[russ_clark]

nightmare day today Sad Sad
did a very nice set of 5 large houses in a gated community
all very expensive large houses.All have uvpc window frames.
Had 3 out of the 5 call me tonight complaining of messy windows.
One has said water had got into his vents upstairs and black muck has run down the inside of the windows narrowly avoiding his very expensive curtains.
others have spotting on almost all windows.
I will check them out for myself of course!
I have told them I will re-do them all on Monday obviously I cannot charge them again.
What do you guys do with these bloody vents.
It is the first time I have used wfp on them .
Do you soak them to get them clean and up to scratch or just totally avoid them always?Huh??
HELPPPPP

[Paul Coleman]

nightmare day today Sad Sad
did a very nice set of 5 large houses in a gated community
all very expensive large houses.All have uvpc window frames.
Had 3 out of the 5 call me tonight complaining of messy windows.
One has said water had got into his vents upstairs and black muck has run down the inside of the windows narrowly avoiding his very expensive curtains.
others have spotting on almost all windows.
I will check them out for myself of course!
I have told them I will re-do them all on Monday obviously I cannot charge them again.
What do you guys do with these bloody vents.
It is the first time I have used wfp on them .
Do you soak them to get them clean and up to scratch or just totally avoid them always?Huh??
HELPPPPP

What I do where possible is to turn the flow rate down to help avoid water going up into the vents (I know this can be a bit awkward on first cleans)..  I also stand back further than usual as this will alter the angle of the jets to point a bit more downwards (and hopefully away from the vents).  Another thing you may wish to try is to hold the brush on the glass say, half way down the pane and move it upwards while pressed against the glass.  This will help stop the top bristles from splaying out so much and hopefully avoid the vent.  Also, if you rinse off the glass, it may be better to only lift the brsh off slightly so there is less risk of the water going into the vents.  Vents are a real pain but they are here to stay as I understand they are now compulsory on new frames.  It might help if the trade associations got their heads together with the frame manufacturers to try and persuade them to put the vents higher - away from the glass.
On one job that I recently did in a high pollution area (next to airport runway) was to clean the whole lot - vents included - then return a couple of days later to do a glass only clean.  However, this was an industrial job so no fancy curtains to risk messing up.

[rugby]

this is exactly why i never clean the top frame on any window that has vents,too much can go wrong.
when i first started wfp i used to clean the top frame,untill i got a few complaints,and one customer going wild because water had run through a vent and damaged a photograph on the window sill.

for the last 3 yrs i havnt touched one top frame with a vent in it,and not one complaint since i started working this way.On downstairs windows i may give the top frame a wipe with a damp scrim now and again,upstairs i give the top frame a wide birth

[steve jamieson]

for the sake of an extra ten mins on a first clean and proberbly a new customer , i get up my ladder and quickly wipe the frames and vents by hand , if a dry day dust the frames/vents of with a soft brush , I know this defeats the object of wfp  . When i started i had the same problem as you Russ do a bit of preperation work remember its not a race and you wont get any complaints good luck

[pjulk]

I would advise exactly as the Shiner has said.

I had problems for about the first 3 months with vents when i first changed over but then one day i tried it a differant way and all came good.

Now think nothing of them.
It like everything once you have found a way that works you will have no problem.

I get an unger pole out with a damp applicator about once or twice a year and just run it along the top frame to remove the dust.
It takes about 2 minutes to quickly run round the top window frames.

Paul

[Paul Coleman]

I would advise exactly as the Shiner has said.

I had problems for about the first 3 months with vents when i first changed over but then one day i tried it a differant way and all came good.

Now think nothing of them.
It like everything once you have found a way that works you will have no problem.

I get an unger pole out with a damp applicator about once or twice a year and just run it along the top frame to remove the dust.
It takes about 2 minutes to quickly run round the top window frames.

Paul

It's not surprising really Paul.  You showed me some of that stuff yourself   

[seanmcshane]

You can clean along the top of frames with vents using WFP as long as you do not get the water flowing up into them. I cannot see how you can actually get water flowing into these vents at such a rate that they cause these problems.
Do the tops above vents on a low flow (if you really want to that is) then go back to window 1 and start on the glass.

After a certain amount of time and experience with WFP, it becomes much easier to control the brush head and water jets.

[EasyClean]

Avoid the vents at all costs!
Why make work for yourself and leave yourself vulnerable to complaints, possible claims, dissatisfied customers and re-cleans.
I never clean the vents! I tell all my new customers before I start cleaning their windows of the problem with cleaning around the ventilation and they understand why I don't clean them, problem solved!!
Work smarter, not harder!!

[pjulk]

Shiner Said -

t's not surprising really Paul.  You showed me some of that stuff yourself

I know and im glad you passing it on to someone else. 

Paul

[Bobs Window Cleaning]

What do you guys do when the windows are open in the summer?

 Bob

[pjulk]

Push them shut if they don't shut do them open just turn the water down a bit

Paul

[paul mather]

As some have already said, avoid the flippin things like the plague, knock your pressure down if you can & when rinsing near the vent hold the brush very close to the glass so no water bounces off the glass & into the vent.

They are a real pain, I do some 3 storey town houses with them on & the top windows are awkward to do as the pole is exteneded so high.

Hope all goes well on monday for you. Difficult I know but you have to see these small probs as a learning curve & in 6 months time there will be no stopping you.

[macmac]

NEVER, NEVER, EVER, EVER touch a vent with wfp- regardless of what anyone else says. why? its only ever going to give you greif!! you'll never get all the dirt out anyway. me personaly i never touch the top frame at all just the glass beading, my first cleans only take a fraction longer than any other clean & come up perfect first time, i just can't understand why anyone would want to complicate the process, use more water & risk whats happend to you.no one has ever complained in 3 years of wfp that i never cleaned their top frames. i think a lot of people on here do clean the top frames but just look at how they all go on about how long a first clean takes, then its another 2 to 3 cleans before they actually get the results their after etc.etc. crazy to me
 

[matt]

this is exactly why i never clean the top frame on any window that has vents,too much can go wrong.
when i first started wfp i used to clean the top frame,untill i got a few complaints,and one customer going wild because water had run through a vent and damaged a photograph on the window sill.

for the last 3 yrs i havnt touched one top frame with a vent in it,and not one complaint since i started working this way.On downstairs windows i may give the top frame a wipe with a damp scrim now and again,upstairs i give the top frame a wide birth

exactly

leave the vents alone, ots easy enough to do the glass without getting water on the top of the frame

[niceandclean]

I always clean tops of frames and vents. Never had a problem, never had a complaint. To do it properly on a first clean will take a bit longer, but i always charge a first clean price. I have on the odd occassion got a little water on the inside , but this is on wood windows with the flat vents not trickle vents. I have a little disclaimer on my wfp explination letter about this.

[P®oPole™]

Sorry fellas, I have to disagree theres nothing wrong at all with cleaning vents or top frames if there kept clean theres no worries. but stay away from vents in these new wooden windows, the ones with holes as vents!


Pro

[paul mather]

Might of known you'd be the odd one out!

[mike richardson]

pro pole is dead right the new ones are a pain cos they are holes without vent covers,the water just pours through them, just wipe over with your damp brush if you rinse rinse very lightly,