Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Blue Frog Systems on December 27, 2009, 10:28:36 pm
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Please dont mock me, but i havent a clue how scrims work or what they are for other than windowcleaning purpose.
I came into window cleaning straight to wfp, realised i needed to blade some windows and im doing just fine.
I have wondered though how to use a scrim / when its best to use one. Finally ive plucked up the courage to ask.
So here is me asking how do i use a scrim and whats it do ? (Waits for the mockingto begin)
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Mainly used for "detailing" after trad cleaning a window..this means wiping the egdes of the glass, to get rid of drips etc that the squeegie left behind...
Also use for polishing/buffing glass :)
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as above but also handy used ever so slightly damp for cleaning leaded and hoppers etc, once you used one enough you will know when its to damp, but on the whole i like mine as dry as possible and just use for detailing
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jp a scrim is only used to detail the edges of the glass after you have cleaned it the slow (trad) way
the only use i have now for my scrims is using them to clean the inside of the windscreen of my van
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So what i use for trad anyway, but i use microfibre cloths. Are scrims better than microfibre ?
Hows it going Mark? You off or working ?
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good mate going work mon - thurs next week only due to i'm now skint and bored lol, i've got both scrims and unger green microfibre cloths, these ones http://www.thecleaningwarehouse.co.uk/unger-microfiber-cloth-75-p.asp
i prefer the microfibres, not that they get much use anymore.
you know what your gonna do with your round van etc when you move yet or you still not sure?
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Not back till 4th, maybe 5th... Will wait n see.
Yeah i use the microfibre wcw ones, though have found them at nearly half the price for the 40x40
Going to sell up as a business. Have a whole new business plan for when i move.
Have listed out all my custys in seperate areas and am going to compact them up. Should be able to drop from 16 days a month to 13/14 tops i reckon.
Would make a good business for somone wanting to get into this game. Everything is done, in order and the customers are good ones too.
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i use a scrim for detailin-polishing until it gets too damp then i get another fresh one /////but recently i read that the PROPER way is to drop it in bucket and then wring it out and use it like that -im gonna try that in new year ,once its milder weather
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scrim always leaves a smear round the edge of the glass , well thats what i found .
if i do trad i will always use microfiber , the scrim i have left for the sills .
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Are scrims better than microfibre ?
There are some rubbish microfibres around, so many ppl will say that scrim is better. Get some decent microfibres though and you'll never look back.
I get mine from www.microfibreireland.com dead cheap and top quality too. Not sure if they post to the UK tho!
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i use microfibre cloths(the big blue flatweave ones)mainly for detailing and polishing now although i do use scrim as well esp on a wet day as i think they last longer before they get too wet!microfibre also doesnt leave cloth fibre on the window like scrim.scrim these days is crap compared to the irish linen we used to get years ago.it doesnt feel right if i havent got a scrim in my pouch though! ;) ;D
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I posted this on "another forum" several years ago, and it won me a 25' Powerpole as the 'Post of the month'.
Please bear in mind that it refers to PROPER scrim which is no longer available.
Scrim nowadays is rubbish, but read this and weep - this is what you newbies are missing
HOW TO USE SCRIM
The endless comparisons between scrim and microfibre continue to rumble on, with no sign of a conclusion.
One thing which strikes me, though, is that very few people seem to know how to use scrim. Time and again I see references to using "20 or more a day" (well, perhaps not quite that many!). I have been using scrim for 35 years, and rarely possess more than one or two at a time, and NEVER use more than one on any single day.
If you use a scrim for "detailing" edges of squeegeed glass, and for polishing small panes/leaded glass etc.(otherwise known as "ragging") then you will not need more than one a day. Mopping sills, wiping excess water off frames before squeegeeing, wiping your squeegee blade should all be done with a separate "wet" or “sill” cloth, which you wring out regularly. Doing it this way you will only ever need to carry two cloths with you.
Before using a scrim it needs to be washed out, then wrung out to just the right "dampness" content. To achieve this take hold of opposite corners of the scrim, stretch it out and then "spin" it into a rope. Put the two ends together to halve its length, then the same again. The scrim can now be twisted very tightly, leaving no loose fibres within itself to retain water. As you wring it as tightly as you can, water will firstly run, then drip off the scrim. When you can no longer make water drip, you will see that there is still loose water rising to the surface of the scrim when you really twist hard. Holding the scrim tightly to prevent the surface water retreating back into the fabric, "throw" the water off by bringing the scrim down sharply towards the ground, then stopping dead. You will see water being shaken off the scrim onto the ground. You will create a sizeable puddle from what you had thought to be a well wrung scrim!
Unravelling the scrim can be difficult after this treatment, and this is why "old school" w/c's crack them like a whip. One good crack and the scrim will unravel easily. The scrim is now in perfect condition to polish, detail - even clean your glasses! During the day the scrim will tend to dry out (NOT get wet!!!) and you will need to dunk it in your bucket and repeat as above.
GOLDEN RULE: Scrim is for polishing, sill cloth for wet wiping - don't mix them up!!
RIGHT!! Now you all know how to use a scrim properly, how about someone teach me the right way to use microfibre? That I've never been able to get on with!
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I posted this on "another forum" several years ago, and it won me a 25' Powerpole as the 'Post of the month'.
Please bear in mind that it refers to PROPER scrim which is no longer available.
Scrim nowadays is rubbish, but read this and weep - this is what you newbies are missing
HOW TO USE SCRIM
The endless comparisons between scrim and microfibre continue to rumble on, with no sign of a conclusion.
One thing which strikes me, though, is that very few people seem to know how to use scrim. Time and again I see references to using "20 or more a day" (well, perhaps not quite that many!). I have been using scrim for 35 years, and rarely possess more than one or two at a time, and NEVER use more than one on any single day.
If you use a scrim for "detailing" edges of squeegeed glass, and for polishing small panes/leaded glass etc.(otherwise known as "ragging") then you will not need more than one a day. Mopping sills, wiping excess water off frames before squeegeeing, wiping your squeegee blade should all be done with a separate "wet" or “sill” cloth, which you wring out regularly. Doing it this way you will only ever need to carry two cloths with you.
Before using a scrim it needs to be washed out, then wrung out to just the right "dampness" content. To achieve this take hold of opposite corners of the scrim, stretch it out and then "spin" it into a rope. Put the two ends together to halve its length, then the same again. The scrim can now be twisted very tightly, leaving no loose fibres within itself to retain water. As you wring it as tightly as you can, water will firstly run, then drip off the scrim. When you can no longer make water drip, you will see that there is still loose water rising to the surface of the scrim when you really twist hard. Holding the scrim tightly to prevent the surface water retreating back into the fabric, "throw" the water off by bringing the scrim down sharply towards the ground, then stopping dead. You will see water being shaken off the scrim onto the ground. You will create a sizeable puddle from what you had thought to be a well wrung scrim!
Unravelling the scrim can be difficult after this treatment, and this is why "old school" w/c's crack them like a whip. One good crack and the scrim will unravel easily. The scrim is now in perfect condition to polish, detail - even clean your glasses! During the day the scrim will tend to dry out (NOT get wet!!!) and you will need to dunk it in your bucket and repeat as above.
GOLDEN RULE: Scrim is for polishing, sill cloth for wet wiping - don't mix them up!!
RIGHT!! Now you all know how to use a scrim properly, how about someone teach me the right way to use microfibre? That I've never been able to get on with!
good post and the way it should be done, the old scrim used to have bits of straw in it and had to be boiled for hours to break it in but it would last for ages i had pieces that lasted well over a year, one thing i have found with scrim is that pure water rots it like mad so only wash it out in ordinary water.
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I was taught the same was as Ian Lancaster cant belive some people get through so many a day.
i have two, but generally use 1 a day dont get any problems just need to know how to use it. I carnt get on with microfibre either allways end up going back to the trusty scrim.
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Great post Ian, do you remember the segs we used to get on our hands from wringing out?
The old Irish linen scrims were great, made from flax if memory serves. As soon as that stuff started leaving fluff you knew it was too dry, and time for another wash. Most of my scrimming was done before we had squeegees. We used a chamois mop and the scrim for buffing, that was before we had rubber seals round the glass, turning everything that touches them black. I still rate a clean damp scrim as the best polishing cloth.
As Ian said, use a piece of old towel for wiping frames and sills, and keep the scrim for fine detailing. You can even detail with the piece of towel until it starts getting wet.
WE NEVER LET SOAP GET ANYWHERE NEAR THEM, you can't avoid it now though when using a blade.
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Great post Ian, do you remember the segs we used to get on our hands from wringing out?The old Irish linen scrims were great, made from flax if memory serves. As soon as that stuff started leaving fluff you knew it was too dry, and time for another wash. Most of my scrimming was done before we had squeegees. We used a chamois mop and the scrim for buffing, that was before we had rubber seals round the glass, turning everything that touches them black. I still rate a clean damp scrim as the best polishing cloth.
As Ian said, use a piece of old towel for wiping frames and sills, and keep the scrim for fine detailing. You can even detail with the piece of towel until it starts getting wet.
Certainly do ;)
All across the palms and even up the fingers. Sure way to tell a tumbler (apart from the rubbish shining) - soft pink hands ;D ;D
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Here's a video on using scrim on a pole -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgEZkO97MJ0