[TomCrowther]

Hi Guys. I have been doing a bit of paperwork and thinking about the business today {seeing the new accountant on Tuesday} and have had an idea. Wanted to know what you think.
Where I live, i am lucky enough to have very soft water. The tds is usually around 30. I currently have an Ionic 650 litre twin user system and it works fine. But do I need a tank at all for most of my jobs?
I have twin di vessels and filter the water on the way out the tank. Most of my domestic customers have outside taps and I could simply run a hose from their tap, through the di vessels and into the pole hose, negating the need for a tank at all.
I know it's using the customers water, but at least half of my customers offer the use of water when i first start cleaning for them, leading me to then explain how the service and system work. Most don't give a stuff, they just want clean windows and frames.
With the insurance issue, having to have a large van to hold the weight etc there are dis-advantages to having a tank in the van. I think it's worth considering for any sole trader wc who uses di to purify the water.
You could run a small car with a tube on the roof for the pole. Wouldn't need a van at all!

[gto]

simple answer NO.

they may have offered you the outside tap, but that was before you took any money off of them.

i would want a huge saving if you used my own water.

a van tank is cheap, and if you DI only then your water bill is 2/3 lower than most anyway.

[Blue Frog Systems]

bit cheeky really. not all custys taps work either. plus in winter you will find many shut off the water to the outside tap anyway

[escorttdi]

they could have a water meter as well........ ive been caught out with that  when she returned one day........ she wasnt a happy bunny i can tell you

[William McCafferty]

You will find that most if not all customers will say no problem, help yourself to some water, but they still think that all you are going to use is half a bucket.

I did a 1st clean on saturday and used over 300 litres, and even on mai ntenance cleans I use about 20 to 30 litres.

The customer will be mortified with you always using this amount of their water to clean their windows every month.

[PurefectWindowCleaning]

We use the customers tap for con roofs, fascias and gutters...

Not regular cleans tho, thats madness. You would stumble across a whole host of problems, gates being locked, tap turned off etc etc.

Most of all, I would feel so cheeky turning up to every customers house and plugging my hose on to their tap... 'morning Mrs Smith, dont mind me' 

[LWC Ltd]

Seems that in the states they tend to do something similar- hydro carts and stuff like that. Hardly anyone has a van mount from what I gather.

Different set up there though.

I don't see customers having such a big problem with it. If you asked them first and maybe even offered to do a daft extra service to compensate - something that would only take a minute or do anyway.  Dont know what work you have but what
does 15 litres cost anyway? - Pennies  

You could have a back pack on a sack trolley for jobs that dont have a tap, with a couple of small di vessels underneath for where they do.

Still if you already have the tank then don't see the benefits outweighing the cons.

[dazmond]

a really dumb idea mate!for a few reasons!!

not everyone has an outside tap

when you charge more money for the job than the average tradder then use their water?NO WAY MATE!!

outside taps dont always work

what if their using it to water the garden/clean the car when you turn up?

hosepipe ban in force?

wasted time hooking up DI to EVERY HOUSE you clean!!


likes been said already just use their taps for conny roof/fascia cleans where possible.have 20m of extension microbore in the van with connections for pole hose/outside tap.

stick to pure from your tank for cleaning the windows!!

best wishes


dazmond