Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Scottish Cleaning Service on May 14, 2024, 03:18:53 pm
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Good day today for PW a driveway. I always book mine in when its a day like today and raining all day. It means the surface is wet and dirt a tad softer which I find I can do the job in half the time. The customer doesn't seem to bother as long as its getting done. Next week I go back and sand it and then in a months time I go back and spray weedkiller on any weeds coming through. Usually do it when I'm back cleaning their windows due to repeat business.
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Good day today for PW a driveway. I always book mine in when its a day like today and raining all day. It means the surface is wet and dirt a tad softer which I find I can do the job in half the time. The customer doesn't seem to bother as long as its getting done. Next week I go back and sand it and then in a months time I go back and spray weedkiller on any weeds coming through. Usually do it when I'm back cleaning their windows due to repeat business.
Cool story bro.
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Good on you mate, keeps you earning, a lot on here pray for rain so they can stay home and spend all day on CIU ;D
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So yesterday i did my first pressure washing job, all went well apart from underpriced it but that will come with experience, used hypo for the first time and quite enjoyed it although it was red hot inside a pair of waterproof trouser hoody and full face mask......
Anyway today i had another booked in, it was only a small job but because of the forecast rain i didnt book anything else in and figured id just go do this job for a bit more experience. I was looking forward to it, so i got there and went looking for the outside tap, i looked everywhere before concluding they dont have one ;D
Got back in the van and went home, why someone would ask for pressure washing with no outside tap i do not know, but equally why i never thought to ask is also baffling.
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You ought to be spraying any weeds before you clean it. A couple of weeks beforehand apply Roundup.
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So yesterday i did my first pressure washing job, all went well apart from underpriced it but that will come with experience, used hypo for the first time and quite enjoyed it although it was red hot inside a pair of waterproof trouser hoody and full face mask......
Anyway today i had another booked in, it was only a small job but because of the forecast rain i didnt book anything else in and figured id just go do this job for a bit more experience. I was looking forward to it, so i got there and went looking for the outside tap, i looked everywhere before concluding they dont have one ;D
Got back in the van and went home, why someone would ask for pressure washing with no outside tap i do not know, but equally why i never thought to ask is also baffling.
Little professional tip Stoots, don't just check they have a tap, check the water pressure from it is adequate to keep your machine running long enough to get the job done ;)
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You ought to be spraying any weeds before you clean it. A couple of weeks beforehand apply Roundup.
Good idea but my customers only make decisions when the sun comes out and want it done as quick as possible. I bought a £200 backpack sprayer that the councils use so I don't go through alot of Gallup which I use. After a month the weeds show themselves and its an easy fix. Been doing it this way for years now and it seems to work for me and the customers who don't need to buy weedkiller for that year. Winner winner chicken dinner as they say. 😉
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I've been trying to get into pressure washing.
Unfortunately I'm now one of those - all the gear no idea(r) types. :'( ;D
I've priced loads but hardly get any. Obviously I'm pricing too high but I refuse to go lower than WC hourly prices. What would be the point?
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There wouldn’t.
My P/W hourly rate is about £85.00.
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There wouldn’t.
My P/W hourly rate is about £85.00.
Off the top of my head I reckon I get about 5% of quoted jobs.
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Last year was quite tough I found regards pressure washing, the work just wasn’t about in quite the same way, solar panel cleaning was mental but PW seemed naff.
Now the phone is off the hook with PW enquiries. Can’t make its mind up. I’m turning work away now as beginning to wind the business up.
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I've been trying to get into pressure washing.
Unfortunately I'm now one of those - all the gear no idea(r) types. :'( ;D
I've priced loads but hardly get any. Obviously I'm pricing too high but I refuse to go lower than WC hourly prices. What would be the point?
For me I don't see the point of spending £1,000's on PW equipment when I would have to work more hours to fit the extra work in. P/55 easy repetitive mind numbing, boring window cleaning is enough for me.
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I've been trying to get into pressure washing.
Unfortunately I'm now one of those - all the gear no idea(r) types. :'( ;D
I've priced loads but hardly get any. Obviously I'm pricing too high but I refuse to go lower than WC hourly prices. What would be the point?
For me I don't see the point of spending £1,000's on PW equipment when I would have to work more hours to fit the extra work in. P/55 easy repetitive mind numbing, boring window cleaning is enough for me.
Agreed, it just doesn’t get any easier than regular maintenance window cleaning. I wouldn’t be able to hit the same hourly rate on a regular basis doing pressure washing.
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I think it's just something different to do. Even if you only hit the same hourly rate its nice for a change to just be on one job all day rather than in and out of the van 25 times plus it gives the body a rest.
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So yesterday i did my first pressure washing job, all went well apart from underpriced it but that will come with experience, used hypo for the first time and quite enjoyed it although it was red hot inside a pair of waterproof trouser hoody and full face mask......
Anyway today i had another booked in, it was only a small job but because of the forecast rain i didnt book anything else in and figured id just go do this job for a bit more experience. I was looking forward to it, so i got there and went looking for the outside tap, i looked everywhere before concluding they dont have one ;D
Got back in the van and went home, why someone would ask for pressure washing with no outside tap i do not know, but equally why i never thought to ask is also baffling.
Little professional tip Stoots, don't just check they have a tap, check the water pressure from it is adequate to keep your machine running long enough to get the job done ;)
Yeh I've got a big van so plan is to fit a 500l buffer tank. Put it on fill as soon as get to a job. Gonna van mount the washer as well should be much quicker than faffing about dragging a trolley and bin around.
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Weeds after 4 weeks - wow!
Stoots are you going to do windows out of the van as well as p/w ?
Its going to have to be a really big van - I have a Transit Jumbo and a boxer L3 - and although you could just about have a pure water tank and p/w they would both be well over weight
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Weeds after 4 weeks - wow!
Stoots are you going to do windows out of the van as well as p/w ?
Its going to have to be a really big van - I have a Transit Jumbo and a boxer L3 - and although you could just about have a pure water tank and p/w they would both be well over weight
Im going to set the washer up at the side door and mount the hoses for it on top of the tank I think.
It's an L2 H2 relay payload 1575kg. Plenty of room. I've got a foot between tank and bulkhead and there's about 2 foot between tank and where the bin is. Plus loads of height I don't use. To be honest I think I could fit it all in twice over.
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1715754321_Screenshot_20240515_072325_Gallery.jpg)
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PW is just seasonal so that's why I only put it in the van when I need it. The bin holds the hose and lances. I make £200 to £400 a job for not more than 4hrs work. Not looking for big money but just to break up my window cleaning. I mostly PW for my customers which means I get repeat business. When customers know you can do other tasks like building fences, laying patios, cutting hedges, trees and oddjob stuff then one will never have a clear day. Only thing is you need to pace yourself or you end up with too much work.
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Good day today for PW a driveway. I always book mine in when its a day like today and raining all day. It means the surface is wet and dirt a tad softer which I find I can do the job in half the time. The customer doesn't seem to bother as long as its getting done. Next week I go back and sand it and then in a months time I go back and spray weedkiller on any weeds coming through. Usually do it when I'm back cleaning their windows due to repeat business.
I couldn't be arsed with all that myself.....
I just trained my window cleaning customers that i work in the rain all year round,if they don't like it they get dumped.
You must need a large van for all your pressure washing equipment.the extra expenses involved and general faff it's not worth it.
I earn £80-£100 an hour on some of my window cleaning work and my average is around £50 an hour on even my cheaper run of the mill estate work plus its repeat work every few months
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PW is just seasonal so that's why I only put it in the van when I need it. The bin holds the hose and lances. I make £200 to £400 a job for not more than 4hrs work. Not looking for big money but just to break up my window cleaning. I mostly PW for my customers which means I get repeat business. When customers know you can do other tasks like building fences, laying patios, cutting hedges, trees and oddjob stuff then one will never have a clear day. Only thing is you need to pace yourself or you end up with too much work.
Or you end up running round like a blue arse fly!🤣👍
Each to their own but I'd rather just earn as much as I can for the least amount of time/hassle and that for me is Maintenance window cleaning now I'm in my 50s...
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My work doesn't change all year round.i clean the same in the winter as I do in the summer.
4 x 6 hour days per week
If pressure washing is seasonal you must work a lot more in the warmer months then?
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You are right Daz from a simplicity point of view and probably from a financial one window cleaning makes more sense.
But it's not all about the money if window cleaning made me 100k a year it wouldn't make it any much more enjoyable. You still have to do it no matter what you get paid.
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I hope your right - still keep an eye on the weight you'll be surprised at how heavy p/w hose and reel is - mind you you are only carrying 1 set up rather than in mine there are 2
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Did a PW job today and many folk have asked if its better to softwash first then PW the area or the other way round. I did both today on stone coping stones purely by mistake so decided to focus on the result. The ones that were PW first and then softwashed came up alot better than the ones that were softwashed first which makes perfect sense. So if anyone needs to softwash copings, Indian sandstone or steps then its better to PW it first. 😉
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Don’t worry mate splash will pop along and tell you that you have it wrong
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Don’t worry mate splash will pop along and tell you that you have it wrong
Only going by my results today but there's logic behind it. Once the PW has removed most of the dirt means the hypo doesn't have much lichen to work on.
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Don’t worry mate splash will pop along and tell you that you have it wrong
It’s not a mater of anyone getting it wrong it’s what works best if you want to wash then hypo that’s fine , I have done it both ways for us hypo first is much quicker than after and rinsing again
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;D
Maybe quicker .....
But a poor quality job ;)
shame on you splash ;D
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;D
Maybe quicker .....
But a poor quality job ;)
shame on you splash ;D
lol that’s not what our customers say 😂😂😂
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;D
Maybe quicker .....
But a poor quality job ;)
shame on you splash ;D
lol that’s not what our customers say 😂😂😂
I take it you deleted your original account? Why?
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;D
Maybe quicker .....
But a poor quality job ;)
shame on you splash ;D
lol that’s not what our customers say 😂😂😂
I take it you deleted your original account? Why?
No not at all had problems logging in and couldn’t do a password reset it wouldn’t accept it left it a couple of weeks then managed to re set it and it kept my name but lost all post history can this be re set ?
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Do you guys have a minimum price for pw ?
I've decided on £100. I've had a couple of enquirys for small areas that might take only half an hour but when you include setting up and packing away call it an hour but it just doest seem worth it to get the machine out for less.
Also do you offer different levels of service ?
For example i find a lot of people assume it's just a quick blast over with a pressure washer like they would do with a karcher so they are of the mindset it's a 30 or 50 quid job. Thinking of saying I can either give it a quick blast with the pw for x amount or and accept it will be cleaner but not perfect or I can do it properly and treat with hypo or biocide etc and charge more.
Some of the before and after pics I see on fb still covered in black spot yet people are saying it looks great has me thinking maybe by offering a premium price and a premium service you are missing out on a part of the market that just don't see the value....
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Did a PW job today and many folk have asked if its better to softwash first then PW the area or the other way round. I did both today on stone coping stones purely by mistake so decided to focus on the result. The ones that were PW first and then softwashed came up alot better than the ones that were softwashed first which makes perfect sense. So if anyone needs to softwash copings, Indian sandstone or steps then its better to PW it first. 😉
Always the way I've done it too
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Do you guys have a minimum price for pw ?
I've decided on £100. I've had a couple of enquirys for small areas that might take only half an hour but when you include setting up and packing away call it an hour but it just doest seem worth it to get the machine out for less.
Also do you offer different levels of service ?
For example i find a lot of people assume it's just a quick blast over with a pressure washer like they would do with a karcher so they are of the mindset it's a 30 or 50 quid job. Thinking of saying I can either give it a quick blast with the pw for x amount or and accept it will be cleaner but not perfect or I can do it properly and treat with hypo or biocide etc and charge more.
Some of the before and after pics I see on fb still covered in black spot yet people are saying it looks great has me thinking maybe by offering a premium price and a premium service you are missing out on a part of the market that just don't see the value....
Your problem is you try to cater for every enquiry going and I bet in the process of doing that you lose sight of where your business should be going.
Set out your stall, be one or the other (preferably and hopefully the better) and stick to it. There’s thousands of customers out there, you can’t have them all and nor would you want to. If you price a job and in hindsight realise they only wanted a splash n dash when you priced it as a quality clean that’s their loss, not yours. In time you will realise there are plenty of customers out there who do want a quality clean and your paths will cross. You possibly need to work on your self belief and business model. I’d love to see your interaction with a potential customer when you price up a job. Half the time it’s how you sell yourself.
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Windows this morning and sanding a PW job this afternoon. Its not about money but about variety. Cleaning windows all the time would drive me mad. I laid a nice patio on Friday and have another one to do for same customer. I like half days window cleaning and home for lunch and then out to an add-on. Summer months are busy and this year has been the busiest so I have decided to save for new van which gives me something to aim for. This type of business plan makes me a happy camper and I look forward to getting out of bed in the morning. That's what we should all aim for. Love what you do and you will never work another day in your life.
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Good for you
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Do you guys have a minimum price for pw ?
I've decided on £100. I've had a couple of enquirys for small areas that might take only half an hour but when you include setting up and packing away call it an hour but it just doest seem worth it to get the machine out for less.
Also do you offer different levels of service ?
For example i find a lot of people assume it's just a quick blast over with a pressure washer like they would do with a karcher so they are of the mindset it's a 30 or 50 quid job. Thinking of saying I can either give it a quick blast with the pw for x amount or and accept it will be cleaner but not perfect or I can do it properly and treat with hypo or biocide etc and charge more.
Some of the before and after pics I see on fb still covered in black spot yet people are saying it looks great has me thinking maybe by offering a premium price and a premium service you are missing out on a part of the market that just don't see the value....
Just clean it as best you can.
I always tell the customer the black spot might not come off, I’ve never had an issue.
If they want it softwshed then that’s a lot more £££