Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: jay moley on September 09, 2020, 09:57:51 pm
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Cleaned my windows today. Few streaks left. Cleaned and rinsed them thoroughly. Happened last time I cleaned them to. They are regular double glazed.
Makes me question whether the same is happening to my customers. Last time it happened on my windows it prompted me to take more time on customers windows and I now overclean to be honest.
Not great.
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A - poor technique
Or
B - poor water quality
Darran
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hot pure water
high flow
rinse off the glass
decent brush
pencil jets
some windows take me a few seconds to clean.....others can be a minute or longer(depending on frequency/surroundings/type of window)....
ive deliberately tried to splash and dash my own windows before now(less than 10 seconds per window)...they came up great.....
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Some windows just dont take to wfp.
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Cleaned a new house today with recycled plastic window frames and doors, not a cladding style or plastic coated. Really smooth surface, never cleaned window or door frames made of this stuff before, , was a pleasure to clean. Owners are eco sustainable houses and noticing all these posh places are tending to go in this direction copying each other to fit in with the surroundings.
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Hot water and plenty of it.
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Cold water and plenty of it 🤣
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A - poor technique
Or
B - poor water quality
Darran
or
C - frames that are oxidising. Our lounge windows face south east and are terrible for runs from the top frame. The exact same dining window frame on the back of the house has no issues.
On one house we have a nightmare ground floor window. Before I start I wash and scrub the top frame of that window and rinse well. Then get on with the rest of the house. I then just do the glass only of that window and then do all the other ground floor windows. Last window to check on my way out is that one.
Sometimes in winter I just dry the top frame with a cloth and blade the glass off.
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Some windows just dont take to wfp.
I’d agree with that.
Have a few windows that no matter what, leave drip marks.
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A - poor technique
Or
B - poor water quality
Darran
My technique is fine, as I said I take too long on each window. Could be the water quality as you mention.
That being said if only two windows have run it would suggest the water quality is ok??
Cheers
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A - poor technique
Or
B - poor water quality
Darran
or
C - frames that are oxidising. Our lounge windows face south east and are terrible for runs from the top frame. The exact same dining window frame on the back of the house has no issues.
On one house we have a nightmare ground floor window. Before I start I wash and scrub the top frame of that window and rinse well. Then get on with the rest of the house. I then just do the glass only of that window and then do all the other ground floor windows. Last window to check on my way out is that one.
Sometimes in winter I just dry the top frame with a cloth and blade the glass off.
Any top frames that oxidise on ground floor windows or perished top rubber seals get missed with WFP....I usually run a cloth over them and rinse and scrub half an inch below......
Upper top frames/seals usually just get missed....this is why pencil jets are superior IMO....you can be a lot more accurate when rinsing.....
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Heated seats help.
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Remember what I said a few months ago with cold water and this really is to start another hot v cold debate lol,it’s when you go inside and look out you see what you are driving off and leaving.
The odd drip here and there if you work quickly with hot water but no big dirt patches or brush mark effects left on the glass at height with hot if you know what you are doing,it’ll soon be cold in the mornings again 🤣🤣
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I got called back to a first clean the other day. I thought I had took my time and done a great job.
On both front windows were horrible runs from the seals, worse than I have seen.
How often do you clean them? I think that's the key, dirt gets trapped in seals, vents, frames etc then leaches out. Probably why it's rare to get a call back on maintenance cleans.
But yes, wfp isn't perfect, you just have to accept that as a trade off for it being much easier and faster than trad.
There's no point going so slow you do a perfect job but don't earn any money and no point going so fast you get lots of complaints. You just have to find a balance between how fast you can go and what the customer will accept.
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Remember what I said a few months ago with cold water and this really is to start another hot v cold debate lol,it’s when you go inside and look out you see what you are driving off and leaving.
The odd drip here and there if you work quickly with hot water but no big dirt patches or brush mark effects left on the glass at height with hot if you know what you are doing,it’ll soon be cold in the mornings again 🤣🤣
So what's the reason behind hot leaving less spotting? Because it drys quicker?
In hot weather spotting can be caused by drying too fast so I don't see the logic?
Never used hot so I am curious
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Cleaned my windows today. Few streaks left. Cleaned and rinsed them thoroughly. Happened last time I cleaned them to. They are regular double glazed.
Makes me question whether the same is happening to my customers. Last time it happened on my windows it prompted me to take more time on customers windows and I now overclean to be honest.
Not great.
it could be technique or your water quality, but from what you say it doesn't sound likely in this instance
as others have said some windows just dont take well to WFP.
if we have a window where the streaking is causing a problem, and we have tried cleaning the hell out of it to little effect... missing the top seal usually solves the issue.
also remember you will be a lot more critical of your own work than a customer will.
we can get fixated on trying to get them 'perfect' when in fact 'good enough' is good enough
if you are advertising and charging for a service where everything will be perfect that's like a 'michelin star' restaurant, where you pay through the neck for it.
but plenty of people love McDonald too where you get good value, and a consistent standard of food served in clean restaurant etc... but few would say its the best burger they can imagine. it is good enough for lots of people. and people love them for it
for our customers the quality of the window clean is only part of what our service. the other parts are how reliable you are, how consistent you are, how friendly and professional you are, how easy it is to pay.. all these things are probably as important , or arguably more important than the clean itself
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If you went hot over the next few cleans on all you’re work you would find that all paintwork PVC gets cleaner as hot water does a more thorough clean allowing you be a lot quicker a few cleans in,if I get any new work from a WFPoler that’s already cleaned that particular job and lost it 9 out of 10 he was cold,I’m not saying cold doesn’t do a job of
Course it does but if you use proper hot water and by that I don’t mean warm the results and ease of use will be there to see.
If Cold was the same or as good I wouldn’t switch mine on or I’d have taken it out by now,I’ve used hot for 14 years.
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Cleaned my windows today. Few streaks left.
Not great.
Get a man in.
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A - poor technique
Or
B - poor water quality
Darran
My technique is fine, as I said I take too long on each window. Could be the water quality as you mention.
That being said if only two windows have run it would suggest the water quality is ok??
Cheers
Time spent on the glass is not an indication of technique - ive had a guy who would spend loads of time on windows and still get runs - another was frightenly fast but got perfect results all the time
technique is more than just the action, its knowing that some frames require different ways to clean them - for example I do a barn conversion with untreated raw oak frames - you are guaranteed these will spot if you wet the frames - so in this instance the technique requires glass cleaning only
Personally - anything with oxidised frames - black leaching rubber get a good dose of TFR and scrubbed - after this I never seem to get any trouble
Darran
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Some windows just dont take to wfp.
Any window can successfully be cleaned with wfp we clean tens of thousands each year it’s down to technique and knowing what technique to use for each type of window , doing a thorough first clean re checking each window before you leave is key , we do lots of costal stuff that’s opaque with salt every visit and if we get a handful of complaints a year that’s it .
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Here's one for the hot debate.
There is a windie who posts on Youtube who had a diesel heater fitted by one of the suppliers recently. Whilst being filmed the fitter was upping the advantages of hot water cleaning.
He said that if a window was in the hot summer sun the window would dry off (steam off) quicker with cold water than the same window using hot.
I know about the Mpemba effect where hot water freezes quicker than cold, but I can find nothing to verify this fitter's statement.
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I’ve been called many things but I’m not daft enough to keep using hot water all year round if it was no better then cold,it’s easy enough to keep trying to convince yourself that hot is no better if you’ve not used it for any length of time, it’s a bit like thinking an SLX is light until you try an Extreme pole.