Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Glen on February 11, 2005, 11:17:57 pm
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I have started using sorboglide as a friction reducer and I really can’t tell any difference. The squeegee still drags, especially on the dry part of the glass, and when turning slowly towards the bottom of the window. I have tried using the recommended rate of 5ml per 2.5 gallons and double that plus 4ml per litre of GG4. I end up getting so frustrated after about an hour of use that I add a squirt of Fairy which defeats the purpose of using GG4.
Someone, anyone – what is the definitive solution for a hard water area for plenty of glide and noooo drag?
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Add another cap of GG4 does the trick for me
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Add a touch of anti-calc powder/water softner.
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I add the salt that is used in dish washers. I buy 'finish' from the local supermarket because it is cheaper than our local window cleaning wholesaler.
Bit hard to say how much to add because that depends on the water in your area.
Around here the ground is all chalk and the water very very hard. Kettles scale up in a weeks or so.
I add 2 or 3 table sthingys per gallon. If it's a pub or a 'high level of sh*t on the windows type of place' - I add more. It seems to do the job although sometimes, the blade still sticks but I am beginning to think the age of the glass plus where the job is situated has a bearing. i.e. pollution whether from cars, f*gs, etc, etc.
I have found that the good old fairy, whilst solving the 'slip' problem today, causes a bigger problem next month.
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I wrote 'table spoons' but it came out, when posted, as 'table sthingys'.
Can't work that one out????
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S P O O N S
What the hell is wrong with the word S P O O N S ?
As in table S P O O N S.
I typed table s p o o n s.
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Table sthingys
What I wrote above was table s p o o n s
It comes out on the preview as 'table s p o o n s' so why not when posted?
Try it for your self. Write 'table s p o o n s' as a normal word and then try and post it.
It appears when posted as 'table sthingys'.
What's a 'sthingys'?
Wierd eh?
Strange things these forums with regards some words. :o
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Also, f a g s comes out as f*gs.
F a g s as in cigarettes.
Am I missing some point here?
I don't get it.
I had the same problem with a local beauty spot that is marked on every OS Map as Devils D y k e.
A 'd y k e' is a geological term. Ordinance Survey have no problem with the word 'd y k e' so why does this forum?
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Try typing D i c k Van D y k e like I did a couple of weeks ago and see what you get:-
thingy Van d**e
;D ;D ;D
Back to squeegee slip now!
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Its down to what the punter has used on their glass like furniture/glass polish etc Bet you get less drag on the upstairs where they cannot reach. Its the same with a wfp, less spots.
Try a spoonful of sainsburys water softener powders £2ish in a bucket. then use The Sorbo Glide, I use a 1/4 capful per bucket but my water is soft.
Its the glass polish. You can "feel" the friction if you "listen" for it .
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devils d**e, thingy van d**e, f*gs, sthingys. ;D
Sorry I had to have a go :D,hope I be able to leave this on here as like to show some friends, It's WEIRD!!! this site is very PC ;D.
I have pub cleaning contracts when I go in to clean the windows pub staff have wiped them with dish cloths I've ask that they stop but they don't take any notice. the cleaners have told me the staff wipe the mirrors as well. >:(
KEV
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yeah, it's wierd a load of bthingyocks I reckon'
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I'm not sure, but I think the software that generates these forums are American, in princible having an auto-censor is a good idea, helps to keep things polite and free of foul and abusive words.
You could argue it is against free speech, who the hell are faceless programers to tell me what words I can and cannot use >:(
Obviously on forums such as this one, such language and behavior would not long be tolerated by the moderators.
Pop into just about any chat room, the younger the age group, the worse the language being used.
It's easy to circumvent these restrictions of course, and it does cause the odd wry smile when you read a post that becomes unintentionally funny as a result of a word being PC'd into something daft ;D
Some of the stronger words come out in full though :o Whats that about!!
I tried typing a coulple to see what they would come out like, I removed them sharpish when I saw they weren't changed into something else! :o
Ian
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well of course..and it's a bit of a joke really....not hard to change the real word to feck...and we still all know what the poster means..and that applies to other words too...it just get's silly (sorry Phil) when perfectly innocent and legitimate words get changed through political correctness...and anyway they are in the dictionary...but thingy it, who am I to complain... :o
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table spoons
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had to try it
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I am still having problems with drag! I am using:
1 tablespoon of dishwasher salt per 4.5 litres.
10ml of GG4 per litre (about 2ml per litre)
2 ml of Sorboglide per 4.5 litres.
It still drags though especially on the dry part of the glass and when I get towards the bottom of the window and
Worst of all though is when I am squeegeeing a pain of glass from top to bottom. I'll do one side and then when I do the other side it really drags on the dry part of the glass and leaves a "drag mark" which is clearly visible which I have to end up rubbing of with scrim.
What am I doing wrong?
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I don't think you are neccesarily doing anything wrong.
Did you try changing the rubber? Sometimes for odd reason some blades stick more than others.
Also, I now add wind screen wash and get good slip from it.
My next experiment is to add glycerine.
Another thing I noticed was sometimes some glass is 'more sticky' than other glass and I havn't a clue as to why.
I also found that when we do 1st cleans, I wirewool the windows after mopping and the squeegie never ever sticks so maybe it also has to do with build up of minerals etc on the glass.
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Glen,
Are you sure your not using soft compound rubber on a warmish day, that will create drag.
As the temperatures start to rise try using a harder compound, when it gets really hot we use SYR hard rubber, dead cheap but boy does it work well.
If you have access to Pure water, try adding GG3 to that and using it to wet your strip washer.
Dennis
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Glen, going back to basics -
10ml of GG4 per half gallon works well.
But.... in warmer weather I get squeeguee drag with my soft unger rubber so I top it up with an extra 5ml and sometimes on top transom windows it still sticks like a squeaky thing in squeakyland on a squeaky day.
So I wipe the blade on my cill cloth and pull it down like a rank amateur and add some more GG4!
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At one point I would have said technique has a lot to do with it.
But I think it must be linked with hardness in the water.
If you were having that probelm in my area then I would blame your technique, but the water hardness is middling to soft around here (mostly) So it is tough to be able to comment on how you guys in areas of very hard water find things.
Give up the trad stuff, get yourself a WFP, and then even when you have to use traditional methods you will always have lovely soft water to with ;D
Sorry, couldn't resist :-X
Do you have a window cleaner local to you so you could compare notes, so to speak?
Maybe you could find out if you are doing something that causes the 'drag'?
Ian
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Around here the water is about the hardest in the UK. The land all around for miles and miles and miles is chalk, chalk and nothing but chalk. It goes down to God know what depth and every reservoir is on chalk.
Kettles scale up here almost over night and that is not an exageration. My missus always moans about it because she loves her bubble baths (why do women want bubbles in the bath? ) and she has to use half a bottle to get enough bubbles.
We either have to add some good old fairy or salt to get slip. The problem with fairy is it doesn't clean very well and the problem with salt is if you add too much, it 'streaks' very easily. Add too little and the blade sticks.
I've been on a constant experiment with this sticking blade thing.
My latest, which does seem to give really good results, is a small amount of fairy, some salt and some windscreen wash with Ettore stuff added as per the directions but plus 50%.
I feel like some nutty proffessor with my experiments. The other two I work with just accept that that is me and get on with the job and make the occasional grunt of approval or disapproval.
My next experiment involves glycerine. Can't wait.
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If you haven't tried water softner try it now. It might be called "Calgon" over there. It would be cheaper in the supermarkets. It is what we use over here to add to washing machines on each wash, otherwise our machines break within the year.
With a tds of 1400, count yourselfs lucky.
If you are "going over the dry part" more than a couple of inches you will get drag.
If you can't hack it use the "fairy".
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P.S. I don't use water softner & only use 2.5 mg of GG4 to 4 litres. If I can do it here you can too. Half the time its technique or faulty gear, rubbers etc.
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Your kettle furred up?
Cillit Bang it!
Seriously, the stuff is the dogs boll*cks, I launder all my money with it ;D (The copper anyway)
Amazing stuff with a kettle though, give it a try, really.
Ian
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Hi Karlosdaze
To start with we tried adding the right amount of GG4, or was it GG3, then twice the amount and then tons of it untill we were spending a fortune on the stuff.
The complaints we had went through the roof so we added fairy to it. Then more fairy and then more and more.
We changed rubbers every day then twice a day.
It made no difference then we spoke to a well seasoned window cleaner who used fairy, vinegar and screen wash. So we tried it and it was a big improvement. Around here the subject of conversation when we speak to other w/c's is the topic of this thread.
No one seems to have a definative answer. Technique is not really the answer because when the squeegie sticks, it really does stick. We've used both hard and soft, cheap and expensive and it just sticks.
Last Friday we done a new first clean for a shop. In the end I used wirewooll which done the trick. The blade to start with was sticking so badly that I wanted to just give up.
So at the moment, we use at per my previous posting and that is the best we've discovered to date.
I'm surprised the big companies in window cleaning havn't looked more into seriously hard water areas.
Hi Ian,
Cillit Bang does do the kettle wonders. It's the best de scaler I've come across. It just around here it's a chore as it has to be done every few days but it's easier than the standard descaler stuff and cheaper too because you use less.
Cheers
Ross
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OK,
I am on my second beer now, so I am going to spill the beans on a question I have had, but was embarrassed to ask. ;D
What is "fairy"? I have no idea what you are talking about.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Hugs, :-* :-*
Texas
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Hi Debbie,
'Fairy', or rather 'Fairy Liquid', is the top detergent for dish washing.
In the UK, it is a bit like the sort of thing that has developed with vacuum cleaners.
Everyone gets the 'Hoover' out, meaning vacuum cleaner, regardless of make.
'Fairy' over here is much the same.
Ian
Oh, re above: As against 'the' best, I should have said 'arguably' the best ;D
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Ian;
OK; NOW I UNDERSTAND! Yes; I have used it for years, along with other cleaners. :o
I have also used "fairy" mixed with a 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol per gallon of water; works well and adds some smell. ;D
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Hi Texas Girl
What is 'rubbing alcohol'?
Also I have to be carefull living where I do (Brighton) when I use the term 'fairy liquid' when at work because around here it means something else.
One of the good points about windscreen wash is it adds some smell also.
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Last Friday we done a new first clean for a shop. In the end I used wirewooll which done the trick. The blade to start with was sticking so badly that I wanted to just give up.
Ross
AAhhh, that might be it. I always razor new cleans with a 6"er, takes alot longer but it works. Try it, the next time you go back no probs.
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I think 'Rubbing Alcohol' would be surgical spirit over here....(bought from the chemist's)....used to harden up feet (in my case) in preparation for a sponsored walk or marathon etc...