[The Carpet Cleaning Pro]

Im a WFP peed off window cleaner with a half tone ice cube in my van and frozen pipes. even if this would defrost outside is gona be -1 tomorrow.......this means my water will freeze in my pipes also the glass may crack....


I was thinking of buying one of those £1000 carpet cleaning machines of windowcleaningwarehouse.co.uk just to get me started , design and drop 20k leaflets and see what happens ofc ill work for cheaper as any money is better then no money...

Any thoughts?

Have you ever thought of putting a HEATER in your van, saves a lot of money - we have the only snow/ice/frost free vehicle in Chesterfield - afterall it pays to protect your equipment and bear in mind you can claim your electric back on your tax bill

[The Carpet Cleaning Pro]

Have you considered oven cleaning? You could set up with good quality kit for that sort of money!!!

A thousand quid carpet cleaning machine will have your customers pointing and laughing at you...

You dont need to spend a grand to get a good machine, shop around this time of year. 100 psi minimum with a twin vac is a basic requirement, but you need to use the correct chemicals to get the best results, bearing in mind all the machine does is rinse the solution out. Ensure you at least attend a carpet cleaning course by a recommended training provider and spend a week with a PROFESSIONAL Carpet Cleaner - Not somebody who just claims to be a carpet cleaner

[derek west]

concentrate on what you know. just seen 2 window cleaners walking past our house and doing a few on the way, 2 inches of snow dint stop them. sounds like your not happy doing what your doing, what you need is a good kick up the backside, youve got half a business or whatever, all you need now is the push to get more work. get out there and graft. our local cleaners are a massive set up so theres money to be made. moving into carpet cleaning half assed is the same as what your doing now, what you gain from carpet cleaning you'll lose on window cleaning and you'll be no better off. get off your backside and go get rich.

the time to diversify is when youve conquered what your all ready doing.

[Helen]

Thousands of window cleaners have the same idea- buy a sh*te machine and start carpet cleaning.

You need to invest thousands to start up carpet cleaning from scratch, as long as you want to provide a good service as you say you do.  With that machine you'll be providing mediocre at best

What do other window cleaners do in winter?  The ones who only do window cleaning that is...

They keep cleaning throughout the winter, that's what they do
Having started up in Carpet cleaning over 11 years ago and had "window cleaning" running alongside for the best part, never have we just not worked cos we were pee'd off, or the weather was bad or times got a bit tough.You just have to re-schedule your work as you see fit and not "knee-jerk" when things are not going your way.

The obvious thing is to insulate your van and keep an electric heater in it overnight.  That will stop your pipes and pump from freezing, and keep the water temp in the tank high enough to remain fluid for a day's work.  Incidentally isn't your pump likely be knackered already if you've let it freeze?!

[Craig - CW Window Cleaning]

Hi, I am a window cleaner who has ad on of carpet cleaning.
I have spent on carpet equipement near on £3800 and two training courses
I am currently doing a days carpet cleaning a week and have bookings up to january.
I am wfp and its working ok with the two enterprises, my aim is to double the window round and then get an extra bod on board next year.
So far so good but for a £1000 I think you may struggle to get a good clean maybe a second hand set up?

good luck

craig

[Jamie Pearson]

I would say go for it.
We have many window cleaning customers who have done this.
It's how we started out!
Your budget is tight for startup as everyone has rightly observed.
Get a good used machine and spend a couple of hundred on a basic training course.

[Crystal-clear]

Thanks shoreshine and cleaningsystenms amongst others for the support,

Shoreshine would you mind if i email you directly?

just wana learn a bit about carpet cleaning from a window cleaners point of view

Thanks!

[jsm]

ive been cleaning windows for 21 years and got into carpet cleaning 7 years ago when i moved up to north wales from essex , hands down the best move i made - like today for examlpe - just got in once more after frozen pipes / glass freezing its been a hard 2 weeks slog on the windows - but not botherd as ive had two full days on the carpets both weeks so just go's to show that alone is worth the money .

i started with a ninja which has been great but last week just got myself a truckmount    so in the coming years hope to be not cleaning windows full stop .

feel free to give us a bell crystal and ill point you in the direction from a window cleaner's angle .

[cozy]

ive been cleaning windows for 21 years and got into carpet cleaning 7 years ago when i moved up to north wales from essex , hands down the best move i made - like today for examlpe - just got in once more after frozen pipes / glass freezing its been a hard 2 weeks slog on the windows - but not botherd as ive had two full days on the carpets both weeks so just go's to show that alone is worth the money .

i started with a ninja which has been great but last week just got myself a truckmount    so in the coming years hope to be not cleaning windows full stop .

feel free to give us a bell crystal and ill point you in the direction from a window cleaner's angle .

Same here. Good advice from this section of the forum is to do some training and get out with a pro for a few days. We spent over 3k on new kit last year. For 1 k you could only hope to get second hand kit. CC isn't easy though, there's alot to learn and you can cause real damage if you don't learn. Good luck.

[mlscontractcleaner]

Got to be honest we started as window cleaners twenty odd years ago, then went in to contract cleaning too and then carpet cleaning so we do all three and I'm so glad we do.

We clean some night clubs in Plymouth 7 days a week; that pays our bills.

We operate WFP and providing you're careful and bring everything in at night; not forgetting to switch the heater on, you can operate fine the next day; in the weather we've had in Plymouth anyway.

We do about half a dozen jobs a week on the carpet side and it just helps when the weather's poop; especially when it's raining all week!!!

But we spent more money and attended a course; Prochem if it's important.

[Crystal-clear]

Mls, Ozy and jsm thanks alot this is what i wanted to hear!

I thought getting into carpet cleaning would be useful when the weathers crap like now!

Jsm i will take you up on that phone call ! ill probably give you a bell next year thanks mate ill get your number from your website !

just a point in the right direction
as you say some advice from a window cleaner's angle!

Thanks again everyone!

[Griffus]

Hi, I am a window cleaner who has ad on of carpet cleaning.
I have spent on carpet equipement near on £3800 and two training courses
I am currently doing a days carpet cleaning a week and have bookings up to january.
I am wfp and its working ok with the two enterprises, my aim is to double the window round and then get an extra bod on board next year.
So far so good but for a £1000 I think you may struggle to get a good clean maybe a second hand set up?

good luck

craig

Nice honest post.

Listen to the man.