Tricks of the trade

« **on:** December 19, 2003, 02:43:07 pm »

Hi guy's

Well, I thoght it was time we started a new topic on here that we can all have some input and gain advice from. So come on all you experts window cleaners that have been in the game man and boy, what tricks of the trade and tips have you picked up and could pass on. Let's make this a really big topic.

« **Reply #1 on:** December 19, 2003, 07:15:28 pm »

never clean in the dark

« **Reply #2 on:** December 19, 2003, 08:43:59 pm »

Look out and don't stand in Cat Poo!

« **Reply #3 on:** December 19, 2003, 09:33:26 pm »

Here's a little tip:

Buy a 10 litre or 25 litre plastic cannister (£5.99 and £9.99 from millets) and fill it up with hot water at the start of the day.

Throw it in the boot, and you'll have enough hot water for the whole day without having to depend on customers or outdoor taps. Also it stays warm because its in the boot.

« **Reply #4 on:** December 19, 2003, 11:39:24 pm »

The best tip i can give is make sure you put your jobs up once a year even if its 10p because that way in ten years time you will still have a round worth having.

Steve

« **Reply #5 on:** December 20, 2003, 01:00:51 am »

Make sure you tighten the canister cap or suffer from condensation for ever and a day,sadly this is from experience lol

« **Reply #6 on:** December 21, 2003, 04:51:08 pm »

Always carry a handful of fine grade steel ( Grade 000 )wool in your pouch, its great for removing specks of paint, stubborn fly pooh, vanish etc.
Its great for giving new cleans that final sparkle to the glass. Don't worry it doesn't scratch the glass.
One word of warning though... don't put your mobile phone in the same pouch, it will kill it stone dead.
I know this from past experience.
Denzle

« **Reply #7 on:** December 29, 2003, 04:42:02 pm »

Hi Denzle,
Is wire wool any good for hard water staining

Steve

« **Reply #8 on:** December 29, 2003, 06:42:10 pm »

Hi steve
I had a job with water staining and used the MDR from titan with wire wool and also tryed a scraper.
The results were really good.
Alan

« **Reply #9 on:** December 29, 2003, 07:13:49 pm »

Thanks Alan,
I am going to order some MDR after new year and hopefully that will sort things out :

Steve

« **Reply #10 on:** December 29, 2003, 08:49:54 pm »

Hi Steve
Have a chat to windowclean centre and see if they can send you a sample thats where I got mine from
Cheers
Alan

« **Reply #11 on:** December 29, 2003, 11:31:57 pm »

Thanks Alan

Steve

« **Reply #12 on:** December 30, 2003, 01:05:02 am »

Steve,

I use 0000 steel wool for waterstain removal with good results but sometimes MDR works, sometimes A1 works, alos the unger paste is quite good. It depends whats in the stain, best to try a selection.

« **Reply #13 on:** December 30, 2003, 12:05:37 pm »

Hi Martin,
Thanks for replying. I have a pub that i clean that has this staining where the hanging baskets were from the summer so its just from where they have been watered.

Happy new year!

Steve

« **Reply #14 on:** December 31, 2003, 08:50:09 am »

Steve,
Fine grade steel wool and MDR are just great at getting rid of those water stains, We haven't found anything better as yet.
Don't forget to charge extra.
Denzle

« **Reply #15 on:** January 01, 2004, 06:51:57 pm »

Thanks Denzle,
I will give that a go when i do the pub next week.

Steve

« **Reply #16 on:** January 01, 2004, 08:01:31 pm »

I do not do window cleaning but if I did what is MDR and A1

Happy New Year, and hope you dont all freeze to death up your ladders

Ian

« **Reply #17 on:** January 01, 2004, 08:57:26 pm »

Ian,
MDR is Mineral Deposit Remover, its a chaulky type liquid that you put on fine grade steel wool to buff off those water marks found on glass. These marks are usually the result of people watering hanging baskets, sprinkler sytems etc splashing the windows then left to dry.
They are very difficult marks to get rid of but MDR seems to do the trick.
Hope this helps.
Denzle

« **Reply #18 on:** January 07, 2004, 07:22:25 pm »

i have found that limescale remover works great on any water marks ,,its cheap and easy to find..

« **Reply #19 on:** January 20, 2004, 01:53:28 am »

hi guys i would like to know how you all cope with your bucket on a belt , I mean how many times has your squeegees fell to the ground when up a ladder , I don`t know if this is on anouther subject or not but i have glued little magnets to mine to stop the squeegees falling out .

« **Reply #20 on:** January 20, 2004, 02:11:12 am »

James44,

I must say I have never found this to be a problem. My stuff has fallen out once or twice while climbing over gates and the like, but not while up ladders as far as I can remember.

You need to have your squeegees in so that the handles are tilted away from your body. This means an awkward wrist-twist to get them in and out, but you soon get used to it.

I used to have them in the other way, but I found the handles caught on the mop when taking them out, causing the squeegee to jump out. Maybe this is whats happening to you.

Silly

« **Reply #21 on:** January 20, 2004, 10:37:52 am »

I do the same Silly on the Unger B. on a B.
I used the Pulex tool holder for a while and the part for the blades comes up much further (less well balanced) so they fall out easier. You can hear the blade rattling about which can`t be good although I never really dropped it much when up the ladder.
If the magnets help then it`s a good idea because a falling squeegee can be dangerous.

Gerry.

« **Reply #22 on:** January 20, 2004, 03:32:38 pm »

hi silly philly, it was mostly when i was having to reach over to the outher side of a window my bucket would tip an squeegees would fall out thats why i glued the magnets in my bucket,an as you say climbing over fences they would catch on something having the bucket magnetic helps to prevent this,i wedge my ladder to the side on some windows if the sills are made of quarry tills or if i can`t find suitable footing for my ladder also home made clothing lines tied to down pipes etc where a problem ,i prefer to wedge my ladder to the side of a window then i only have to go up ladder once instead of having to move it to do the other side.

« **Reply #23 on:** January 20, 2004, 08:21:15 pm »

I don't know if Express do them, but when I got my BoaBs (a while ago) the supplier had a swivel connection on the bucket end of the quick release. Supposedly, this causes it to be more or less upright all the time, and it should be harder for gear to fall out.

With Health and Safety going OTT these days, I suppose we should all be using the lasso attachment so nothing can drop.

« **Reply #24 on:** January 20, 2004, 08:28:18 pm »

NEVER GET CAUGHT KNOCKING

OH YEH WATCH THAT WINDDDDD

« **Reply #25 on:** January 31, 2004, 11:26:21 pm »

HI - Never soap up to the top of the window as more often than not it will leave drip marks , dont worry the whole window will still get cleaned with the blade.
BY the way has anyone used G3 or G4 if so is it worth buying or is the old Fairy just as good.Thx

« **Reply #26 on:** February 01, 2004, 01:44:33 am »

Hi WGB,

Scroll up to the top of the page and click on "search" or the magnifying glass - type in GG3 or GG4 and check the results.

Happy searching!

« **Reply #27 on:** February 06, 2004, 07:38:30 pm »

when you see bird mess on a window wet it up and go to the next window...by the time you get to it it will come off better...only works with bottoms!!

« **Reply #28 on:** February 07, 2004, 11:02:44 am »

Quote

when you see bird mess on a window wet it up and go to the next window...by the time you get to it it will come off better...only works with bottoms!!

Should that not read Only comes from bottoms?

« **Reply #29 on:** August 31, 2004, 02:43:49 am »

Quote

Hi Denzle,
Is wire wool any good for hard water staining

Steve

« **Reply #30 on:** August 31, 2004, 02:50:59 am »

Hi Steve,

I see that you are at the top of your ladder now , what with being an executive council member of the NFMW&GC.

I'am sure you rember the old days when we were still girl shy & just starting out in the cleaning field. I have fond memories of the carpet cleaning job we had in Buckinghamshire I think it was. I rember you paying me in £50 notes.

Kevin.

« **Reply #31 on:** November 11, 2004, 09:17:15 pm »

[use gg4 because you do not need to ever wipe the side of the windows
in the rain put a plastic cover over your dry cloth , just hang it over your money belt
use microwipes because on lead windows they only take a few seconds to do
put a piece of thin metal wire in the top rim of your pockets , so they are always open wide .
hope these help

« **Reply #32 on:** November 11, 2004, 10:40:24 pm »

Hello again, Sinbad.

Tell me more about this wire in the pockets lark! Is that to keep the pockets open for the cloths?
I have a double pouch - one for moist cloth and one for dry, so they don't get mixed up.

Oh, and any chance of pictures of your own version of a bucket on a belt?

« **Reply #33 on:** December 05, 2004, 10:10:15 pm »

FOR CLEANING KITCHEN WINDOWS WITH GREASE MARKS ON THEM ADD LIQUID SODA CRYSTALS TO YOUR WATER,DOESNT STREAK,BUT REMOVES GREASE,WILKOS 99P A BOTTLE

« **Reply #34 on:** December 17, 2004, 05:06:46 pm »

alright chaps.
this is probably being stupid but what is gg4. ive only been at the windows for a few months so am not fully up to speed. cheers for the help

« **Reply #35 on:** December 17, 2004, 09:01:06 pm »

Quote

this is probably being stupid but what is gg4

Thats not being stupid thats what these's forums are for i didn't know what it was either till i joined the forum anyway look at the link below and it will tell you about GG4

http://www.scrimcity.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1_40&products_id=63

Paul

« **Reply #36 on:** January 22, 2005, 03:37:13 pm »

1. This time of year patio's can be very slick. At most garden centers they sell
patio cleaner, if you mix some up and put in a triger spray bottle, you can spray where you ladder stands. This will last for 2 - 3yrs.

2. Also if you cut a small wooden wedge an keep it in your pouch, if your ladder sit upright, just use the wedge to level it up.

3. If you have a ladder stopper. drill four holes one in each corner. You can use T shaped tent pegs in the holes. This is excellent for droping your ladder over a roof when on grass.

« **Reply #37 on:** January 23, 2005, 02:59:21 pm »

That ladda stopper tip is a good one, I was thinking of doing something like that myself, so thanks for reminding me !!

« **Reply #38 on:** January 27, 2005, 08:55:40 pm »

I've a few:

If you don't want to take your bucket of water with you (for example over a garage to do a large rear with a conservatory - or to a one off house - walking distance away from your bulk work) - fill a bottle of Fairy with your cleaning solution and use that to wet your applicator when needed.

Always change your rubbers every day, turning them at midday, to give a crisper edge to your squeegeeing. Less scrimming.

To climb over back gardens where the fence/gate is by the gable end wall; split your double extensions into singles. Place one single over the gate, against the wall; place your other on 'your' side of the gate. Walk up, step across and walk down. Retrieve your ladders and work as usuall.

Phone customers the night before to ask them to leave their gates open.

Carry your ladder mats/ladder stopper in your bucket of water - it saves going back to the van when you need them.

Microfibre are brilliant for leaded windows - don't squeegie. Just wipe over with a damp cloth and polish with microfibre.

Avoid taking on houses with leaded windows.

You can cut down or buy cut down squeegie blades for Georgian windows, but the damp cloth, dry cloth tecnique is faster.

Avoid taking on houses with Georgian windows.

When there's a few of you working from one bucket of water - save the water by dipping and rinsing your applicator - but then use one hand to run the length of the applicator, gently squeezing most of the water back into the bucket. I only do this with gloves as the green stuff wrecks my hands. Pour any remaining water from your bucket in a belt back in the main bucket. At the end of the day, pour the sludge out and refill with clean water.

Frosted glass - just rub it with a damp scrim - unless it's an upstairs bathroom window. (Leave it - but don't say I said so - you'll get a digging on this forum).

« **Reply #39 on:** January 28, 2005, 12:24:08 am »

Hi windows chepstow,
If you change blades everyday are you throwing them away? If so, stop!
Send em' my way for a nominal sum and were all winners!!

Tussin

« **Reply #40 on:** January 28, 2005, 10:20:11 pm »

I'll PM you my address mate. Send me a package to post them to you once a month. They're all fourteen inch ones.

I change mine every day. Wor Lasses every other day (because she's a skiver).

Pity I've cleaned out the car today, but I will save all my future ones for you.

Tight git. You can really tell the difference with a new one. Not only that, I think there's a slight psycological effect, where you place a new rubber on your squeegie and you think 'lets get my monies worth out of this'.

Anyway mate, you can have em.

« **Reply #41 on:** February 07, 2005, 10:18:29 pm »

(" tight git" ) I prefer the term careful with my hard-earned loot!
Anyway here's a question, how'd you keep wor lass(?) from moaning when it's cold?
My wife hates it - to cold, to physical.
How do I keep her happy and still helping me clean?

Regard

Tussin ( tight git )

« **Reply #42 on:** February 08, 2005, 07:40:30 pm »

It's difficult to stop her moaning sometimes. I've tried the following:

Advise her to wear more layers.

Got her a set of omnipole gloves (for her birthday in September 2005).

Make her wear a woolly hat.

Make the right sympathetic noises, like, 'Ah, well, never mind - not long now, only four hours and loads of houses to go'. Or, 'Only four months till spring, hang in there'.

If all else fails, tell her to stop whinging and work harder.

The last one works the best and really 'warms her up' if you know what I mean. Tell her there's loads of women who work out in the cold (posties, coppers, traffic wardens, etc) and you don't see them moaning.

« **Reply #43 on:** February 15, 2005, 09:39:20 pm »

in cold and icy weather carry a carpet tile with you to stand the ladder on.its a great non slip mobile surface!

« **Reply #44 on:** February 15, 2005, 11:36:06 pm »

On a hot day work underneath someone else so any water falling down lands on your head and cools you down

Paul

« **Reply #45 on:** February 17, 2005, 09:34:13 pm »

Quote

On a hot day work underneath someone else so any water falling down lands on your head and cools you down

YES! paul... cool's you down but you get a fright at first because you think its bird poop running down the side of your noggin.

Here's a tip - be weary of placing your ladder over garage doors!

Chris

« **Reply #46 on:** February 17, 2005, 09:59:28 pm »

O yeh but they are now x-customers as you know