Take these steps to ladder safety

Learning how to use a ladder safely can keep you out of harm's way or even save your life whether you're painting your house or cleaning your gutters. If you'll be up on your roof, follow our advice on ladder inspection and maintenance before making the climb. Setup and storage are also important whether you're using an extension ladder or a three-step stool.

Just because a ladder is rated for 300 pounds doesn't mean it can't fail if it's not properly set up and used. While there clearly are concerns about some ladders themselves, safer use might have helped prevent some of the roughly 180,000 ladder-related emergency-room visits and 150 deaths reported each year by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Note: While multiuse ladders are increasingly popular, we believe you should use a conventional, Type IA extension ladder for around-the-house projects that are 17 feet high or higher above the ground.

INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE
• Aluminum ladders should have no sharp edges, dents, or bent steps, feet, or rails. Also check for loose rivets. For fiberglass, check for cracks, chips, and missing components. For wood, look for splits, cracks, chips, and loose rungs or steps. Because they can cause the ladder to suddenly fail, any of these problems signals the need for a new ladder.
• Keep ladders clean and dry. Wipe away water, oil, and other slippery substances from steps and rails before you try to climb the ladder, and wipe the ladder clean after each use to prevent deterioration. Moisture can also deteriorate wood.
• Tighten reinforcing rods beneath steps, hinges, and other parts, such as bolts, but do not overtighten.
• Check the lanyard on an extension ladder for wear and fraying. If you need to replace it, follow the manufacturer's instructions.

SETUP AND STORAGE
• Set up your ladder on a firm, level surface. Use leg-levelers if necessary. Never stack objects, such as lumber or stones, beneath a ladder leg to level the ladder.
• Lean a straight or extension ladder against a wall or other straight, even, fixed object—never against a narrow tree or other surface that cannot support both of the ladder's side rails.
• Set up an extension ladder with the base 1 foot away from the wall for every 4 feet the ladder reaches up—that's 3 feet at the base for a 12-foot ladder, or roughly a 75-degree angle. While it might seem easier to climb a ladder at a shallower angle, its feet are more likely to slide out from under you.
• Use your stepladder only in the open, A-shaped position, never when folded—it's not an extension ladder. Make sure the spreaders are fully open and locked.
• Don't set up a ladder near doorways and other high-traffic areas.
• Don't jury-rig equipment to create a longer ladder, such as splicing two short ladders.
• Be sure that your extension ladder extends 3 feet beyond the roofline or work surface.
• When raising any extension ladder, be mindful of hazards to nearby people, power lines, and other accidents waiting to happen. During use, ensure that each section locks before proceeding to the next part. If your ladder has hinges or locks, ensure that each section locks before use and regularly inspect these points for signs of wear.
• Be careful of pinch points on ladder—any place where parts come together and present a possibility for injury. Spreader bars with a single pivot-point tend to open and close more smoothly, but some can pinch fingers. Hinges on multiuse ladders are also finger pinchers.
• When closing, folding, or retracting a ladder, be careful not to place your fingers between sections. When collapsing a telescoping ladder, grip securely on the sides of the ladder. This will help prevent the descending sections from injuring you.
• Keep ladders in a sheltered area away from moisture, heat, and, for fiberglass, direct sunlight. And store ladders indoors so that they don't provide burglars with easier access to the upper floors of your home.
• Before climbing, inspect the area where you'll be working for insect and bird nests. Check the area from below with a pair of binoculars.

USING THE LADDER
• Read all of the manufacturer's safety information carefully and be sure you understand it before using your ladder.
• Use the right ladder for the job. Always select a height that doesn't require you to reach up or out in a way that destabilizes the ladder; keep your belt buckle centered between the rails. Don't use a stepladder to get to the roof.
• Never use a ladder differently from how it's designed to be used. For example, don't use it horizontally—say, as a scaffold—unless that's one of its features, as it is for many articulating multiuse ladders.
• When doing electrical work or working near an electrical power line, use only a wooden or fiberglass ladder. And remember that any ladder can conduct electricity when it's wet.
• Don't allow anybody else on the ladder with you.
• Climb and descend slowly, facing the ladder and holding the side rails with both hands (keep tools in a tool belt). If you can't carry certain tools or are working with items such as paint cans, climb down low enough so that someone can easily hand them up to you, or pull them up with a rope.
• Keep both feet on the ladder. Center your weight between the ladder rails at all times, and avoid sudden, jerky movements.
• Never extend your reach more than 12 inches outside the railst's safer to move the ladder than to reach too far. And don't try to move the ladder when you're standing on it or try to "walk" it into a new position.
• Don't step above the labeled maximum height. Beyond that point, the odds of an accident increase significantly.
• Never climb on the bucket shelf or rear supports on a stepladder. And don't sit on any part of a ladder.
• If you become dizzy or disoriented, close your eyes and breathe deeply until the feeling passes, then climb down if necessary.
• Never climb a ladder during rain or strong winds or if there's a chance of lightning.

Set up your extension ladder with the base 1 foot away from the wall for every 4 feet the ladder reaches up. And always lean it against a wall or other straight, even, fixed object.	Don't use your aluminum ladder if any of the steps are bent. Problems like this one could cause the ladder to fail and signal the need for a new ladder.	Never ascend or descend facing away from the ladder. Your weight should be centered between the rails at all times, and you should make no sudden, jerky movements.
Don't use your stepladder as an extension ladder. And always make sure it's in the open position and that the spreaders are fully open and locked—they can pinch fingers.	Don't step above the labeled maximum height on your ladder. Beyond this point, the ladder becomes top-heavy and the odds of an accident increase.