Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Clearview on November 08, 2018, 09:19:59 pm
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My six month old carbon pole has just started leaving me with carbon residue on my hands. Its ingrained in the skin & virtually impossible to get off despite scrubbing (I've even tried nail varnish remover!).
Any advice?
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You could just cut your hand off ✋
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What pole is it ?
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Soak em in the bath.
Or I used sugar and washing up liquid.
Then order some dry ptfe spray and do the poles
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Wear gloves ;)
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What pole is it ?
Gardiner SLX
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so does my xtreme 25...ive only had it a few months but i dont find it hard to remove the carbon from my hands.i wash my hands before i have my lunch and just after the last job of the day (using hot pure water and liquid soap)if im not wearing gloves....this gets most of the carbon off...the rest comes off with a scrubbing brush when i get home and im in the bath! ;D
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My SLX must be a year old now , I never get any black at all , but I do clean the pole hose every time it winds in , I also dry PTFE spray the pole every 2 weeks or so , maybe its that ?
Look after ya tools and they will look after you was what my old man battered into me growing up !
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I used to have the same problem,I now wear surgical gloves all year round my hands stay clean and skin stays soft,only down side is your hands sweat in the summer
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My SLX must be a year old now , I never get any black at all , but I do clean the pole hose every time it winds in , I also dry PTFE spray the pole every 2 weeks or so , maybe its that ?
Look after ya tools and they will look after you was what my old man battered into me growing up !
nope its not the PTFE spray as i also spray mine regularly and always clean the pole hose when packing away.....i also periodically take the pole apart and flush out with water...
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I used to have the same problem,I now wear surgical gloves all year round my hands stay clean and skin stays soft,only down side is your hands sweat in the summer
the problem with soft hands due to wearing gloves all year round is i get blood blisters when playing drums! ::)roll ;D
i only wear gloves in winter now!
also you end up with white hands in the warm summer months.....
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Never wear gloves unless it’s really cold, always get carbon on my hands, but it washes if easily enough.
Strange how you find it won’t clean off?
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Maybe it’s a skin type thing ?
Maybe it’s a hard water thing , who has hard water and can’t get it off ?
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I got it on my hands the other week took days to come off!!
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Nitrile dispoable gloves at least in winter when the ground's wet & gritty. Pole tends to be dry in summer so black hands not as bad. As said above, you're hands will sweat in the gloves in the warmer weather making them very uncomfortable I find.
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I love the xtreme pole but I get it too due to the carbon wearing, had it with my slx too, the only thing I found that works for a few days is stripping cleaning and lubricating the pole until it dries out then it starts to wear again.
I’m keeping a close eye on that phantom pole as if what they’re saying about the shims wearing and not the pole sections then in theory there shouldn’t be any carbon wear, if there is then the claim of the shims wearing before the pole is out the window ;D
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Been wearing true touch nitrile gloves but quality is recently rubbish, dont last one job.
Which ones do you guys use?
And where do you get the pole spray.
I am very lucky! Had my slx years and only changed a couple of shims.
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I thought it was a carbon footprint you are supposed to leave ::)roll ::)roll ::)roll
Cheers Hotsteam
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I used to have the same problem,I now wear surgical gloves all year round my hands stay clean and skin stays soft,only down side is your hands sweat in the summer
I tried surgical gloves today but they kept tearing because they're so thin. It is a solution of sorts but i can see myself getting through a pack a week, :-\
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Been wearing true touch nitrile gloves but quality is recently rubbish, dont last one job.
Which ones do you guys use?
And where do you get the pole spray.
I am very lucky! Had my slx years and only changed a couple of shims.
I tried some slightly cheaper local ones but they didn't last anywhere near as long as the Gardiner ones which are thicker.
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I buy the blue ones from Eurocarparts , not used them for W/c ing , but did get the gearbox out of my van with just 2 pairs , that is unheard of with most grease monkey jobs !
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My 2 year old SLX 35 as just started to stain my left hand. ( clamp hand) it takes 2 weeks to come off. Tried everything. I now wear glove when using the 35. My 18 is fine. Never used to wear gloves
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My 2 year old SLX 35 as just started to stain my left hand. ( clamp hand) it takes 2 weeks to come off. Tried everything. I now wear glove when using the 35. My 18 is fine. Never used to wear gloves
Yep, me too, SLX 35 and left (clamp) hand is the only one effected. Very weird...
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;D ;D ;D
Its not hard to understand surely , you undo the clamp so the pole section drops , all the water on the section in this wet weather floods over the lower clamp and onto the hand , you also slow the pole down when it gets close to shut , all this has gone onto the clamp hand ::)roll
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I've started using good old Swarfega its the only thing that works everything else including soap still leaves carbon engrained in skin for days!
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When using any pure carbon pole they will eventually produce carbon dust – usually not for at least 6 or more months.
Why does this happen? The main production of carbon dust is not from the clamps or the clamping points, despite common misconceptions. The main area of carbon wear is on the inside of each section particularly from the friction between the overlap area at the base of each section as it slides up and down inside the tube. The accumulation of dirt and grit is trapped between the layers and then works like sandpaper on the inside of each section abrading the tube constantly in use.
Why do some carbon pole users experience black hands and other do not? A lot of this issue can be due to environmental factors. Some window cleaner’s work rounds are in less dirty, gritty or sandy environments and so their poles do not pick up the same amount of abrasive dirt. Also, some users naturally clean their pole hose, pole and sections as a matter of course and so do not notice such issues.
How can premature wear be stopped? The best method is to prevent the wear happening in the first place. Whilst it is not possible to stop all such wear the start of this process can be dramatically affected by a careful cleaning and maintenance schedule. Some clients have very little issue with carbon dust production and carbon wear and the main reason is that they keep the pole very clean inside and out from new and they take preventive measure such as using dry-film PTFE spray on overlap areas. Another point to note is that most of the dirt that gets up inside the pole is brought up on the pole hose. So, a valuable practice is to wipe the pole hose as it is coiled up at the end of each job.
As suggested in our pole user guide, fully clean the pole out at least once a week. A simple way to do this is to fully flush the pole through with water from a tap ensuring that water is directed up from the base and flushes between all sections. This should also be done immediately after working in sandy or gritty areas. Then for extra protection the sections can be slid apart, dried off and a thin spray of PTFE spray applied over the main overlap areas. Treated like this from new will dramatically slow down the start of black carbon dust being produced.
When doing this always check that both wraps of overlap tape are in position and in good condition – do not under estimate the effect that these two simple wraps of tape will have on wear. If they are worn or missing replace immediately with fresh tape.
Always keep the clamps adjusted up tightly enough – although clamp wear on the sections will not produce a large amount in the way of wear or dust, if they are kept correctly adjusted it will stop any movement in use which will again cut down on potential wear points or carbon dust production.
Once wear has started what can I do? The same cleaning and protection schedule should be followed as above. Flush, take apart, dry and spray with PTFE spray. If this is done more often as the pole ages, then this will reduce the carbon wear that occurs. Some clients make it a practise to flush the pole section out with water at the end of each day as the pole gets older to better prolong the pole life.
How do I completely avoid getting black hands? The easiest way of controlling this is to wear gloves whilst working. I have worked with carbon fibre poles now for about 15 years and have always worked with some kind of hand protection as a matter of course; the benefit of this is that I never get 'black' hands. Wearing gloves of some sort can form part of a good Method and H&S statement for any contractor as it also protects against contaminants that the hose picks up. When the weather isn’t cold, I wear a pair of disposable Nitrile gloves this also means that I can peel them off and eat my lunch or conduct business with clients with completely clean and hygienic hands. This allows me to be less methodical about my cleaning and maintenance program and still not have to think about black hands.
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I sometimes use these although I’ve stopped since I bought my xtreme pole as they hasn’t worn too much yet like my old slx did.
They’re fairly strong and can take them off and reuse them without breaking them.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/site-scale-textured-supergrip-nitrile-powder-free-disposable-gloves-black-large-50-pack/6847p
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Thanks to Simon, Gardiners nitrile gloves are the bees knees, not had a pair split or tear all day.
Also thanks to Mr. Gardiner, dryPtfe spray has improved my pole, making it quicker to raise and lower.
Valuable help from the forum.
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Simoniz clear lacquer spray if you spray the pole every few months it minamalises this problem,once you start getting black hands again it’s time for a spray.
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I don't get the black staining but I generally wear gloves to prevent stuff, although many years ago when using ali ladders I'd get staining around the thumb and forefinger etc. I used to scrub my hands with a nail brush and washing powder to remove the crap that was ingrained.