[Blackadder]

Hi all, I'm just about to spend out for all my kit to begin the window cleaning life, was looking for some advice on the best pieces of kit that you all use? I want a static 500ltr tank for my shed? Best pole? From reading a lot of posts, it seems as the the SLX 25 extreme is popular? What else would you consider essential? Thanks in advance.

[Smudger]

Customers.


Have you done window cleaning before? Have you been self employed before?

Darran

[Blackadder]

Nope and nope, redundancy has allowed me the chance to try and build a business of my own, so any early advice is very welcome.

[duncan h]

Have you got a van? 5ooltr is a big tank to start with.  Whats the water like where you live. Buy a round, then your work is compact.

[Blackadder]

Got a vw caddy and will be running off a trolley system, taking 25ltr tubs out with me. Had a franchise offer but it seems way too expensive to me, I was hoping to build from scratch, my wife works and earns half decent money allowing me a little time.

[Smudger]

Well, before spending anything on equipment I'd do some market research first,
You also need to know how much work you need to bring in to sustain a living, how long it will take you to get those customers, can you canvass? Have you tried? Are you relying on leaflets??

Can you clean windows, sounds silly, but it's not for everyone, esp, water fed pole it takes time to get the correct technique

The most important piece of equipment is you and your ability to get customers.
Before buying any equipment and blowing your redundancy

Darran

[Ian101]

get a part time job possibly in early hours then do the canvassing / cleaning ......... what you canvass today clean tomorrow morning then canvass in afternoon and repeat.

It can be done I build up to 80 customers then went bank borrowed money and bought a round.

[Blackadder]

Ok, thanks guys. A few things to ponder over. I've never tried canvassing but consider myself quite personable so hoping I'd be ok, from what I read, it seems that leaflets are a waste of time and money, I will get some postcards made up and go door knocking every night at first and see where that takes me. I'm enrolled on a course to give basic training.
I've spent my married life being the cleaner in our house and actually enjoy it, so why not go and try and earn some money doing it 😄

[Smudger]

Sorry we sound negative, but really before blowing cash on equipment

See if you can at least generate customers.

You can always trad the first 30 or 40 For very little outlay

Darran

[Blackadder]

No worries, the negative are probably better than the positive as the downsides of window cleaning are necessary to know....the upsides (according to a few) is grossing up to £4k a month lol!!
But seriously, I'm going to go for it anyway as it's what I want to do and will do whatever it takes to make a go of it.

[steven ainger]

Personally, i wouldnt go with a trolley system , go straight for a van mount.
Because if you make a go of window cleaning you will end up with one.
And as everyone else has said, customers,
Have you worked out a pricing plan ( if you get it wrong you will resent doing the job )
Also, if you have a van mount, its easier to clean add ons, like con' roofs, gutter fascias etc

[Blackadder]

Pricing is the one thing that bothers me, read lots about under pricing to get the work then resenting doing it after a few months, it's the desperation to get customers on board that'll make you do that, do you set yourself a minimum and if you don't get the job, so be it? I'd like to know the best tried and tested way of pricing.

[bobplum]

How much do you have too spend, ball park figure

[steven ainger]

Pricing is a regional thing ( where are you )
Eg, Scotland would be cheaper than London.
But i would say, to get you into the hang of pricing, try
£1 per window,£2 per patio door, 50p small bathroom window/ back/front door.
These prices can be adjusted + or - according to where you are

[Blackadder]

Anywhere between £0 and £8k Bob.

[Blackadder]

And in the south east Steven, that was a pricing system that I'd read about, seems as good as any, thanks.

[Spruce]

Hi all, I'm just about to spend out for all my kit to begin the window cleaning life, was looking for some advice on the best pieces of kit that you all use? I want a static 500ltr tank for my shed? Best pole? From reading a lot of posts, it seems as the the SLX 25 extreme is popular? What else would you consider essential? Thanks in advance.

As per the others.

First bit of equipment to buy is a genuine tds meter. When you test the tds of your tap water you will then have a good idea in which direction you will need to take with regard to water purification (r/o and di or di only). An SLX pole will be fine. The SLX extreme is a lot lighter and more rigid but also a lot more expensive.

You will find used clean 1000 litre IBC tanks to be more available than a 500 litre tank and probably cheaper as well if you can find one locally.

Door to door knocking and canvassing is the only sure way to get a round going. We have never found much interest comes from leaflets. Remember the 3 c's that have become popular with users on this forum - canvass, clean, cull.

I agree with the 2 posts Steven has put up - go van mount straight away and a pricing structure guide.

[steven ainger]

Just to add, you can get 600 ltr Ibc's if you are limited for space.
As for water production/storage,
Kent will be a high tds so water production quality will save you money,
Eg, if you use a Merlin ro, it will make water quite fast but will make high tds ro water, meaning it will use alot of Di resin, costing you money.
A 40/40 ro is expensive but better product water.
I petsonally use a booster pimped 450 gpd Ro-man ro, which is relatively slow, but produces really low ro water, which means i dont use a Di.
You also have to think of where you store your water,
Have you power/ water supply/ heating for the winter, insulated water pipes etc
Pumps to transfer water

[Paul Coleman]

I see that you are in  Kent.  I believe the water there is moderately hard but may be very hard if it comes from the chalk area.  This points to investing in an RO setup fairly early on - though you may be able to get away with resin only for a short period while the customer numbers are low.
I have found that van mount plus a backpack (for the odd awkward job) works best for me.  If you already have the trolley system though, I'm sure it will serve you well while still building up the work.  As for pole, I reckon the Gardiner 27ft is a decent compromise between weight, cost and length - though you may want to get an 18ft one as this will save you energy on jobs where the shorter pole is fine.
Just my opinion.  I haven't tried everything that is out there.

[PoleKing]

Get in touch with some shiners just out of your area.
offer a few days free labour in return for a bit of knowledge/advice.
A couple on days on the tools would be worth 10,000 hours on CIU.
It may be difficult finding someone willing but if you do, it'd be priceless.