Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: JackieW on November 18, 2012, 08:58:11 pm
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I have just completed my round for the first time doing them all water fed pole.
Previously I have cleaned them using a dog-eared Wagtail, hardly ever needing to detail with scrim. I used to clean the glass and wipe down the sills but usually only if they were white upvc.
Very rarely, if ever, cleaned the frames, but would get the worst marks off. Timber windows I would just clean the glass.
This time,
1/ I have brushed all the frames, including above any vents,
2/ rinsed down all the frames, including above the vents,
3/ brushed and rinsed the sills.
4/ Then I have brushed all the glass, often twice, which usually means brushing the frames again,
5/ then rinsed again all the glass including the edges of the frames,
6/ Then turn water off, brush the excess water off the sills.
It has taken me at least twice as long to do a house than traditional Wagtail method. As an example a smallish semi on Friday afternoon, with a conservatory that usually took me 15 minutes with ladders, took 32 minutes with wfp.
Now, please, please tell me that the next cleans are going to get quicker. And if so what stages do you miss out.
Would I go back to ladders and squeegee. No, I don't think so. I have worked on days that I wouldn't have been able to previously due to the damp conditions. Even when it isn't raining, I've noticed that due to the fact that it seems to have been raining since April, that the sloping roofs that I sometimes used to have to walk on were just far too slippery. And many timber decking and imprinted concrete drives are just too dangerous for ladders.
But I am hoping that eventually I will be able to be about 33% quicker than I was with my Wagtail. Not 100% slower.
Any advice on getting quicker?
Thanks
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I'm in a similar position I take ages on a first clean because I do them all thoroughly and then do them again glass only. I'm doing second cleans now and it is a fair bit quicker I just go round frames quickly give glass 2 quick goes then rinse. To be fair I use wfp as another tool if a downstairs window is quicker trad then that's what it gets.
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after a while the glass and frames get really clean and u can really speed up most if it is belief in yourself otherwise you will take a long time time and time a again. you have to believe in yourself that they dont need as much scrubbing and rinsing.
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Practice on your own windows and you will learn how to speed up without sacrificing the quality and leaving spots etc.
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re learn your round.can you do a top window form next door,etc,do all top windows first on two close houses etc,not walking backward and forward,you really need to think of two to three windows a head.
it so easy to over clean windows with the first few cleans,but in 6months time your be like dazmond and work half a month now. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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re learn your round.can you do a top window form next door,etc,do all top windows first on two close houses etc,not walking backward and forward,you really need to think of two to three windows a head.
it so easy to over clean windows with the first few cleans,but in 6months time your be like dazmond and work half a month now. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Great post Frank - i love when i can reach over the fence and do several windows on the neighbouring property ;D
OP - sounds like you have put the hard work in and will reap the rewards next time round - i used to feel it took 3 cleans
to reach the optimum speed for cleaning a house - 1st is a deep clean with g101 etc.. 2nd clean refine the order i clean the windows 3rd fine tweaks on parking the van and order i clean the windows
the more you do a property the faster you get - the better your technique and equipment get the quicker you go
a good technique will lead to being faster but also better
Darran
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some good points there mate, ive just started out with a pole and was doing four houses in a day, often cleaning three times per house, mate advised this would be the case first clean and then things speed up, next time round should be a lot better, scruffy twats spent an hour on a big bungalow,,my problem is not having the bottle to charge, my mate gets tenner a house where i charge a fiver, you reckon i should go higher ? worried ibcase get no buisness
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some good points there mate, ive just started out with a pole and was doing four houses in a day, often cleaning three times per house, mate advised this would be the case first clean and then things speed up, next time round should be a lot better, scruffy numptys spent an hour on a big bungalow,,my problem is not having the bottle to charge, my mate gets tenner a house where i charge a fiver, you reckon i should go higher ? worried ibcase get no buisness
your business wont survive a year charging a fiver.....just look at it that way.
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it will take two or three cleans for pure water to remove all the residue of soaps of the glass
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it will take two or three cleans for pure water to remove all the residue of soaps of the glass
:-X
it's very important to charge a good and fair price - remember you have to cover your tax - holidays - sick pay and running costs out of that fiver !!
price low will get you work but you'll make no money and end up hating window cleaning resulting to you jacking it.
It's hard to price higher esp. when starting out but if you don't your prices will remain low - you can never get them
increased to where they should be.
Darran
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Hi, I too will be starting wfp in the next 6 months. I was wondering if it would be better to prep the work first ie; giving frames a quick wipe a month or two before the changeover?
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Hi, I too will be starting wfp in the next 6 months. I was wondering if it would be better to prep the work first ie; giving frames a quick wipe a month or two before the changeover?
yes scott it would help