[Carl@Cwc]

Being a bit of a new fad/latest tools fanatic and using an slx 22 and standard carbon gooseneck, gardner dual trim  stiff brush with fan jets     ( in hope of making the job easier).

pulled up today at a job and decided to have a go at doing just windows on a first clean on my employees stripped back Elite 30 ( 2 SECTIONS OFF)  and vikan brush( all red bristles) WITH FAN JETS.
to see how he has to clean these and any potential pitfalls i forsee.

jesus christ i was taken back to my WFP ROOTS.

the pole and clamps are good as locked solid &

this brush is fantastic as it covers more glass and provides more bristles per area than any gardner brush i have owned ( most of them by the way)
i intend on getting another vikan as i am absolutley staggered at the positives this brush gives.
and this is from someone who owns 4+ types of different gardner brushes
my employee commented that he hated my pole and  brush    ( stiff gardner with fans ) as in his words lol its harder work??

it really felt like i could wash anyhow and the vikan would get in all  the gaps and the rinse was fierce enough to rinse down the debris .

tackletart me is now out, bring on the vikan

[SunShineCleaning]

Is this one of those comments where you mean the exact opposite of what you say?

[Window Washers]

If Vikan made the stock lighter I would agree with youvtheyvdo offer very good scrubbing power

[colley614]

I think what he is saying is all these light poles are for girls and he wants a mans pole  

P.s. I'm saving up for a girly pole after trying Bob plums and thinking it was the mutts dry roasted nuts

[Carl@Cwc]

Is this one of those comments where you mean the exact opposite of what you say?

AS IN REFERNCE TO WHAT COMMENT M8 ??

i really really am gonna swap my gardner brush over to a new vikan...
it was like an slx moment where a cheaper pole was ousted for what it was,

not saying gardner brushes are cheaper because they aint

i really am gonna swap back to vikan at the moment as it feels and encourages confidence.

My take on My purchased gardner brushes ( and remember these are IMHO )

EXTREME WHITE= it holds/black bits etc too much, no sill cleaning ability in reality ,no real scrubbing power , but very light
BLACK EXTREME = too soft & all the above. great if you have multiple goosenecks for leaded windows though.
MEDIUM DUAL TRIM= it holds all black bits full stop, drove me round the bend forever cleaning brushhead.
DUAL TRIM RED= very stiff and harsh on leaded windows , great on first cleans and fascia etc though. my previously and upon proved wrong preferred brush because of its all round abilitys.
MEDIUM CILL BRUSH= fan jets too high and sprays everywhere you dont want including above frames on upward pushes of pole on glass, again black bits hold on brushes forever.

i am really gonna give the vikan another go and see where i end up.
worst case scenario is im back on an owned stiff brush

[GDwindowcleaning]

There was a thread on here a while ago and it was stated that a slx was lighter than an elite pole, I looked up the weights and the difference was the same weight as my phone..... I think all this weight saving goes a little too far at times... If its better cos it does the job better then fair play but a tiny bit lighter then I cant see the point....

[Carl@Cwc]

There was a thread on here a while ago and it was stated that a slx was lighter than an elite pole, I looked up the weights and the difference was the same weight as my phone..... I think all this weight saving goes a little too far at times... If its better cos it does the job better then fair play but a tiny bit lighter then I cant see the point....

how much work u got om m8???
i ask as i may be intersted?
got 2/3k leaflets going out a week and would like knocker on the end of em at the right prices.

gotta agree on weights though m8 , my slx 22 is more versatile day in day out than a stripped back elite 30 , but upon todays experiment its not the bee all and end all.

call me if you want 07756519906


back to my thread now = vikans are king.

[SunShineCleaning]

Is this one of those comments where you mean the exact opposite of what you say?

AS IN REFERNCE TO WHAT COMMENT M8 ??

i really really am gonna swap my gardner brush over to a new vikan...
it was like an slx moment where a cheaper pole was ousted for what it was,

not saying gardner brushes are cheaper because they aint

i really am gonna swap back to vikan at the moment as it feels and encourages confidence.

My take on My purchased gardner brushes ( and remember these are IMHO )

EXTREME WHITE= it holds/black bits etc too much, no sill cleaning ability in reality ,no real scrubbing power , but very light
BLACK EXTREME = too soft & all the above. great if you have multiple goosenecks for leaded windows though.
MEDIUM DUAL TRIM= it holds all black bits full stop, drove me round the bend forever cleaning brushhead.
DUAL TRIM RED= very stiff and harsh on leaded windows , great on first cleans and fascia etc though. my previously and upon proved wrong preferred brush because of its all round abilitys.
MEDIUM CILL BRUSH= fan jets too high and sprays everywhere you dont want including above frames on upward pushes of pole on glass, again black bits hold on brushes forever.

i am really gonna give the vikan another go and see where i end up.
worst case scenario is im back on an owned stiff brush

I honestly thought it was a wind up, beats me how a vikan can be better than a dual trim half its weight.
Couldn't wait to sell my vikans.

[mikecam]

I found the Vikans to heavy. A good alternative i found if you want something with loads of bristles is the Salmon trim brush. Stock is not to heavy and not so light like it feels its doing nothing.

[dazmond]

i have a vikan mono but i just use it for cleaning the van and car on a short pole.their just too damn heavy to have on the end of my SLX!!

personally i think your nuts!!

i have the gardiners extreme,mono and flocked standard brushes and both the medium and soft sill brushes.they all have their uses and i would NEVER GO BACK to using the vikans.(i have a heavy stiff sill brush as well!).

weight IS VERY IMPORTANT IMO both for brushes and poles.its the accumulation of the repetitive nature of poling day in/day out that could cause us problems in the future.

using the lightest poles and brushes keeps strain to an absolute minimum.

gardiners brushes do the job and they are light.enough said methinks!!


regards


dazmond

[keyser soze]

vikan is a good brush . but too heavy.... the weight issue is its only downfall .. vikan cill brush is a nightmare.. turns my pole into a banana pole

[rosskesava]

As posted above.

I think that Vikan brushes do a really good job when the pole is almost upright but if for instance you are doing a window over a conservatory, the weight of them is a real problem.

I hate to mention the 'G' word, but having now bought.......................... I guess you know what I was going to write.

If Vikan could reduce the weight of their brushes, they'd be onto a winner for sure.

[C-Thru.]

lets not forget fella's Vikan brushes were around long before WFP and were never designed for WFP but were designed for washing vehicles ect.
They have never (I dont think) designed any brush for WFP, its just that when WFP came along they just grabbed whatever brush was on the market already.
Its only recently that companies such as Gardeners have started having brushes made specifically for WFP.
In my humble opinion the vikan has Far better 'scrubbing' properties than any gardeners brush on the market at the moment, but as you all point out is much heavier. So way up the Pro's and Cons.... How many windows 'a day' do you clean that need the 'heavy scrub, first clean treatment'? How many are regular and already clean where only a light brush is needed?
I use both....
On a first clean, always put the Vikan on, gets the results you need to impress a new Custy, After that the lightweight Gardeners. I find swapping heads is well worth the minute or so it takes...
there you go, my two penneth............

Goochie.

[mister bit]

i posted a thread the other day about vikan heads being the best ... scrubbing power and they glide over the glass ... good for cleaning conservatories

[Dave Willis]

Vikans - good bristles but horribly overweight and not much choice. Weight and performance of poles makes a huge difference to your working day.

I would actually say Vikans are overrated.

[Mike #1]

Vikan brushes have more bristles than a gardiners brush excluding the sill brush which is packed with them imho i think more bristle contact with glass gives better cleaning results .

I have a brand new extreme and an old extreme had to use the older one yesterday and i found it cleaned a lot better as the bristles have softened and splayed out more .

As for the Elite poles i dont think enough credit is given to the guys at Elite they have made a great pole which is not much heavier than a SLX ,

I think that extra bit of weight on the Elite  gives the right balance and rigidity which is need more so at height if the guys at www.thewaterfedpolecompany.co.uk   made the pole much lighter i would not buy again , they have got it spot on IMHO .

As for the clamps on the Elite another great design well made and robust . MIKE

[Frankybadboy]

yes the vikan does as good job as scubbing has a gardiners brush,yes it does weigh alot more,

but the one thing it is way better than the gardiner is,that i will out last any gardiners brush by a mile,which makes it better value for money.cost less last longer


and by the way all my poles have gradiner brushs on

[Granny]

Never used a Vikan as I  have only recently started (4 weeks or so ) WFP  but know one thing.
The Gardiners brush is already wrecked with all the 1st cleans I have done - can't see it lasting a year at most and not cheap!
G.

[AuRavelling79]

I use gardiner white extremes for regular and most first window cleans.

However I am plodding my way around 300 yards x 8 yards of building cladding clean and they are no good for that.

However a bigger soft black bristled gardiner I had knocking around the garage is good for this as is a red squared off vikan I have.

I have learnt from this - swap brushes for (especially minging ones) conny roof and cladding cleans!

I also own a salmon blue one which is excellent as an "inbetween brush" not as light as an extreme (what is?) or as heavy as a vikan.

[gary999]

if vikan brushes were lighter they def would be my preference