Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Dave Willis on February 16, 2014, 05:32:21 pm

Title: Unexpected brush conclusion
Post by: Dave Willis on February 16, 2014, 05:32:21 pm
I posted a while back "why do bristles have to be so soft?"

I thought if we had a really stiff row of inner bristles then that would be the ideal brush set up. Really aggressive bristles would be great for scrubbing bird poo, spiders nests etc.
Alex kindly sent me a couple of prototype Extreme brushes that were not intended for sale to play with. Play with them I did - I cut them really short to stiffen the bristles up and experimented with different lengths. I had a theory that we should be cleaning with the bristle tips rather than flopping about the glass.
Both brushes (shortened blue inner and the other a shortened black inner) felt fantastic - really accurate and very very fast, superb for cleaning the joints in frames.

Well, after all the storms and muck sticking to the glass my opinion is that generally the softer brushes that tend to flop about the glass (standard mixed Extreme) clean far better than the faster, stiffer brushes. The bristles that lay on the glass remove more dirt than the tips only.

Shame really because I thought my original idea was the best one.
Back to the drawing board.  ;D
Title: Re: Unexpected brush conclusion
Post by: ♠Winp®oClean♠ on February 16, 2014, 05:40:51 pm
Interesting.

I find that I can clean any kind of glass with any kind of brush, I work next to the coast too. The result isn't a factor for me, it's how fast & easy I can get to it. The shorter bristle Xtremes are my brush of choice, the softer ones just don't cut it in the corners- spiders nests etc for me.

Title: Re: Unexpected brush conclusion
Post by: Clever Forum Name on February 16, 2014, 05:41:50 pm
I cut down an extreme brush about two months after it was knackered, and was no way suited to glass cleaning. Roof cleaning maybe!

A lighter sill brush is what i want to see
Title: Re: Unexpected brush conclusion
Post by: Mike #1 on February 16, 2014, 05:44:10 pm
I was of the same opinion for years as well and over the past 6 months or so have changed my preference to a softer bristled brush .

Much better splay of bristles thus cleaning better with little effort in comparison to a stiffer bristled brush Hybrid Xtreme flocked is now my brush of choice after only 2-3 weeks of use .

I keep all my old Xtreme  brushes for gutter cleaning etc much easier than standard brushes to heavy for my little arms  ;D ;D . Mike
Title: Re: Unexpected brush conclusion
Post by: Clever Forum Name on February 16, 2014, 05:45:39 pm
i do like the soft extreme flocked, the new one out is non flocked. So may give it a go.

But i still love my sill brush at the mo, very fast brush!
Title: Re: Unexpected brush conclusion
Post by: Peter Fogwill on February 16, 2014, 08:18:47 pm
I posted a while back "why do bristles have to be so soft?"

I thought if we had a really stiff row of inner bristles then that would be the ideal brush set up. Really aggressive bristles would be great for scrubbing bird poo, spiders nests etc.
Alex kindly sent me a couple of prototype Extreme brushes that were not intended for sale to play with. Play with them I did - I cut them really short to stiffen the bristles up and experimented with different lengths. I had a theory that we should be cleaning with the bristle tips rather than flopping about the glass.
Both brushes (shortened blue inner and the other a shortened black inner) felt fantastic - really accurate and very very fast, superb for cleaning the joints in frames.

Well, after all the storms and muck sticking to the glass my opinion is that generally the softer brushes that tend to flop about the glass (standard mixed Extreme) clean far better than the faster, stiffer brushes. The bristles that lay on the glass remove more dirt than the tips only.

Shame really because I thought my original idea was the best one.
Back to the drawing board.  ;D

Yes I have been advocating that for years. A stiff bristle sitting on top of the glass will ping over whatever it comes in contact with, whereas a splayed bristle tip will push into whatever much better.  A splayed bristle will travel over the glass better as well.  I also supply a crinkled bristle which helps, along with fan jets which create pressure.
Title: Re: Unexpected brush conclusion
Post by: Dave Willis on February 16, 2014, 10:13:54 pm
I found with dirty glass a stiff brush cuts lines through the film but doesn't remove the dirt that well. I suppose the tips are fairly uniform too so each row probably cuts the same path. A softer brush doesn't feel so accurate or fast but the splayed bristles cover a larger surface area and more randomly.

I don't like soft brushes but leaving dirt behind isn't what I want either.
Title: Re: Unexpected brush conclusion
Post by: pristine window cl on February 17, 2014, 11:11:23 am
What aload of rubbish ;D
Title: Re: Unexpected brush conclusion
Post by: ben M on February 17, 2014, 01:20:49 pm
What aload of rubbish ;D
why do you say that?