildings. Wood decay may be caused by exposure to leaks, condensation, or poor air circulation.  Termites are attracted to areas where moisture accumulates in and around your home, including damp basements, laundry rooms, bathrooms and leaky foundation walls.  Roaches carry 33 dangerous and infectious diseases.  Mosquitoes love breeding inside wet, dark, impacted leaves and debris in gutters or vessels that contain rain water.  Mosquitoes carry West Nile Virus and can be dangerous to your health.  Other allergens, pollens, and contaminants also settle into rain gutters that have not been kept clean and when it is windy, can blow this into your surrounding environment or into open windows to contaminate inner living and working areas, as well.

Cleaning Dangerously:
According to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, about 165,000 Americans require medical treatment for ladder-related injuries each year.  Based on a 1990-2005 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, that number is escalating.  During the course of the study, from beginning to end, the number of reported cases in which Americans were hurt in incidents involving ladders climbed by more than 50 percent.

Other ladder-injury findings from the study:

• More than 2.1 million people sought emergency treatment in the United States for ladder-related injuries.
• Of those injuries, almost 10 percent resulted in hospitalization or transfer to another hospital.
• The most frequently reported injuries were fractures.
• In cases in which the location where the injury took place was recorded, 97 percent happened at home.
• In nearly 77 percent of the cases, the injured party was male.
• According to the World Health Organization, the United States leads the World in ladder deaths.  Each year, there are more than 164,000 emergency room-treated injuries and 300 deaths in the U.S. that are caused by falls from ladders.
• Most ladder deaths are from falls of 10 feet or less.
• Falls from ladders are the leading cause of deaths while maintaining the roof and gutters. 
• Over the past decade, the number of people who have died from falls from ladders has tripled. 

Accidental Fall Statistics:
Gutter cleaning and roofing projects require lots of time up and down ladders. Even if you're fortunate enough to avoid a ladder-related injury, a fall from the roof or off a ladder itself can happen and result in thousands of dollars in hospital and home care expenses, as well as damage to others or surrounding property.  Make sure you have the required insurance for such an accident. 

More Stats on Injuries while Cleaning from a Ladder:
According to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• Falls were the leading cause of nonfatal, medically treated injuries in the U.S. every single year from 1997 through 2007.
• The majority of reported falls occurred in or around the home.
• Falls were the cause of 38 percent of nonfatal, medically treated injuries in 2007.
• From 1997 to 2007, 71 percent of fall-related injuries resulted in at least a trip to a doctor's office or clinic.
• Of that 71 percent, 56 percent were serious enough to necessitate a visit to an emergency room or the use of an emergency vehicle.
• Between 2004 and 2007, accidental falls accounted for almost 25 percent of all reported fractures

Mortality Rates:
The risk of serious injury in a fall increases, of course, as the height off the ground increases. Falls during roofing jobs can be catastrophic, disabling people for life, or even ending lives.

Here are some sobering statistics to encourage you to think twice before making that climb to your roof:

• The Home Safety Council says that falls are "by far the leading cause of home injury deaths."
• Accidental falls killed 20,823 people in 2006, according to the CDC. That's more people than the Miami Heat's American Airlines Arena seats.
• A 2009 article from the Mayo Clinic listing men's top 10 health threats names falls as one of the leading causes of fatal accidents.
• A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) at Columbus Children’s Hospital, reports that more than 2.1 million individuals were treated in U.S. emergency departments for ladder-related injuries from 1990 through 2005.
  That is more than 136,000 cases annually. This is the first U.S. study to use national data to comprehensively examine nonfatal ladder-related injuries. During the 16-year study period, the number of ladder-related injuries increased by more than 50 percent.
• Nearly 10 percent of injuries resulted in hospitalization or transfer to another hospital, approximately twice the admission rate of consumer product-related injuries overall. Of the cases for which location of injury was recorded, 97 percent occurred in non-occupational settings such as homes.

·       Data showed ladder-related injuries most often occur to males, who accounted for nearly 77 percent of the total cases (81 percent according to 2009 reports). And statistics gathered from other sources indicate more than 350 people die in ladder-related accidents each year and growing.
Fractures were the most common type of injury, while the legs and feet were the most frequently injured body parts.

·       Average age of men injured was 42 but the statistics lean towards a higher figure among those 62 and older.

Still thinking about getting up on a ladder to check or clean out your gutters or your roof?  

 As a Fl. Licensed Residential Contractor, InterNachi Certified Master Home Inspector, Licensed Fl. Home Inspector and Owner of a large Insurance Inspection Company, I have been up and down more ladders in a month than most people will climb in a lifetime.

My own Miracle happened on August 21, 2012. A routine roof inspection;  snap two pictures from the ladder and come down, no problem but on this day, this simple task was anything but routine.

I was descending the ladder, the ladder flipped over, and I fell 8 feet onto a cement sidewalk. I knew when I landed I broke my back. My cell phone in the car and an empty neighborhood. This was a bad position to be in. I was finally spotted by couple on a golf cart, about 45 minutes later, and they called 911.  Upon reaching the hospital the first thing they asked me was, “What were you doing, cleaning gutters?”

Now your product would not have helped on that day; however, my point is this; if a veteran like myself can fall and get seriously hurt; I can only imagine how many homeowners fall every year cleaning gutters. No one around to call for help or hear your cries for help when you fall. Trust me it is a bad position to be in.

James W. Ungar.Certified Residential Contractor, CRC 1330123
Fl Licensed Home Inspector, HI3630
Certified Master Inspector, InterNachi CMI
Lighthouse Property Inspection Services, Inc.
PH: 941.359.1432
www.lighthousepropertyservices.com

Do yourself a favor and stay safe on the ground while vacuuming the debris from gutters, roof valleys, and all the other high and hard to reach areas around your premises which needs cleaning. 

BE SAFE…LIVE HEALTHY…and…STAY ON THE GROUND!

Happy and Safer Cleaning Days Ahead!