[Nick_Thompson]

No I don’t really. I mean, I know we’ve all herd of punctuated equilibrium, but it just don’t kick it for me.

What I’m talking about are the numerous, progressive changes that have taken my window cleaning day from £120 to £300 in 4 years.

Now, those 4 years are a testimony to two fundamental facts. The first being the time it has taken in the development of superior equipment and the second to the fact that I am by nature an incredibly dense individual and, as such, have spent a considerable amount of time deliberating over the obvious changes I could of so easily make.

Anyway, I thought you might like to know how I evolved.
I started window cleaning in Feb 82 after Freddy Laker didn’t require my services any more. Mop and squeegee in a round bucket with fairy liquid. Then came BOAB, micro fibre, dog earing, low sud detergents. All very conducive to cleaning windows quicker, but nothing in comparison to WFP. It just happened to take me a long time to work it all out:

1. Back pack, 8, 25lt barrels, Unger Ali pole, oval Vican, hatch back.
2. Back pack on trolley.
3. Pump box on bigger trolley that could pump straight from a 25lt barrel.
4. Modified trolley to take two 25lt barrels.
5. Small van, 175lt tank, 100m micro bore on reel, mono filament brush, carbon fibre pole.
6. Second 175lt tank, van now overloaded due to 4 extra 25lt barrels I had to carry.
7. Transit, 1050lt tank.
8. The new dual-trim flocked brush, 4lts per min out of 3mm jets (flocked defiantly clean quicker than mono but a high flow rate is needed so that the extra debris aren’t an issue).

I can’t believe just how quick you can clean with this setup.

Nick

[M FORBES LTD]

I find a quick rub down with no water on window, then after just hold trigger on for 5-10 seconds and hey presto,  i go every month and the windows r much cleaner with wfp, so a quick rub and rinse, done £200 a day 8:30 to 4,     where as on ladder same hours but £100,  things move on but many problems with nozzels and pumps and resin, and freezing pipes and customers saying the water is damaging the cills, etc,  so progress is good but you can recieve more running issues.

[Oakley Windows]

WOW! 4 litres a minute. Must be like Niagara Falls 

[Kevin R]

On domestic houses you be waiting ages for the drips to stop?

I use 1-1.6 ltrs a min - what does everyone else use?

[Oakley Windows]

On domestic houses you be waiting ages for the drips to stop?

I use 1-1.6 ltrs a min - what does everyone else use?

1.5-2/min

[M FORBES LTD]

all round the tops first, then back to the bottom, i brush the cill of the window above before staring the window below,   NO DRIPS,  

[Kevin R]

all round the tops first, then back to the bottom, i brush the cill of the window above before staring the window below,   NO DRIPS,  

SO you do all the tops, then go back to the first window and brush the sill with the brush (no water flow) then do the windows below?

[M FORBES LTD]

maybe i am doing something wrong but no complaints yet and 90 % of customers i have had for 6/7 years,    just lucky i guess     but no water marks,  so it seems to work, 

[Kevin R]

maybe i am doing something wrong but no complaints yet and 90 % of customers i have had for 6/7 years,    just lucky i guess     but no water marks,  so it seems to work, 

 Its not wrong just seems a high flow rate to me. I do like a really high flow rate on really dirty windows but not for maintenance cleans.

Just goes to show were all different in the world of wfp - and long may that continue cause thats how we learn.

[Alex Gardiner]

I sometimes see a chap in town doing some of the local shop windows. He has an old transit with a 1000litre IBC strapped in the back. He uses 1/2" hose which is thrown in the back (no reel) and the flow rate at the brush needs to be seen to be believed. There is a river running down the road whilst he is working. It must be at least 5-6 litres per minute.

I'm sure that the results are fine, it just seems a little bit like over-kill.

[Nick_Thompson]

In the passed I’ve messed around a lot with brushes, jets and flow rates. It all comes down to the amount of time you spend on each window. You can work faster with a higher flow rate. On an average a 4ftx4ft window with 3 separate panes of glass and with cleaning all the frames and sills I spend about 10 seconds and achieve perfect results. If you have a flow switch at your side you don’t use that much more water because you’re spending less time cleaning. I use about 400 to 500lts for every 300 smackers.
Nick

[Alex Gardiner]

It does make me smile when I think of the evolution that my work practise has also gone through. I just wish that there had been more advice available years ago when I set-up as I could have saved myself a lot of time and hassle.

Looking back I now wish that I had bitten the bullet and bought an Ionics system. Back then (8 years ago) it was either Ionics, Omnipole (basically a diy kit) or Peter Fogwill's trolley.

Believe it or not I did not find out about Ionics until about a month or two after I had set-up a complete system from Omnipole.

Here are the stages I went through:

1. IBC tank, sub pump, delivery hose (still using). 100gpd RO system (cost over £300 for just this) Omnitrolley, trailer with 200 litre tank in. 45ft Universal pole, 31ft (6x5ft) Universal pole and 12ft Universal pole. (spent £6500!!)
2. Trailer upgraded to 400 litres, ditched the trolley and fitted car with a 125 litre tank and a couple of jerry cans. Added another 18ft Universal pole bought new 200gpd RO as I killed the first on.
3. Fitted a second 125 litre tank in vehicle and ditched the jerry cans. Got a 15ft & 21ft Universal pole. Added a second vehicle with a 250 Litre tank. Bought another new 200gpd RO which I still use.
4. Fitted a 400 litre tank in vehicle and ditched the trailer. Started using a Super-Lite (thank goodness) and 21ft Xtel instead of Universal poles.
5. Fitted a 500 litre tank in vehicle. Now using 2x SLs and 2x SL-Xs with SL brushes. Second vehicle now with 380 litre tank.
6. Next stage going to a new van in February with a fitted 850 litre system.

Looking back I should have gone straight in with a suitable vehicle and a 500 Litre tank. Would have saved so much time and effort, but at least I have learned a lot over the last 8 years. Prices have got a lot cheaper now as well.

[Mike 108]

Alex

I'm sure a few members would like to know -

In your case, did you have/get the work FIRST and THEN invest/upgrade to grow the business even further, or did you invest first with the INTENTION/EXPECTATION that growth/better paid work would follow?

Regards

Mike

[Alex Gardiner]

Alex

I'm sure a few members would like to know -

In your case, did you have/get the work FIRST and THEN invest/upgrade to grow the business even further, or did you invest/upgrade first in the EXPECTATION that growth would follow?

(As I'm close to full retirement, I'm not wanting to expand my p/t business. I now only spend, frugally, on things that might make my work EASIER)

Regards

Mike

I had been window cleaning for about 15 years prior to WFP and my father had been window cleaning since 1979 (after giving up a career in banking- too stressful). At the point I decided to invest in WFP, my father and I had a very well established domestic round, with a large proportion of Hotels and holidays cottages (which we still have). I had also started to develop my own commercial side to the business which was mainly apartment blocks up to 5 storey. It was this commercial work that prompted the change as I was finding it too much of a headache getting the work done with traditional methods. I invested in WFP to service the existing work load we had. What happened though was we were one of the few commercial firms in the South-West that had WFP equipment and as a result experienced a 'boom' in commercial contracts in the couple of years that followed. It also allowed us to service our contracts with fewer sub-contractors which made us more profitable.

I now very strongly feel that whatever your workload even if part time it will pay to invest in WFP. This need not cost a lot (these days), but will help you achieve at least 30% more work in a day. This can either give you more spare time or mean that you can increase your income. Also it will limit your exposure to risk, you only have one body.

[Mike 108]

Alex

I am fully WFP (changed over when my knees started complaining and after nearly getting blown off my ladder once or twice).

The reason I asked was -

The word ‘evolve’ is commonly used where change is relatively slow and is dictated by conditions at the time.

But a number of members appear to be (or would like to be) more ‘dynamic’ and take a ‘fast track’ route to success.

I was just curious as to what it was in your case.

Thanks for the reply.

Mike

[Alex Gardiner]

Looking back I should have been more dynamic as my business would have benefited greatly.

I took about two years to start doing all of my work with WFP. This was mainly down to not enough water being carried out for all the commercial and domestic work. Back then though not as much was known about WFP and there was not an on-line community to give advice.

Most of the evolution was in carrying more and more water to carry out more work with WFP. I do not think that I would experience the same growth if I was investing in it now as I would not have such a Unique Selling Point, every one can now reach 5 storeys with ease.

It is always going to be easier to have the work level already and then make the change than to start a brand new business that happens to be window cleaning. This is becoming rarer though now as most people who start-up are going to use their noddle and start with WFP.

The other evolution that has been going on alongside has been the poles/brushes we have used. This has reduced work time by at least 30% over our original poles/brushes.

Microbore hose was another great change. About 6 years ago I was fed up with 1/2" hose and rang around, none of the suppliers could help with the idea of a smaller bore hose and fittings, so I went direct to a hose manufacturer who made us up some original Microbore (our first reel lasted about 5 years). This immediately saved us about 1/2 hour each day on our work time.

The two points above are really only refinements rather than quantum changes of work practise.

[drive surgeon]

alex i just tried to get hold of you via phone, can you supply 4 sl2 pole base sections and the u bend section pieces to make the gutter vac top section?

[Mike 108]

Alex

Looks like you better get back to work.  Nice to hear how you 'evolved' though.

Mike

[Alex Gardiner]

alex i just tried to get hold of you via phone, can you supply 4 sl2 pole base sections and the u bend section pieces to make the gutter vac top section?

Email me on alex@agardiner.co.uk and we can discuss what parts I am able to help you with.

[drive surgeon]

check your email alex.