[dazmond]

right lads i just thought id put a few tips i use for working in very cold weather.hopefully itll help one or two of you to keep ticking over during this bad spell.if this lasts on and off until march you will have to find a method to clean the windows or you ll go out of business!!


1.forget wfp!

2.18 foot unger extension pole/vise versa or backflip/fixiclamp

3.concentrated screenwash/detergent(i use squeegee off) bucket

4.25L BARREL (full of hot water for bucket)

5.big bag of microfibres/scrim and sill cloths

this set up is ok for normal run of the mill work but i wouldnt advise using the trad pole on leaded windows as you wont do a good enough job IMO.

you can get an adequate finish on the glass using the trad pole but forget frames and sills as theyll be frozen!!

i dont attempt to clean awkward angle windows even though i have a swivel squeegy as its hard to get a decent finish.

i make sure ive a good rubber on my vise versa and change microfibres regularly.also i find soaping one window at a time and squeegeeing it off straight away the best way to minimize freezing.


dont soap all the way up to the top of the windows when using the trad pole (leave an inch gap)and cut along the top of the frame with the blade and "feather" the top edge before pulling down slightly diagonally to minimize lines down the glass.

then i bring pole down and quickly replace vise versa with dry detailing cloth(in clamp)thats already in my pouch and detail top edge and move on to the next window.

this method allowed me to keep ticking over during last winter(yes i even went out in a foot of snow a few days!)

i aim for 3 or 4 continuous working hours in this sub zero weather which is enough but not enough to p me off!!i work at a slower more measured pace due to icy paths etc but just accept ill earn less money until the weather gets better.

most custies accept that i do this as a business and accept the method and thank me for trying to get round as efficient and safely as possible!!


best wishes to you all


dazmond

[birdymiller]

nice one daz, what size vice/versa you got, do you get small top opening windows

[dazmond]

hi birdy i use a 14in vice versa and i find it ok for top openers.ive had it a few years and i used to use it for the odd awkward windows when i was 100% trad.as im mainly wfp now i dont use it much but its gonna be a godsend if we have a long cold harsh winter.

have you gone back 100% trad now birdy?as i remember you struggling with wfp!i love wfp and i would say im 80% WFP/ 20% TRAD under normal weather conditions.



dazmond

[lozsing]

i just got my customers use to wfp I don't want to go back to trad and I have never been keen on using a blade on upstairs windows with a pole.I felt it never did a great job and you can't detail well if at all

[lozsing]

I must be crap lol

[Bobs Window Cleaning]

If I can't clean windows to a high standard then I wont clean them at all. There is no way a pole can get anywhere near a perfect job  

Ive been wfp for the last 4 years and have lost only a few days work due to the weather. Today its minus 1 here in Norfolk but I have been out cleaning as normal with no problems. If it gets much colder than I will stay at home..simple.

Surely we earn enough over the rest of the year to have enough back up cash?

This sounds madness Dazmond.

[Matthew Bateman]

1.forget wfp!

I did £200 WFP today. Glad I didnt listen to you 

[clearlyclean]

going back to trad is like leaving your van at home and doing your round on a bike.We have to work around freezing temperature we get this every year and It may be a solution in the short term but we need a solution to WPF in all conditions or is working in below freezing conditions with water a non starter.I think heating the water so your hose and brush dont freeze is probably a good solution or add an additive that doesn't affect the finish would be more productive and further the progress of the window cleaner instead of giving up and using a squeegee on a stick.

[GB Window Cleaning]

good tips there dazmond, one question though, would you use those methods if say the custy is not home and they are expecting the top floor frames to be cleaned? or would you phone them later to explain or leave a note and reduce the price?
 hope im making sense mate?!?

regards g.b

[Newannaive]

cant imagine cleaning with a pole trad? the results must be well under par..

fair play for getting out though 

[Jackal]

you have got to have some patience trad pole on upstairs windows i couldnt do it, but im trad so il just use ladder anyway,my plan tomorrow is leave any houses with porches or connys as these are to easy to freeze up, then come back to them later in the week when it warmer,if that still dont work another day off 

[dazmond]

i dont bother cleaning the frames or the sills with a traditional pole.how can you when there froze solid? ; trad pole cleaning is obviously not as good as cleaning wfp or ladders but if the accounts are maintenance cleans and its -4 then wfp or ladders is not an option when your working on your own!


im sure cleaning some of my custies houses once or twice traditionally wont be too bad!ill just give them an extra scrub and rinse next time round!

this is a last resort lads in extreme weather.i was a trad window cleaner for 16 years before wfp and ive used trad poles in extreme weather many times over the years with no problems.

obviously ill be going back to wfp when it warms up a bit.


regards


dazmond

[dazmond]

as long as i make sure the ground floor windows are top notch and i clean the glass on upper windows to a passable standard then whats the problem?

no i dont knock any money off for missing the odd window as theyll be twice as dirty next time!also im taking a bit longer trad to clean the other windows!


dazmond

[birdymiller]

yes daz sold all my gear to a guy of this forum. 100 % trad. Got 2 foot of snow still in sheffield so ladders are a no-no. -1 i wish at half 8 this morning it was -13 at its warmest it was -3 for prob an hour. not going to get any warmer, at the end of week they are tipping heat wave +2. Ive been cleaning since 1996 never had as much time of as this and last winter. Cheers for the help daz glad your ok with wfp, just to much hastle for me!

[barry mallett]

dazmond cant believe your first winter wfp and your back tradding you can bring all your gear in overnight and fill your barrels with hot water in the morning , whats the problem

[dazmond]

hi barry i have all my equipment inside my flat and i can fill up barrels with hot water in the morning but will it not just freeze at sub zero temp in the hose/jets/on the glass??ive never tried it out yet but judging by some of the posts on here their coming home after half an hour with frozen equipment!whats the point of faffing about with equipment freezing up and leaving icicles on custies upper window sills when i know i can go out with a simple extension pole/bucket and squeegees and make a few quid without everything freezing up on me?

if i could work in these conditions wfp i would do!!


dazmond

[GB Window Cleaning]

some good info there daz, thanks mate!

best regards, stay safe. g.b

[awcs]

i've had a good day today, kept the van running all day with the heater on wfp no problem. nice and warm in the back and the water was melting the ice on the sills. customers happy

[Richard Neal]

i've had a good day today, kept the van running all day with the heater on wfp no problem. nice and warm in the back and the water was melting the ice on the sills. customers happy

This is my first winter wfp after 5 years trad and im doing much the same as Daz, I doing wfp in -2 Doesnt all the water that runs on to paths etc become an ice hazard?

[Matthew Bateman]

Only if you dont put salt down