Hi Fellas,
I have never used a vikan and wouldn’t go out of my way to either, I wouldn’t mind trying one out of curiosity for cladding etc but would never ever spend good money on one or mount it on any other pole than a mini-pole for cleaning windows.
I have just been on there official website and couldn’t see no wfp brushes
http://www.vikan.com/sw3699.asp can anyone tell me were they are? The answer is no because they don’t sell wfp brushes they sell car washing brushes and broom heads only, which are fine for sweeping the yard or washing the motor but not so good for cleaning windows don’t get me wrong they do the job but the operator would have to lift the brush off when rinsing for best results, you all know how I feel about this.
Fair enough the average shiner with a U.K village round would rarely going over say 25ft normally working at around 18ft most days and could get away with using vikans on that kind of work but still I would rather invest in quality equipment what is up to the job and the piece of mind knowing if in 5 or ten years I was incapacitated due to working I know I did all I possibly could to work safely.
I refuse to line suppliers pockets who have only sought maximum profit and not the welfare of the people buying the goods, how can you use a brush for car washing or a broom head on a 60ft pole sounds rather dangerous to me, I find it hard to believe I would be sold one for that kind of task and do you know why because nearly every supplier will have hundreds out the back of the workshop or whatever, do you know why? Because they buy them in huge quantities from vikan at mega low prices and sell them on to us with a huge mark up stating there fine for wfp only trouble is guys “you need to rinse brush off”, it makes me laugh but also feel disgusted how they can sell you the wrong brush and tell you how to use it in a way which could be potentially dangerous.
Below are the words of a much respected member and figure in this industry also a trusted supplier, and I for one do no doubt a word he says.
"Let me start by clarifying one thing, the most popularly used is not necessary the best. A while ago there was a certain brush manufacturer that caught on to the fact that the reach and wash system and water fed poles in general were gaining popularity among window cleaners, and quite rightly got in on the act. They realised their was big business and started promoting their car washing brushes at trade shows etc, and offering good deals to water fed pole suppliers. They even made some changes to the brush to make them more water fed pole friendly, trouble is they forgot about two main factors that overwhelmingly affected the cleaning power of the brush. Firstly the density of the bristles, their brush is far too dense and this restricts the flow of dirty water passing through the bristles, and working its way down and off the glass. Secondly the bristles were splayed at the ends to make them softer for car paintwork, as glass is a hard surface this was not necessary for a window cleaning brush, it had a negative effect and trapped dirt particles, again restricting the easy passage of dirty water through the brush and down to the bottom of the glass. These two factors although not the only disadvantages makes the most widely used water fed pole brush a nightmare to use.
How did the average window cleaner not notice this? They were supplied with the brush from their supplier, they didn't know any better, after all if you pay good money for a window cleaning system you would expect to be supplied with the best equipment to do the job it was designed to do. Trouble is most of the water fed pole suppliers have never cleaned a window in their life, they picked up on a brush that was being heavily promoted, got a good deal and the rest is history. The window cleaner got round the defects on the brush by brushing the window and then lifting the brush off the glass to give it a final rinse, which is both time consuming and a much higher water consumption over the course of the day.
There is another couple of disadvantages with the brush I am talking about. The weight of the brush, and the shape of the bristles. Again the clever window cleaners has compensated for the weight by using a much smaller brush, the size of the brush brings the weight down considerably, only problem with that is again more time wasted covering the glass with the smaller brush, and again more water wasted as you are on the glass longer. Next there is the shape of the bristles, they are straight. If they were slightly crinkled it would serve as a more aggressive cleaner, as there is a more abrasive contact on any dirt sticking to the glass. Slightly elongated bristles servers the same purpose allowing the bristles to splay more and would allow the non splayed tips of the bristles to come in contact with the dirt. This would also allow for faster cleaning, which in turn reduces water usage."
ProPole
Opinions, conclusions and other related material in this post are my own views or finds, it does not relate to my business, and shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by.