Black inky juice from window seals ☠️

[Ben1979]

Gents,

I'm still a newbie at this and looking for some advice please...

What the hell is that inky black stuff that seeps out of the window seals?

I'm guessing it might be the old window rubber seals deteriorating?...

At a couple of the houses I clean, this horrible black goo seeps out of the window rubbers the second I touch them ... And instantly stains the white uPVC frames black.

As a result I spend ages trying to scrub it off the frames. And nothing seems to shift it once it's stained onto the frames.

My sole tactic so far is to try to avoid touching it...

Do you guys have any advice you can share for dealing with this evil stuff please? How to stop it leaking out or how to remove the leaky stains?

(Sorry if this has already been covered... I did try the search button but no joy so far.)

Thanks in advance for your wisdom!
Ben

 

[Pjj]

Hi Ben , unfortunately there isn’t much you can do about it the seals are breaking down due to age and exposure to UV light you can remove the black staining from the frames with ciff cream cleaner but it will return very quickly so it’s not cost effective. This is something that you will come across more frequently as you do more work on older windows , we explained to the customers that we will do our best but cannot prevent it from coming back .

 

[ched999uk]

You are right that it's the seals breaking down. You need to explain to customers what's happening and that you can't really sort it. As PJJ said Cif cream or pink stuff works but it will come back as soon as it rains. I have found if the seals start leaching rinsing the frames immediately cuts down on making more stains. Try and not touch the seals with a brush if you can as brushing seems to make them 'bleed' more.

 

[Ben1979]

Hi Ben , unfortunately there isn’t much you can do about it the seals are breaking down due to age and exposure to UV light you can remove the black staining from the frames with ciff cream cleaner but it will return very quickly so it’s not cost effective. This is something that you will come across more frequently as you do more work on older windows , we explained to the customers that we will do our best but cannot prevent it from coming back .

Hey PJJ, thank you for your reply. That's what I feared! I was hoping there would be some secret to avoiding it but that must have wishful thinking !

 

[Mattlekim]

I have found partial success with a cream cleanser for pcv it seems to get the worst of it off and future cleans are not as horrific.

The cream cleanser seems to agitate the seals and get the top most late off. It's not a perfect fix but I find it helps me out if they are really bad.

 

[Ben1979]

I have found partial success with a cream cleanser for pcv it seems to get the worst of it off and future cleans are not as horrific.

The cream cleanser seems to agitate the seals and get the top most late off. It's not a perfect fix but I find it helps me out if they are really bad.

Okay I will try that and see if it helps, thanks!

 

[Scots lad]

Get yourself magic sponges always have one with me takes the black off the frame as good as anything I've tried
Also removes scuff marks off the doors
I buy them in 50's off of fleabay

 

[ched999uk]

Get yourself magic sponges always have one with me takes the black off the frame as good as anything I've tried
Also removes scuff marks off the doors
I buy them in 50's off of fleabay

I have been finding the magic sponges great to have in pocket for scuffs etc so much quicker than going back to van for pink stuff etc, ok so I might be going a bit ott but currently I have time.
Do you have a link to the ones you buy as I was concerned that the real cheapy ones wouldn't be any good and just disintegrate after 1 use? Cheers pm fine if you don't want your source to sell out

 

[Ben1979]

Yeah thanks for the tip, I found the magic sponges just disintegrated but maybe I had the wrong ones.

I've been using green scouring pads with cif... Didn't think of actually rubbing down the black seals themselves though to take the top layer off, so I'll try that next time. ?

 

[Pjj]

Yeah thanks for the tip, I found the magic sponges just disintegrated but maybe I had the wrong ones.

I've been using green scouring pads with cif... Didn't think of actually rubbing down the black seals themselves though to take the top layer off, so I'll try that next time. ?

Just be careful you dont scratch the frames using them as they are scourers it’s easy to do it and not realise until it’s to late .

 

[Chris34]

Just be careful you dont scratch the frames using them as they are scourers it’s easy to do it and not realise until it’s to late .

I did this on one of my first jobs. It was a nice shiny sill on a conservatory, I used the magic sponge with screwfix degreaser, the ingrained dirt was removed and it looked great but then I caught sight of it from a side angle with the sun shining on it and it was full of fine scratches. I pointed it out to the customer and he was fine about it (I wouldn't have been) but since then I don't use magic sponges if the pvc is very shiny. I use them if the pvc is pretty knackered, if it's shiny but got ingrained dirt then I just use a microfibre with the pink stuff.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I always use Mr Siga heavy duty scrub sponge and the pink stuff, not had any problems.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0132G13RM/?tag=wcf01-21

They work out at 50p each and a pound for a tub of pink stuff.

 

[ched999uk]

I always use Mr Siga heavy duty scrub sponge and the pink stuff, not had any problems.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0132G13RM/?tag=wcf01-21

They work out at 50p each and a pound for a tub of pink stuff.

Do you find they last longer than say the 8 pack of 'Springforce Sponge Scourers' from Tesco at 43p a pack?

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Do you find they last longer than say the 8 pack of 'Springforce Sponge Scourers' from Tesco at 43p a pack?

Started with them but they are rubbish and too small. I can do a full pvc clean with one Siga and they are a great shape. I charge £200 for a full pvc clean. Materials used :- hotwater from van or kettle when I used my power station, Degreaser 200ml, Black bucket £1 each, Ladder limb £15 each, 2 siga pads 50p each. So you can see the cost is less than £2 when you have all the stuff in place. Conny clean tomorrow, PW job Saturday, Conny and pvc clean Monday, PW job Tuesday, so PW will stay in van till Wednesday. Not many folk want to do it so that's the reason I'm so busy with add-ons. Nearly all profit bar van and diesel.

 

[tench0771]

If you scrub and rinse enough the black will stop but in 6 yo 8 weeks when your back it will leach it again but not as bad just inform the customer they need new window fraims ? and you do your best ?