Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Martin ccs on January 21, 2010, 04:38:46 pm
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going over to wfp v soon and just wanted to check on how important is each bit of the actual window clean is.
im guessing its the rinse off, but just wanted to see what works best please guys.
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if a wiindow was very dirty or the first clean would i just srub with brush as norm but rinse more?
thanks for any help
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the rinse is to wash all the dirt off that has been dislodged by the scrubbing
what i did when i first got my wfp was dirty up the back windows with anything ie dirt, finger prints, etc any thing that might leave a window dirty, and just practise cleaning with the wfp and you will find a way that you like that leaves your windows clean, then just do this on custys homes,
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first cleans take your time and if you arent sure of the results, take a quick check over before you pack up and then rinse again if need be, i find if you rinse well enough even though it may take a wee tad longer you shouldnt have to go back, i also find in spider season they will slip up into the vents when you are cleaning and then slip out when you are done and it sometimes leaves a run mark where they have been, nothing you can do about that, just use your w's for scrubing and your z's for cleaning and you will be fine, sometimes though i give an extra rinse down when the brush isnt touching the window, helps alot :)
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should i always rinse with whole brush off glass or rinse with one side off the glass and then change over to other side - hope that makes sense!
does it matter which order i do ws n zs?
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before you change over make sure you existing work there frames are in top condition, then you should have little bother, but when you get use to it and you start take in on new jobs take your time on first cleans its not a race,
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w then z
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simple version here, pull up to house, get your kit out, start at top window up and down w's to clean window and left to right z's to rinse windows, take your time and you will be flying soon. Simple. Do your Z's on the rinse with the brush still on the glass and if you still see the odd bit of dirt just pull your trigger and run the jets from left to right down the window without touching glass this time, with every clean you will see the windows getting better, some tbh dont even need a 4 week clean but customers dont know that :) Get a trigger m8, saves loads of water and no water in the vents either m8.
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before you change over make sure you existing work there frames are in top condition, then you should have little bother, but when you get use to it and you start take in on new jobs take your time on first cleans its not a race,
yeah cheers mate, i have been trying to tidy up the tops of frames with a damp micro wipe. guess im just over worry about customer reaction - the sound customers that like to have a chat seem to be ok with the idea its the old/stroppy customers im worried about.
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simple version here, pull up to house, get your kit out, start at top window up and down w's to clean window and left to right z's to rinse windows, take your time and you will be flying soon. Simple. Do your Z's on the rinse with the brush still on the glass and if you still see the odd bit of dirt just pull your trigger and run the jets from left to right down the window without touching glass this time, with every clean you will see the windows getting better, some tbh dont even need a 4 week clean but customers dont know that :) Get a trigger m8, saves loads of water and no water in the vents either m8.
so do you actually start on the top of the frame or just sort of half on frame and half on window or just straight onto glass?
thanks for the advice, guess i just gotta get on and do it - just dont want to be getting it wrong
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oh yes start at top of frame work round the frame first then go back and start the glass from the top, takes a bit of time to get used to but by the time you have finished your last window on the first house you have used it you will wonder what you worried about.
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i wouldn't worry about stroppy ones , soon as you get the hang of it you will do your existing round in half the time so you soon will be looking for extra work
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oh yes start at top of frame work round the frame first then go back and start the glass from the top, takes a bit of time to get used to but by the time you have finished your last window on the first house you have used it you will wonder what you worried about.
all frames then go back and do glass? or frame and glass on each window at a time?
any more tips on the first cleans? im guessing after 2-3 cleans i will be able to go over window with ease and no worries as should be really clean by then
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after first cleans i hardly touch the frames again but charge for it, if it looks dirty i clean it but not as much as i would have to on first cleans, yes a window at a time lol
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i wouldn't worry about stroppy ones , soon as you get the hang of it you will do your existing round in half the time so you soon will be looking for extra work
i was wondering how much quicker it would be. one of the reasons for going wfp after yrs of trad is that i look at all my customers houses and think god this would be so much quicker wfp!
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hoping that when the weeks weather isnt great ( say only 3 good days in the week ) i can get the weeks trad work done in those days with wfp.
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after first cleans i hardly touch the frames again but charge for it, if it looks dirty i clean it but not as much as i would have to on first cleans, yes a window at a time lol
cheers mate, helped alot
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I almost never rinse, but it really comes down to your technique.
When you are washing the windows you are also continually rinsing as you go, to me, - for the most part that is - rinsing is just doubling up on the work you have already done.
Carla, my partner, works with me, now for the most part she rinses after washing...it's how her technique has developed.
If I'm cleaning the lower half of a Georgian sash window for instance, I'll direct a stream of water up towards the top edge of the pane and along the top - without touching the frame - as in this case it isn't so easy to simply wash and go and be sure it will be ok.
Horses for course I guess, as you learn then you will automatically adjust a technique to suit whatever method (rinse on or off and so on) you follow.
Ian
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Ian...do you use that method for say 8 weekly cleans?
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i am wondering about this,i go over the top with rinsing,i rinse with brush on and then off,i just can't trust it to be ok with brush off.have started experimenting on odd windows with brush on to see if any complaints.
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should i always rinse with whole brush off glass or rinse with one side off the glass and then change over to other side - hope that makes sense!
does it matter which order i do ws n zs?
Although rinsing with the brush fully on the glass is usually OK, the results can be unreliable at times - particularly if you are using a brush which retains the bits more. Also, I believe that a higher flow rate is advisable for rinsing while on the glass. You can get away with a lower flow if you rinse with brush off. Sometimes it's not practical to rinse with brush off especially if it's causimg body strain. I find that rinsing with one end of the brush on the glass is OK so that the pane takes the strain (there might be a slogan there ;D ). When doing it this way, I ensure that the side of the brush left on the glass is in the direction toward where I'm working - i.e. so that the water is the last thing to hit the glass rather than the bristles. Not everyone will agree with me but just saying it the way I've found it.
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simple version here, pull up to house, get your kit out, start at top window up and down w's to clean window and left to right z's to rinse windows, take your time and you will be flying soon. Simple. Do your Z's on the rinse with the brush still on the glass and if you still see the odd bit of dirt just pull your trigger and run the jets from left to right down the window without touching glass this time, with every clean you will see the windows getting better, some tbh dont even need a 4 week clean but customers dont know that :) Get a trigger m8, saves loads of water and no water in the vents either m8.
so do you actually start on the top of the frame or just sort of half on frame and half on window or just straight onto glass?
thanks for the advice, guess i just gotta get on and do it - just dont want to be getting it wrong
Depends. If there is no reason not to scrub the frame tops then I will do it - not on every clean though as I feel that is overkill. I tend to leave frame tops alone when there are vents, tile hanging that could be dislodged, or if it's laid out so that it's too difficult not to squirt the brickwork above the frame.
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oh yes start at top of frame work round the frame first then go back and start the glass from the top, takes a bit of time to get used to but by the time you have finished your last window on the first house you have used it you will wonder what you worried about.
all frames then go back and do glass? or frame and glass on each window at a time?
any more tips on the first cleans? im guessing after 2-3 cleans i will be able to go over window with ease and no worries as should be really clean by then
On first cleans I usually do all frames and glass. When completed I go round again and do glass only. Bear in mind on the first pass that it's perfectly OK to do a property one side at a time (saves hose movements). However, on the second pass you really ought to try to work things so that the dripping has stopped (or slowed a lot) above a ground floor window before cleaning it.
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For me - good rinsing is the key to leaving the windows as clean as possible. Only one (minor but justified complaint in 5 years WFP).
I also spend a lot of time on the first clean - it pays dividends in the long run. If they are particularly bad, I try to connect to the customers outside tap and give a good scrub and rinse with that. Saves wasting pure water if you have limited supply due to transport size.. I then go back to the first window and clean in the normal way with pure water. This works well for me.
If you make a good job of the frames to start with they only need a quick brush on each visit to keep them from building up with more dirt. If you don't keep them reasonable, after a while you will end up in the same situation as when you did the first clean.
Hope some of this helps you mate.
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I do the frames and glass in one scrub rather than doing the frames first and then the glass,just do the lot and a good rinse on a high flow,I prefer fan jets,alot faster than pencil ones,especially one windows that bead ;)
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just gone wfp myself its faster and quicker then trad scrub the frames then the glass then rinse well on first cleans if they are muckey and dirty windows double rinse remember srub rinse and rinse again