Safety and PPE
This is the boring page, but the only one that is absolutely vital. Safety should be your top priority. What price would you put on your hearing, your eyesight or the (current) good condition of your knees? There are a couple of aspects to safety:
working in a safe and sensible manner;
using equipment designed to protect you from harm.
Neither of these is a substitute for the other: you should always work safely AND wear the correct equipment. For this website, I shall restrict safety advice to cover basic situations and tasks. (Other jobs, outside the scope of this blog, would require further measures.)
Working safely
Ladders
How often do you see a window cleaner using a ladder these days? How about builders? – they use scaffolding when repointing a wall. Ladders are an awful lot rarer than they used to be because their misuse has been a leading cause of injuries since the pyramids were built. Now we seem to have wised up, but ladders are still needed at times. Ladder safety is perhaps the most important thing to get right. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
• wear proper shoes.
• always follow the manufacturer’s instructions;
• never stretch out sideways when you’re on a ladder. Stop being lazy, climb down and move the ladder across;
• always hold on to your ladder with at least one hand;
• ensure your ladder is vertical – not leaning across to one side;
• make sure the ladder is supported by a stable surface, both at the top and the bottom;
• set your ladder at the correct angle. The rule of four is a great rule of thumb – place the base of your ladder one foot from the wall or other surface for every four feet it rises above the ground. In other words, if you’re going to be working eight feet up, the base of your ladder should be back two feet;
• brace the feet of the ladder. This can be as easy as finding someone to jam their foot against the bottom;
• tie the top of your ladder to a solid, secure object;
The HLS blog has some excellent safety information on ladder use.
Blades
• When using a knife, cut in a direction away from your body whenever appropriate.
• If you need to cut towards your body, stand to the side of the line you’re cutting along. There’s a good eHow article which explains this a bit more.
• When sawing, you might, sometimes, want to use your thumb to guide the blade. If you do, keep fingers and thumbs away from the teeth of the saw. Don’t rush the cutting because that makes a mistake more likely.
• If your knife has a retractable blade, always slide it back into the body of the knife whenever you finish a cut.
• Do not leave knives, saws or scissors on the floor (so nobody can kick them or lean on them).
• As with all tools, store all blades somewhere safe.
Lifting
Back pain, twisted knees and ankles, crushed toes – just take it easy and get some help if you can. The Health and Safety Executive can explain things better than me, but here’s a few points from their website:
- Reduce the amount of twisting, stooping and reaching
- Avoid lifting from floor level or above shoulder height, especially heavy loads
- Adjust storage areas to minimise the need to carry out such movements
- Consider how you can minimise carrying distances
- Assess the weight to be carried and whether the worker can move the load safely or needs any help – maybe the load can be broken down to smaller, lighter components
Use the correct tools
Come on – own up: hands up everyone who hasn’t ever used a shoe for a hammer, a butter knife for a screwdriver or a chair instead of a ladder? I think I’m probably guilty of all of these at some point, but it’s really not a good idea at all.
We have tools for a reason. If you use something for the wrong purpose, you’re risking personal injury and damage to the object.
See blog article on a basic tool kit.
Rushing and tiredness
Another common one here. ‘It’s been a long day and I just need to get this job finished. It’ll only take twenty minutes more.’ This is the danger time: the potential for accidents and mistakes becomes much greater as the day wears on. Do yourself a favour and call it a day. There’s always tomorrow to finish off. The best idea is to start early in the day, leaving yourself plenty of time to get it done; plus, you’ll have time to go to the shops if you’ve forgotten something you need.
Lighting
You need a decent level of light to be able to measure to the nearest millimetre or to work on anything detailed. But sufficient light also helps to avoid trips and falls.
Ventilation
Sanding kicks up dust. Paint can give off unpleasant fumes. If possible, you should do these jobs outdoors but it’s probably not too easy to take your wall out into the garden, so have the windows open when you can. Its also probably not the best idea to smoke in a room with wet paint either.
Plenty of space
Never ‘make do’ and squeeze in behind those boxes: do things properly – move that table into the other room and roll back the rug. And, while I’m on the subject, have a quick tidy up every ten minutes or so during the job so tools don’t gradually spread across the floor.
Power tools
This is a big one. Some electric drills punch at around one horsepower. Cordless drills are considerably less than this but even so – just think about it for a moment: would you like your arm wrenched by a horse? Power tools should always be used carefully because they have the potential to cause serious damage. If you need confirmation, just do a quick internet search for power tool injuries.
See blog article on a basic tool kit.
Here’s a link to a blog from powertools2uexpress, which goes into quite a bit of detail. It’s worth a read.
Heavy things
DOn’t put heavy stuff high up, where it can fall. You might think this is a bit of a fussy one but, if you rest your hammer down on the floor, there’s no chance it can fall on your head. I’m sure there are plenty of people around who have regretted saying, “Purleeease, I’m not that stupid – I’ll just make sure it can’t fall off the shelf.”
Vibration
This one isn’t so well known. There’s a condition known as Vibration White Finger which, whilst it might sound like one of those made up jokey-type modern syndromes, causes a permanent and painful numbness and tingling in the hands and arms. I can assure you it’s real. It’s not a sudden thing, but gradually creeps up on you if you frequently use vibrating tools (usually power tools), over a long period of time (perhaps years). The occasional DIYer is incredibly unlikely to suffer from this but it’s worth being aware that it exists.
PPE
Eye protection
Highly recommended
It’s worth using a pair of safety glasses or goggles for a lot of jobs. They’ll cut down on dust in your eyes and offer some protection from any tiny bits heading your way. Particularly worth considering when using power tools. For occasional, light DIY use, you probably can’t go too wrong if you just pick up a cheap pair from any reputable DIY shop. Just make sure they fit you well and have good reviews. If you want more detail, you could check out this article from the RS blog: it gives you loads of detail to help you choose.
Dust mask
Highly recommended
A mask will give protection from various dusts and particles hanging around in the air, which can damage your lungs. These are not the same thing as the COVID masks we’ve been wearing for the past year or two. For DIY use in the UK, they come in different ratings:
FFP1 (often shortened to P1) for low dust levels, drilling, sanding, sawing
FFP2 (often shortened to P2) better protection than P1 – for medium dust levels, sanding
FFP3 (often shortened to P3) better protection than P2 – for higher dust levels
Available in any decent DIY shop, it’s advisable to grab a pack of disposable masks: P1 or P2 should be good enough for the kind of jobs on this website. There are plenty of information sources on how to fit a mask so I don’t intend to reproduce it here. If you’re not sure, just get on the internet. One word of caution about occasional mask use – don’t reuse masks for too long: once it starts to show signs of becoming a bit grubby from dust, get rid of it. There’s plenty of information in this blog by alphasolway.
Ear protection
Not essential for casual DIY but - then again - not a bad idea
My hearing isn’t what it was when I was younger. I reckon this is down to loud music, headphones and power tools. If you want to hang onto your hearing for longer, get some ear plugs or ear defenders.
Ear defenders look like big headphones. You can pick up a pair for £3-4 in a decent DIY shop. I find them much more convenient than ear plugs.
Ear plugs are those little squashy nuggets that you stick in your ears. They work a treat but they’re not so convenient to keep removing and putting back in.
Grab one of them and squash it about a bit, rolling it into a thin cylinder. Then insert it into your ear (not too far – you’re not digging for treasure) and hold it in place while it expands to fit your ear canal. It’s probably a good idea to do the same thing in your other ear.
Gloves
Not essential for casual DIY but - then again - not a bad idea
The range of protective gloves is almost mind-boggling. I’d recommend a pair of builders’ gloves because they’re fairly cheap, they give you a little warmth, some protection and, since they fit fairly tightly, you will still have good dexterity for picking up those small screws. They can be a bit too grippy at times – especially when drilling – so be careful not to touch a spinning drill with gloves on. Probably not the best idea to do it with gloves off either.
You’re probably not going to need anything more substantial for any jobs on this website. You definitely want a pair of rubber gloves for liquid cleaning chemicals.
Knees
Probably not needed for casual DIY
This one took me a long time to realise. A common complaint amongst tradesmen is dodgy knees. I use knee pads which fit into special pockets in my work trousers, but you can also get strap-on pads. They’re not terribly comfortable but an awful lot better than kneeling on an old nail.
Shoes
Very strongly recommended
You really do need to wear shoes when doing any DIY: not flip flops or slippers – proper shoes. If you’re dealing with heavy things, work shoes with reinforced toecaps are worth considering.
First aid kit
Very strongly recommended
This is more a point of household organisation and you don’t really need a first aid kit on you at all times. But on that occasion when you cut your finger, it’s quite helpful if you don’t need to rummage around in the cupboard in the hope that you’ll come across that tube of Germolene which went out of date in 2009. Just make sure you can lay your hands on a plaster and some antiseptic easily.
Food for thought
The Saxton Blades blog has some great statistics on DIY accidents in the UK, and some very helpful safety tips.
Takeaways
- Your safety and health are far more important than getting a job done. Take them seriously.
- Work sensibly and safely: be aware of the hazards and risks and ensure that your environment and practices are ordered and tidy.
- Use the correct tools and keep a healthy respect for them uppermost in your mind.
- Have a sensible attitude towards wearing the correct PPE.
