[Washers]

Hi All,
Just starting out in the window cleaning business and wanted to specialise in Conservatories.
I cleaned the family one at the weekend and had a real problem with the gutter. A single span gutter.

The gutter had been fitted such that the water ran predominantly away from the downpipe (brilliant!!) thus rain water was just sitting there until it evaporated. Consequently the gutter was very badly silted up.

Because of the gutter support brackets being internal at approximately 12" intervals it was a bigger job than expected as I could not get any proper access into the gutter thus I could not fully clean the gutter to the standard that I would have liked. Using a jet washer or hose would have created a real mess and just filled it with water.

1) Is it common to find this problem with conservatory gutters?
2) How do you deal with this?
3) Any other comments?

[Ian Lancaster]

The major benefit of window cleaning is the repetitive nature of the work. "Specialising in Conservatories" will not achieve this, full conservatory cleans tend to be a 'once or twice a year' situation.

Any 'one off' type of work interferes with our regular monthly/bi-monthly scheduling, so we don't do it, except in the case of existing regular customers where we fit it in as part of the scheduled visit.

If we had spare time to do 'one offs', I wouldn't be happy because it would mean we didn't have a full round of regular, reliable 'bread-and-butter' work.  All my marketing is targetted to building a full order book of regular work.

As to your problem with the gutter - you don't need a 'cosmetically' clean finish on the inside of the gutter, just a clear run for the water to drain away.  In your case this isn't possible so the only realistic solution is to re-align the gutter.

[GWCS]

Personally i wouldn't used a jet washer to clean a conservatory, its invalidates the warranty and your insurance will not cover it!

You might want to think about getting conservatory installation insurance, which would cover you for fixing, maintenance and cleaning of conservatories, especially being on top of them, which general window cleaning will not cover

I use a gutter vac for clearance of gutters and a hose for internal cleaning should it be required, generally its not as it cannot be seen.

Conservatory cleaning is mainly summer work, however if you make a real go of it, you may get all year round work from it.

Due to increased working hours from extra light in summer i also take one offs on providing it doesn;t interfere with my regular window work.

Usually leave them for rainy days, when window cleaning isn;t always suited.