Tag Archives: plumbers

General Safety Issues, Hand Protection

Gear Up: Safety Tips for Professional Plumbers

Gear Up: Safety Tips for Professional Plumbers

Written by Sofia

For some countries, it can be easy to neglect the importance of health and safety practices due to lack of awareness, training and resources. Although plumbers have the option to choose between self-employment and working for businesses, your personal protective gears along with your compliance with Occupational Safety and Health standards deserve your time and attention.
Safety Issues
Plumbers may be one of the highest paid professionals in the trade industry but are more exposed to potential hazards and accidents. Like other professions such as builders, electricians and concreters, plumbers also battle with workplace risks. Some prominent ones include:
⦁ Exposure to toxins
⦁ Slips, trips and falls
⦁ Electric shocks and burns
⦁ Manual handling injuries
⦁ Eye hazards
Biohazard waste such as sewerage, mold and bacteria can also have a negative impact on your health. Without proper care and clothing, you may endanger not only your life but also your finances and investments.
Whether it involves a simple pipe repair or water supply installation, your safety shouldn’t be compromised. Here are plumbing safety tips to help prevent accidents around your home or at work:
Pick your hand wear. 
Generally, your hands get the majority of plumbing work. Covering them with either rubber or leather gloves can keep them from chemicals and heat exposures. Heat-insulating gloves are recommended when flame or soldering work is involved.
Before accepting any jobs, it’s important to understand the scope of work to help prepare the needed hand wear to use. If the process requires the use of handheld tools such as pipe wrenches and shovels, wearing protective gloves can be an option. However, taking note of this preventative measure can help safeguard your great asset.
Will you be needing power tools like circular saws and propane torches to accomplish the job? Using bare hands may be viable, but for your safety and convenience, it’s good to have your hands fully protected. You’ll thank these hand gloves when you do.
Mind your footwear.
You may have the best hand-eye coordination and balancing techniques, but without appropriate footwear, you’re bound to potential accidents.
Wet environments require a local plumber to wear a pair of boots with non-slip soles. When working at heights and confined areas, it’s also safe to use sturdy and non-skid shoes to avoid falling incidents.
Put on your headgear.
Wearing a pair of gloves and sturdy shoes won’t guarantee complete protection. Hard hats are recommended especially when doing large projects. A durable headpiece can keep you from acquiring head injuries caused by falling objects or solid materials.
Face protection is also good to consider. Make sure to wear respiratory masks when dealing with human waste, rodent droppings and other hazardous materials that could target your health.
Prepare your eyewear.
Eye injuries caused by chemical splashes, flying particles and falling objects can both affect your personal and professional lifestyle. Wearing safety goggles can protect your eyes especially when using high-pressure water jetters to clean drainage pipes. Likewise, if you’re dealing with hot water pipe repairs or maintenance, covering your eyes with proper eye shields can save you from acquiring extreme injuries.
Whether you’re involved with simple cleaning or installation jobs, wearing safety spectacles can keep you from dust and debris as well as material handling failures.
Wear your earpiece.
Just as your eyes need protective coverings, your ears also beg for proper protection. Hearing loss is one of the recorded safety hazards for plumbers. The World Health Organization’s Protection of the Human Environment released a 2004 report stating that 48 percent of plumbers suffer from hearing loss.
Wearing earplugs is essential especially when the job requires the use of extremely buzzing tools and procedures. This is common to a local plumber working in construction and other non-residential areas.
Workplace Safety Tips
⦁ Get proper training to increase your awareness
⦁ Refer to safety data sheets (SDS)
⦁ Keep your personal protective equipment in good condition
⦁ Follow safety orders and rules
⦁ Deodorise tools and equipment on a regular basis
⦁ Dispose gloves and clothing when necessary
⦁ Disinfect protective gears from head to toe
Gear Up, But Don’t Forget the Basics
In Australia, 8 percent of plumbers involved in construction sites acquire serious claims, with carpenters and joiners topping the list. Knowing the possible hazards and the best approach to avoid them helps to guarantee your safety. For instance, a local plumber who works in commercial projects should wear protective clothing such as hard hats and non-skid shoes to reduce accident rates.
Considering the temperature and climate condition also matters. Working in winter may not be ideal as it promotes high potential risks, but taking up assignments in cold temperate areas is still possible.
Responding to your client’s urgent need is important, but your safety must not suffer. It means that only qualified plumbers are expected to deal with any plumbing works to minimize the risks.
Do your part to protect your biggest asset. Take frequent breaks, drink plenty of water and prioritize sufficient rest when necessary. Most importantly, invest in and wear high-quality protective gears to help lessen plumbing-related incidents and give you more time to enjoy the privilege of being a plumber.
When did you last check your protective clothing and equipment?
Eye Protection, General Safety Issues, Hand Protection

FOUR PREVENTIVE MEASURES YOU CAN TAKE TO PROPERLY MAINTAIN YOUR SEWER LINES (GUEST POST)

(This is an area where you don’t want to risk surprises)

Not every part of life is pretty. We don’t really want to think about our sewers that often, but like Mike Rowe displays in his popular Discovery Show Series, Dirty Jobs, there are a lot of “Hardworking men and women who earn an honest living doing the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us.” Plumbers have one of those jobs, perhaps not that glamorous but if you are ever in a sewer emergency, they suddenly do become super heroes; from Upstate New York to Phoenix, Arizona, no matter if you are a stock broker or a homemaker, we all need a good, friendly neighborhood plumber from time to time. There are a couple of steps that you can take and preventive measures that you can keep in mind to help properly maintain your sewer lines.

Here are a few super tips and preventive measures that you can take so that you don’t end up with a filthy job yourself.

1). Don’t believe everything you read! When a product states that it is flushable it is not always true. The label can’t take into consideration the age or condition of your particular sewer lines. Some older and fragile sewer lines may not be able to tolerate flushing the product that you hold in your hands so when in doubt throw it out, instead of flushing it down.

2). When it comes to your sewers the two words to remember are “preventive maintenance.” Be aware of the condition of your sewer lines and don’t wait for something to go wrong before you take action. This will help you avoid possible issues later on down the road. One good suggestion, especially if you own an older home, is to have an annual inspection of your sewer lines. The plumbing industry has integrated new technology into its practices and many companies now have video cameras that they can use to scope your sewer pipes to evaluate their current condition. This is also highly recommended before a new home purchase.

3). Be aware of the placement of your landscaping. Do not plant a tree near a sewer or water line that runs through the yard. Tree and plant roots can infiltrate a sewer line and cause serious problems down the road.  You will avoid having problems later on as the trees roots can infiltrate a sewer line. In fact, roots and grease are the two main culprits when it comes to sewer line problems.

4). It is often more convenient to just flush something away then to dispose of it properly. But it is very important to remember to not use your toilet as garbage can. By not flushing the wrong types of debris down your toilet you will save water and perhaps even the cost of a plumber. Watch small children around the toilet as they love to watch many thing go “down the toilet” ie; toys, tooth and hair brushes, your keys!

Keep these 4 helpful hints in mind and they will help you keep this dirty, but necessary part of life clean and working properly. The good thing about plumbing tips is even if you live in Glendale in the Southwest of Arizona or Washington D.C., plumbing tips are pretty universal so we can all benefit from the same information and apply it so that we don’t wake up to a sewer emergency. If you would like to read about 5 things you should NOT put down your drains, click here.

Our thanks to Stephanie Drescher, who sent this very important information that affects us all.  In case you do wind up doing some plumbing yourself, be sure to wear gloves and safety glasses and any other protection you may need.  We all should appreciate our plumbers, who do jobs we don’t want to do, but receive good compensation for their hard work. pb