[Simonhammer]

Hello all. I'm Simon and for the past 5 years I have been working as a postie, which leaves me some free time in the afternoon to do as I please. With this in mind I am thinking of starting up window cleaning in the village where my Mum lives for 2 reasons, these being 1) The village isn't far away from me and 2) almost everyone is unhappy with the window cleaner they have there.

I have seen the job he did for my Mum and, to be honest, my 8 month old daughter could do better! Streaks, smears, runs...you name it, he did it! Anyway, cutting to the chase, my questions are these...

What equipment do I need to start up? (bear in mind I'm not going down the water fed pole route just yet).

Is it best to buy the cheapest equipment to start off with, or would it be best to invest a bit more?

Where would be the best place to buy equipment from? (Screwfix, online, local DIY shop).

Is it best to price houses individually, or set a minimum fee (say £10 for sake of argument) and adjust accordingly?

Many thanks, and this is a great site. Have been reading it for a few days now and it's proving helpful. Also, I noticed that, in another thread, someone mentioned a DVD called "Window Cleaning Essentials". I purchased this several days ago and can thoroughly recommend it, although it is a bit sketchy in some areas, hence my questions.

Once again thanks.

Simon.

[cat9921]

HI simon

You will need a good pair of

1 ladders( of course )

1  squeegi 14 inch is what most use.

1 mop

1 bucket on a belt to hold them in,

a scraper to get hard bird mess off.

a bucket

soap fairy liquid is what I use

a bag to put your cloths in

I use scrim grade A and old rag to wipe sills

book and pen to keep track of it all

that should get you going all the best

[Dean Aspects]

Dont forget you also need puplic liability insurance if your ladders fall over and hit something and cause damage you will have to pay or worse still if the ladders hit another person

On the issue of how much to charge that is up to you
work out how much you want to earn per hour or per day bearing in mind when you first start w/c you will be slow the speed or knack of w/c will come with time
remember if a jobs worth doing its worth doing properly take the time to learn to do it right

good luck in no time you will have enough work to jack in being a postie and be earning more money in less time

go on you know you want to

[Simonhammer]

Dont forget you also need puplic liability insurance if your ladders fall over and hit something and cause damage you will have to pay or worse still if the ladders hit another person

On the issue of how much to charge that is up to you
work out how much you want to earn per hour or per day bearing in mind when you first start w/c you will be slow the speed or knack of w/c will come with time
remember if a jobs worth doing its worth doing properly take the time to learn to do it right

good luck in no time you will have enough work to jack in being a postie and be earning more money in less time

go on you know you want to

Oh I know I want to. I am thoroughly fed up of working myself into the ground to make some faceless guy at the top of the company rich while I take home a pittance.

I'm pretty sure I'd like to be on £20 per hour. I'm going on the basis of £10 per house and 2 houses every hour to start with, and the issue of getting work doesn't really count as there's plenty in the village where my Mum lives. Also, she has a double garage and never uses it so it's an ideal place to keep my equipment and she's been living in the village for about 35 years and is well known and liked (over half the village turned out for my Fathers funeral in 2005) so if people aren't in when I call for the money they can drop it off at hers. Also, I have several people who are prepared to let me practice my technique on their windows before I first start cleaning for customers, so I'm prepared to practice till I get it right.

Public liability insurance...bear in mind I'll be starting off part time doing about 10 houses a week, so would it be an absoloute neccessity to start off with?

[Simonhammer]

Right...ordered me some gear from Screwfix. Where can I get some 'scrims' from, as either they didn't have any or they did and I didn't see them!

Cheers.

[Ian Lancaster]

Look up "janitorial Supplies" in your local Yellow Pages

[busted]

go for it simon i was a postie for 5 years and did window cleaning in the afternoon as well as the CSA was taking a lot of my money and just over 2 yrs ago i said so it and went full time window cleaning and i have not looked back    busted

[S.A.J]

Simon
Get all of your stuff from here

http://www.windowcleaningwarehouse.co.uk/wcw/ecommerce/index.php

Stuart
SAJ WIndow Cleaners Ltd

[Alex Wingrove]

simon

wait


www.soapnational.co.uk

cheapest place for the stuff you need, dont waste your money at screw fix please

[Simonhammer]

Cheers people. Encouragement is always a good thing, as are a few websites to buy supplies from. Best I get practicing then!

[Chris Cottrell]

Which part of Norfolk are you from Simon?, reason I ask is you maybe able to tag along with one of us as theres a few from the east on here

Chris

[archercleaningserv]

yes ,
you would need public liability ,as if you ever had an accident (hopefully not) it could happen on the first house you ever cleaned , so therefore it is A MUST.

[Chris Cottrell]

yes ,
you would need public liability ,as if you ever had an accident (hopefully not) it could happen on the first house you ever cleaned , so therefore it is A MUST.

You are more likely to suffer an accident whilst relatively inexperienced than you are later on in you career purely because of the lack of experience alone

[Simonhammer]

Thanks for that. I will make sure I have the correct insurances before I start.

Chris...I am in North Walsham mate.

[M & C Window Cleaning]

yes ,
you would need public liability, as if you ever had an accident (hopefully not) it could happen on the first house you ever cleaned , so therefore it is A MUST.

Hi Simon,

I agree with the above. One of my nieghbours started up window cleaning when I was just a lad. First house he did he put his ladder through a window. Thought nothing of it then when I heard about it. However, now I am a lot older and in the trade myself, I realise how serious that could have been. Falling glass can cause serious injury even kill.

I've never had to claim off mine but I sure wouldn't be without it. Peace of mind an all that, for you and your prospective custies.

[Bobs Window Cleaning]

And dont forget the taxman simon. 

[Simonhammer]

Taxman will defo not be forgotten!

My kit has arrived and I've just spent the last 45 mins practicing on my windows. Not as easy as it looks and my hand aches already! I'm sure I'll get used to it though and my patio windows look better already! Still need lots of practice before I start charging people though.