Sally Slipped on a Slop of Slippery Stairway Stripper

[bigchaz 157]

It finally happened yesterday and scared the daylights of me. Just finished spraying stripper all over a nasty deck when I headed back up the 10 or 12 stairs to hit a rail that was starting to dry. Got almost to the top of the stairs and lost footing. I leaned down to grab the railing, but of course that was covered in stripper as well. Ended up sliding head first down the 10 stairs with a flagstone walkway at the end of it.

Thank God i was alright, but my hip took quite a beating. Awfully sore today.

I was wearing my usual tall work boots with "oil resistant" bottom and waterproof leather.

Is there anything that is safer to wear to keep from slipping on the stripper?

In the end I think the fact that the stripper is so slippery probably saved me, since I pretty much glided over the stair treads. But obviously it would have been nicer to prevent it all together

[dpaull 80]

Ouch man, glad you're ok...I just wear steel toe boots, but it stays pretty slippery. I'm interested in what folks say is best to wear too.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Have never known a stripper not to make a deck slippery. The caustic is breaking down a product - probably oil based....and so it is slick. Be careful, and teach yourself to walk a certain way. If you try to fly off the deck, you will fly ...off the deck.

Be careful! :)

Beth

[Tmrrptr 164]

All construction work can be perilous.

Here we see the value of a two man crew.

Paul sells icewalkers for up on the roof but that would wipe out a deck!

I don't even know if I would wear spikes on a roof!

r

[PressurePros 249]

I couldn't agree more about two man crews.

[seymore 90]

Just watch where you walking and pay attention to what you're doing at all times.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Dang Chaz..sorry to hear that...You could really have been hurt bad on stairs!!

For me slipping on dwelling wood stripper is a bit different than slipping on interior vinyl strip jobs. In comparison it seems the difference is that with the exterior wood jobs only parts are slippery which makes it worse..ya never know what yer gonna get..lol

Janitorial supply houses sell slip ons that put scrub pads underneith your shoes.These break into the emulsifying layer and strip where you walk. In floors I always just lay the stripper backwards and never walk on it again until my scrubber goes over the area 10 to 15 minute later..problem solved, in wood we don't have that luxury as we need to keep it wet in a very evaporative natured environment with sun beating down or breezes speeding up the dry on us. I did experiment with a mix I call 'modified apple sauce' in the apple sauce roof cleaning thread that did a real number on lessoning slippage on the interior jobs but haven't gotten around to working it out yet for wood. My belief though is that the faster the surface being stripped gets emulsified through and through without need for mechanical break down the better. Hydroxides alone don't always achomplish that task on their own with the thick coatings. Maybe we as a group should try to figure this out and try to minimize slippage. Could be the tsp addition in the 'modified' mix that could help..unsure...

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Too much can happen unexpectedly on peoples property. None of them are the same and each comes with it's own perils and pit falls. 2-man crews provide a safeguard that if something should happen, there is another to come to aid. Nothing saying that both of them won't befall a misfortune but the odds are higher one would think in that case.

We wear rubber boots with good tread on them and you must learn to walk like a duck...flat footed steps only. Do not walk heel-toe fashion as you limit the amount of contact with the surface and the weight is not evenly distributed for the sake of keeping your balance square beneath you.

Rod!~

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Very true....I remember a deck Rod and I went out together to do. The terrain in the back of the house was very, very, very steep...both of us went down, both of us had our backs out and neither of us was happy. Customer loved the deck tho....

Beth

[bigchaz 157]

Yea normally I walk really slow along the surfaces and haven't had any problems. Slow and steady has kept me on my feet for the last couple months. But it goes to show you, get careless and risk injury

I was so glad nothing happened, since the homeowner had just left and cell phone was out front in the truck. Guess my young bones saved me this time. Ive tried to have a partner on larger cleaning jobs, but I dont have employees so its more on a if they are available basis. The scary part though is what if that happened to someone helping me. Id be in huge trouble if they got hurt.

Ive always figured workers comp would just be too dang expensive, but does anyone know if they offer something for part timers? Ill probably only use about 100 hours worth of help the entire season.

[Dave O 15]

You could always buy what most restaurant employees use for slippery tile floors.

I use boots from shoes for crews and stand on slippery tile floors and roofs for a living.

[HotShot 34]

yep, I'm with Dave...

Charlie since you are ok I gotta laugh at you :D man, what I wouldn't give for some video of that...

glad you're ok though man, Be safe.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

During a coating strip the footware needs to be able to dig through the slick as a bannana peel layers that are not yet broken into a liquified emulsion. I often yell at any and all management or regular kitchen employee when they think they are gonna go walking across my strip job with them kitchen shoes. They know not what they are getting into as it is not zackly same a greased out kitchen envirnoment that they are used to. With grease situation the tread goes through to the hard surface beneith. on strip situation the tread goes through only as deep as the stripping dwell/process will allow that moment. One minute your skating wearing anything and everything but steel clampons and then a few minutes later you might be able to bite right through with many types of shoes.

I've went down a few times over the years.. My worst was when I ran for a telephone call for a client. When I got to the corner turn to go around behind a counter my foot shot out and bamn it hit the wall with tremendous force. The force was so tremendous that my middle toe was dislocated inside my shoe pointed backwards. While the floor was dwelling I went next door to a chiropractor. The staff was somewhat horrified but they went ahead and xrayed it..Unfortunatley they were not able to work on it so they told me to go to emergency room. I being the commited man I am said nope can't do that and I went back to work and finished stripping and laying finish. About 3 or 4 hour later I finally got home and promptly froze it between ice cubes, sucked up the pain, and clicked it back in place. I cringe thinking about it still to this day. I did it again to another toes a couple year back in the bathroom in the middle of the night...:lgbonk:

[Deck Guy 14]

Yeah Chaz, I bust my a$$ about once a year the same way. I flew off a four-step landing last year and landed with my back on the treads and my a$$ at the bottom. I literally had to just sit there in the stripper for a few minutes to figure out if anything was broken. The customer heard the crash and came out to see if I was alive or dead. The pattern of bruising on my back was wierd. Big stripes about 12" apart from top to bottom on one side, and one black hip.

You think we would learn, but I get in a hurry sometimes and just plain forget to walk slowly and deliberately on the slick stuff. This year it's the Ready Seal on plastic tarps that's gonna get me. I just know it.

[Adrian 155]

Is there anything that is safer to wear to keep from slipping on the stripper?

..... your helper

[bigchaz 157]

Is there anything that is safer to wear to keep from slipping on the stripper?

..... your helper

Haha Million dollar question. Doesnt look like it especially since all these people have falling storys

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Is there anything that is safer to wear to keep from slipping on the stripper?

..... your helper

YES, very likely the feet mounted scrub pads I mentioned!..But only after a good few minute dwell