Safety first!

The homeowner and business owner that hires a soft-washer or power-washer should inquire about the contractor’s safety practices. Some specific areas to ask about include: fall restraints; hearing protection; barricade system around the work area; fume hazard from gasoline powered equipment; monitoring electrical hazards, fall hazard from long poles, and more.

Whew! You just want to clean the dark streaks off the roof or the walls – that did not seem like a dangerous task!

As with any physical work that uses power tools, the operator deals with hazards. Accidents are rare but can happen. So it is just logical to think through using best practices for safety. First of all – so that neither workers nor customers are hurt. Second – to prevent damage to either the customer’s building or to the contractor’s equipment or vehicles.

The process of roof cleaning may involve the contractor climbing on the roof, so that needs ropes and harnesses to prevent falling. It may be the case that long poles can be operated from standing on the ground. But long poles might fall over and result in damage.

As you can see, there are many tasks to assure that they are performed safely. The customers may want to check with their insurance agent to confirm their liability coverage is appropriate. And of course, the customer will want to ask the contractor about their general and liability business insurance. Just in case of an accident, which could happen.

As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Sensible safety-first preparations will help make the job go smoothly, the building get cleaned nicely, and the workers go home safe at the end of the day.