How to properly store your ladders at work or at home

Whether it’s protection from theft, the elements, or protecting yourself and others, suitable ladder storage is tremendously important. Ladders come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from stepladders all the way up to extension ladders, so it’s worth taking a moment to figure out how you should store your ladder when it’s no longer being used, to prolong its operational lifespan. With that in mind, here are a few tips that we would recommend for keeping them stored properly.

Keep your ladders indoors

First and foremost, we’d always advise you to keep your ladders indoors whenever possible. A garage, under the stairs or locked away in your van, keeping them indoors heavily alleviates a number of risks. For starters, it’s one of the best ways of protecting them from exposure to more extreme weather elements like frost and rain, ensuring that they remain in great condition for much longer.

Additionally, aside from the natural risks, it’s worth considering the human factors too. When kept outdoors, your ladders may be at risk of burglary as well as unsanctioned use. The value of certain ladders makes them an attractive prospect for thieves, and since the vast majority are opportunists, keeping your ladders out of sight is one of the best ways to ensure that they remain untouched

What if I have no room indoors?

We understand that sometimes, keeping ladders indoors is simply not a feasible option. The garage could be filled to its brim or the van too small, and thus, the only option is keeping them stored outdoors. Luckily, if this is the scenario you currently find yourself in, there are several preventative measures you may want to take.

Firstly, we would heavily recommend keeping your ladder placed horizontally, whether they’re placed on a rack or simply led on the ground, as this is much less risky than a ladder that is left stood upright. Secondly, we would also advise finding something that keeps it covered, reducing its exposure to the elements and shielding it from the sight of potential thieves. A large tarpaulin sheet should sufficiently cover a ladder of any size. Finally, keep your ladder locked up. By having it chained to something, this heavily reduces the risk of unsanctioned usage and burglary, keeping your mind at ease.!

The Workplace

Ladders are used in a variety of trades, whether you’re a roofer, an electrician, or a decorator. As an employee, storing the ladders at home may not be your responsibility. However, the same risks still exist on site and therefore, many of the steps we’ve recommended still apply here. An additional piece of advice would be to lay your ladders down as soon as they’re no longer in use. Whilst this may appear rather pedantic, keeping your ladders leaned horizontally against a wall can be hugely important in preventing risks. Falling from high places is one of the leading workplace injuries and if you’re working in a public place, a vertical ladder is an obstacle that is easy to trip over or knock, putting both yourself and the public at risk of injury. Therefore, we suggest keeping your ladder led down horizontally and out of reach of any public place whenever it is not in use.

And if you’re in the market for a new ladder … well, you’re in exactly the right place. If you’re looking for a particularly versatile solution, we recommend our combination ladders, but we also have a wide range of roof ladders and step ladders in stock too. Feel free to browse our range, or if you’ve got any questions or need any advice, feel free to get in touch by giving us a call on 01282 615517, and we’ll be happy to see how we can help.