Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Steven Biggs on January 21, 2018, 05:08:37 pm
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My lad has now snapped 4 number 2 sections , also 1 number 3 section in two and 1/2 years . Using an slx 25 . Now there's nothing wrong with poles , we love em . He's just anheavy handed muppet ;D we only use super light mono brushes . That's all I've ever used . Now I'm thinking get him a lighter brush . Also myself as well . I'm 52 and starting to feel odd aches in the back . Just been on gardiners and my head is swimming . So what's a lighter brush with as good a scrubbing power as the super light . Also noticed some are 35 cm wide but still lighter than the super light . Can you work faster and as good with the wider brush . Cheers
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Thats alot of poles snapping.
Dont fully know your situation but i would implement a discipline to the heavy handed muppet (ur words lol) and take it out of his wages if its him breaking them.
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Oh it costs him . He is a partner in the business . He pays the equivalent % on equipment and van and business costs . But he dosent stress too much about money . Hehasit very easy at home .
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ive been using an extreme for months.
i stuck an old sill brush on last week for some first cleans, it was like using a brick
my verdict - extreme stiff
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My ol’e dad used to say to me, “let the tools do the work they’re designed to do. Don’t force them.” He was talking mainly about carpentry at the time, though that wasn’t his trade. But I’ve always tried to apply that rule where possible to all my tools. Usually when I break something it’s because I haven’t followed that advice.
I’m currently using an Xtreme 22 with a Xtreme nat/hybrid brush. The pole is now over a year old and used almost non stop three to four days a week as I have a very compact round. It still feels almost new. It’s been married to the Xtreme brush for the last four or five months and the brush bristles are still straight even though I’ve been using 40-45 degree water for most of the last two months. And it does a brilliant job.
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I defo dare not get him an extreme pole . No he sticks with the slx pole , but s lightet brush .
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If you don't fancy the Xtreme brush, try the Supreme medium hybrid. It's got natural bristles in the middle section which is great for the snail trails etc. Not as heavy as the superlite.
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i swear by the ultimate brushes mate.they sit in between SL brushes and xtreme brushes weight wise.perfect for lots of work.not too heavy and not too light.
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Which ultimates are the best . All our work is maintenance cleans . I've put 2 orange ones in the basket . Also we have a few days of 3 story town houses . So I have put 2 extreme 35 cm with 4 pencil jets in . They are about half the weight of the super lights we use at the moment .so they will have a massive difference on them . Any comments on them .before I order later today . Cheers
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I've only snapped SLX sections (2 so far) by trying to force top opener windows shut.
If that's how he's breaking his than I would suggest he changes his technique and keeps the pole as straight as possible and pushing the pole against the window, rather than using the bend and flex in the pole to force the window closed.
This I know from experience.....
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I have found the orange one takes ages getting the grit of windows & frames , Iv gone back to the white and black ultimate I think it’s the ultimate medium soft
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No he's not snapping them closing Windows . Just pressing on too hard or rushing .i actually saw him do it on Friday . It was only a low first floor window . He extended the first section and only 3/4 of the second and snap . So I will delete the orange ultimate ones .
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I use an Xtreme stiff for first cleans and the Xtreme natural bristle on maintenance. I think these are fantastic brushes, considering their size and light weight. I have just bought a 35cm Xtreme with 4 jets, i'll be trying this today.
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Which ultimates are the best . All our work is maintenance cleans . I've put 2 orange ones in the basket . Also we have a few days of 3 story town houses . So I have put 2 extreme 35 cm with 4 pencil jets in . They are about half the weight of the super lights we use at the moment .so they will have a massive difference on them . Any comments on them .before I order later today . Cheers
im using the stiff versions but im using hot water.the ultimate medium mixed brushes would be similar to to the SL brushes you ve been using mate.
i also use the standard size xtreme stiff brushes for some awkward angle work and f/s/g add ons.so light they make this type of work a lot easier.
brush choice is an individual thing though.......
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on the subject of snapped sections ive personally never snapped any SLX section but ive snapped 4 xtreme sections on various xtreme poles(just in normal use as well).
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I use an Xtreme stiff for first cleans and the Xtreme natural bristle on maintenance. I think these are fantastic brushes, considering their size and light weight. I have just bought a 35cm Xtreme with 4 jets, i'll be trying this today.
let us know how you get on with the 35 cm brush . That would be great .
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Cheers dazmondo . Think I will get the ultimate mediums . Just waiting on whether to get a 35 cm. extreme .
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What is your maintenance schedule like? Do you keep the pole clean and free from grit?
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i went from superlite to extreme then when the supreme came out a few years ago ive been using them, i prefer them to ultimate as they are shaped to splay out more so wipe across the sills better than scraping the stock of the brush along the sills!
i have 3 brushes though for various jobs
supreme medium mixed hybrid
supreme soft flocked
extreme medium natural
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I use an Xtreme stiff for first cleans and the Xtreme natural bristle on maintenance. I think these are fantastic brushes, considering their size and light weight. I have just bought a 35cm Xtreme with 4 jets, i'll be trying this today.
let us know how you get on with the 35 cm brush . That would be great .
First day using the 35cm Xtreme natural bristle brush.
It's not much heavier than the standard brush, it cleans evenly across the whole width of the brush and the jets are well placed. I have the smaller 4 x 1.4mm jets in this brush and there is enough flow...just. Probably the equivalent of 2 x 2mm pencil jets (if that makes sense). It seems a very good brush indeed with the same scrubbing power as the smaller version. I had snail trails today and no problem, even with cold water.
Do I like it? I'm not sure.
It definitely feels odd and I had to change my technique (like i've got one!) You have to learn to clean the frames AND glass at the same time. Normally I whip round the frames, twice over the glass and a quick rinse...'jobs a gooden'!
With this brush you can't help but clean everything at the same time, so then I had to focus on rinsing (but then it's got 4 jets) so no real problem. It does feel very unwieldy, but that's because i'm not used to it.
Verdict.
I have some bungalows with massive windows and this will be great for them. I think it would also be great for commercial jobs, shop windows (although I will still trad mine), solar panels, blocks of flats and...dare I say it...'splashing and dashing'. If I changed the jets to 4 x 2mm and upped my flow, this would be a very formidable tool. With some practice, you could really crash out some work with this.
Would I use it every day for house bashing? Brushes are very personal things and i'll think i'll stick with my standard Xtremes. I prefer the 'scalpel' to the 'shotgun'. Would I recommend you try it...Oh yes, it could be a game changer for you. At the very least it will definitely suit any jobs you have with large panes. Is it any quicker? Not for me today because I was faffing about with it, but in the right hands I think it could be.
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What is your maintenance schedule like? Do you keep the pole clean and free from grit?
we were just talking about that today . You are probably thinking we don’t clean them enough , and you would be right . Could be part of the problem. We work on a few new build sites , grit and sand everywhere. We should rinse em out more .
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Great review of that brush robbo . Gunna get a couple and give em a go on our 3 floor town house work . Although I think I will get the 2 mm jets and blast em . Cheers .
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We both used the new ultimate brushes on Wednesday , Thursday and this morning. Is it our imagination or does the stock catch on the frames and sills a lot more than the super light . This afternoon we had some leaded houses to do . So we swapped for the super light flocked as usual . They didn’t catch one sill or frame . Now do all flocked splay more ? . My son says he is leaving the flocked on all the time as the ultimate was doing his head in , . Anyone use flocked all day long ?
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I use flocks for leaded and wooden frames only as they hold more muck and have to keep flicking them with my hand to clear the mess.
The three brushes I use in the glass are.
Ultimate flock leaded and wooden frames. (Have days when I'm only cleaning leaded windows).
Ultimate medium soft which is on most of my poles fast on the glass and good scrubbing power.
Ultimate medium orange bristle recently started to use this brush the last couple of weeks and liking it a lot very fast on the glass and good for rinsing on.