Window Cleaning with Ladders

The humble window cleaner is an important and skilful trade. Whether it is household window cleaner or a professional window washer that cleans the hundreds of glass panels on offices and skyscrapers, window cleaning is a much-needed service.
It is highly skilled too; a poor window cleaner can leave stroke marks on windows which can be an annoying for somebody who has paid good money to have their windows washed.
Window cleaning can also be a risky business with many window washers injured each year as the hazards of using soap and ladders can lead to falls.
Despite recent laws (European Directive 2001/45/EC) that have convinced many window cleaners that ladders are now illegal, in fact they are not; as the UK government insist that using ladders for cleaning windows is a low risk activity and are permissible. Even so, many window cleaners now forgo the humble ladder, opting instead for powerful jet washers; however, these are not as effective at getting windows as clean as good old fashioned elbow grease, and are extremely expensive and wasteful of water.
While nobody can deny using ladders can be dangerous, as long as the proper tools and precautions are used, window cleaning with a ladder can be perfectly safe.
The most critical aspect of working at height when cleaning windows is the ladder. And many accidents only occur because either the wrong ladder is used or it is not used properly.
When using a ladder for cleaning windows, whether you are a professional or a homeowner cleaning their own windows it is important you select the right tool for the job.
Window cleaning ladders are often tapered for added stability and are either aluminium or timber, depending on the surface that they are used on. It is important that the feet of aluminium window cleaning ladders are covered with non-slip adding, to avoid slips, especially considering the use of water that can make the floor surface slippery.
It is also important when climbing ladders to clean windows that extra care is taken when buckets of water are carried up. The bucket should be securely attached at the top of the ladder before work commences, and ladder attachments such as spreaders should be considered to ensure stability.
For more information about window cleaning ladders you can visit the Health and Safety Executive who provide guidance for cleaning windows and using ladders.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/window-cleaning-with-ladders-3943004.html#ixzz19uKsdBPo