Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: dai on January 22, 2010, 10:33:31 pm
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I had a real pig of a day today, the worse by far since I started the job.
I arrived at the job, a listed house with Georgian windows. I did the outside in 2 hours for 50 quid. The owner asked if I could do the insides, this is were my nightmare began. The panes were too small for the Wagtail, and I had not brought any other sqeegee with me, no problem do them by hand.
As soon as I approached the windows they started misting up, even the warmth from my hand would cause misting. But worse was to come,
I just couldn't get the dirt off the glass, and believe me I tried everything.
damp scrim with dry scrim, leather with damp and dry scrims, leather with micro fibre, spray bottle with both scrim annd micro fibre, but nothing would lift the dirt, oh I could move the dirt around the pane, but it just wouldn't lift off and stick to the cloth.
The pane would mist over again and you could see the tracks of scrim and micro fibres. All the scrims used were washed clean and dried.
I ended up going to Tesco's, 15 mins later and 8 quid lighter in the pocket I got back with two Mr muscle sprays and new window cloths and micro fibres, and I still couldn't get the bloody things clean.
Once the windows had dried they didn't look too bad, but they were still a long way from being right.
Has anyone else ever experienced this?
If I had nightmares like this I wouldn't go to bed.
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gutted mate, never had that problem, its the worst when you underprice something and your there for hours, never mind look on the bright side,
if it makes you feel better, i had a great day got 14 in, 9.30 - 4pm and it was about 12 degrees here in swansea, felt like spring! sorry to rub it in ;)
im sure im due for a nightmare day soon! ;D
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The obvious thing to say is that the windows were dirty, and probably the edges needed a good toothbrushing.
I had one similar and gave up......Didn't charge for the small amount of work i had done, just walked away.I would have been there all day, there was no point trying to explain this or attempting to charge £200 and the job still costing me money.
These jobs are undoable.
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I sympathise with you dai. By the title i thought you had caught a couple of naked blokes making out through a window. ;D
Have only had the misfortune of the misting happening on inside conservatories. I dropped doing insides for a year 5 years ago when i did a georgian house that took me a (window cleaners) day and an hour the next morning, cos the dirt just moved about on them.
I charged £65 for that experience.
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I did do this job once before about 18 months ago, It only took half the time then. They have not been done since, so there's nothing on the glass.
I put it down to room temp and moisture in the air, this is a second home, and the customers had just arrived and put the heating on.
The fact that they only burn logs on a huge open fire may add to the problem, the place stinks of wood smoke.
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I have had this before with very small panes of glass with a lot of mold on caused by condensation. I used a sleeve off a T bar and a small squeegee.
Roy
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I had a similiar problem on similiar sounding windows in what was similiar weather conditions, causing condenstaion.
These windows were old (old as in old old) leaded. The triangular type of real lead with a large amount of movement in the pane.
Couldnt get them sorted in any way at all, before I'd finshed a pane it would mist up again and all iwas doing was pushing any muck about the glass rather than lifting it and leaving a clean, smear-free pane of glass.
I did what I could considering the conditions, and basically left them as I had found them if the truth was told.
The custy still paid but there would have been no recommendations from them.
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I had a very similar problem after buying the good will on a 1830's mansion, first clean on the insides were manky, fly muck all over the georgian panels everywhere, and up top, caked!
What I found worked the best was...
a bucket of hot quite soapy(fairy) water,
3X microfibre clothes, thats 2 cheap 18"X18" 1 red 1 white and 1 good clean unger large micofbr
1st scrub with hard, attention to the edges with a wringed/slightllydamp red MF.
2ndly, wipe viggorously(just a little pressure really)With the white one.
3rd(and finally) polish
Even after condensation, and most of came from me being so close to the cold window, THEY DO DRY CLEAR AND CLEAN.
It's a story that's close to my heart, what I do now is outsides only, and double the price when asked to do insides.
Look at it this way mate, next time they will be a hellof a lot easier to do.
BRAVO mate, That is..
PROFESSIONAL PRIDE!
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I had a first clean on a rather large, Inside and out.
Loads of paint etc, got inside and the outsides where smeary as anything. Done the insides, went outside to re do them, And the insides now look terrible. Took me three times as long as it should have and had to leave the job unpaid.
Turns out my Gf washed the scrims the night before with my trousers (suds)
Gutted.
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I did do this job once before about 18 months ago, It only took half the time then. They have not been done since, so there's nothing on the glass.
I put it down to room temp and moisture in the air, this is a second home, and the customers had just arrived and put the heating on.
The fact that they only burn logs on a huge open fire may add to the problem, the place stinks of wood smoke.
You maybe right about the logs having something to do with the problem. If the wood had some kind of oil in it, it would get into the atmosphere and onto the glass.
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i know the feeling dai!i used to do 2 pubs before the smoking ban.really bad to clean inside esp in winter on a sunny day!NIGHTMARE! ::) ::) ;D ;D
I generally wont do inside work anymore.too much hassle.if they ask i at least double the outside price.that usually puts them off! ;D ;D
regards
dazmond
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I have had this before with very small panes of glass with a lot of mold on caused by condensation. I used a sleeve off a T bar and a small squeegee.
Roy
That's what I would have done too Roy, I just didn't have a spare channel handle on the van, I use the Wagtail for any trad work I have to do, but this is too big for the job.
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I had a first clean on a rather large, Inside and out.
Loads of paint etc, got inside and the outsides where smeary as anything. Done the insides, went outside to re do them, And the insides now look terrible. Took me three times as long as it should have and had to leave the job unpaid.
Turns out my Gf washed the scrims the night before with my trousers (suds)
Gutted.
I wash my scrims with washing powder, I just stay well away from softners. never had a problem cleaning them this way.
I hate stain glass, I usually charge double the amount.
Matt
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I had one similar Job quite a while ago and no matter what I did I could't shift the dirt off but I could move it around, in the end I borrowed a hacksaw from the custy and cut one of my blades down so it fitted the windows, I now have a 6" blade for such work.
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Dai,
Squeaky gave a top tip which involved using wads of kitchen roll for Georgian windows. Spray, cloth, polish with kitchen roll. Have a good supply of it handy.
I've got a big job on on Monday morning, inside and out, and I plan to do this with the insides.
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got a job like this never go near it if its cold;
its ok in the sun but if its misting up its taking time out.
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Dai,
Squeaky gave a top tip which involved using wads of kitchen roll for Georgian windows. Spray, cloth, polish with kitchen roll. Have a good supply of it handy.
I've got a big job on on Monday morning, inside and out, and I plan to do this with the insides.
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I wish I had thought of that yesterday, kitchen roll should have dried them, I'm glad I'm not the only one to have experienced this problem, but my professional pride really took a hit yesterday.
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"I sympathise with you dai. By the title i thought you had caught a couple of naked blokes making out through a window"
had the mispleasure of seeing just that when i was traditional, never cleaned a window so fast in my life.
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"I sympathise with you dai. By the title i thought you had caught a couple of naked blokes making out through a window"
had the mispleasure of seeing just that when i was traditional, never cleaned a window so fast in my life.
Nick I don't think that would have bothered me at all, each to his own as they say.
I first cleaned windows back in the 1950's, and a lot of that work was insides of hotels and stuff, I cut my teeth on small panes, but never came across this inside misting before, and not being able to remove dirt from the glass