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How do you price and clean solar panels
- Thread starter James102
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Clean them the same as a window but you will need a long stiff pole , if you don’t extend the first section this will make the pole stiffer and only extend the other sections half to 3/4 that will help as well . Price wise we have a minimum charge of £100 for the first 16 panels on a house , some will be a bit cheaper I guess but we get most of the ones that enquire, just be careful if they have liken on them that’s much harder to get off .
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scottish cleaning service
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A fiver minimum a panel and pure hot water makes it a lot easier.
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Ok most have 16 panels , our minimum charge is still £100 not interested in travelling for less we are flat out all the time so not bothered if we get it or not , if you want the work and it’s easy access then price accordingly but remember it’s harder work than windows , you need a bigger pole all this needs to be paid for .
scottish cleaning service
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I usually use my 18' pole and work off of a ladder. My ladder has anti-slip mitts and doesn't damage the fascia.
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It’s awkward working like that though , and the whole objective as far as ime concerned is to make life easier and safer and do it from the ground ware ever possible
scottish cleaning service
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I suppose I'm used to it now. Those anti-slip mitts are a great invention, I have them on all my ladders now. That's also the way I spray roofs from top of ladder at centre of roof or even on the roof.
ched999uk
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Why do you talk such risks when you have a scaffold tower and a big van to transport it? Surely it's not worth risking you life over a few £££. I thought you were in fire brigade? Didn't they teach you about 3 points in contact with ladder at all times?
Reason I am asking is that you might be encouraging less experienced people that working of ladders is the done thing!
I couldn't be bothered to build one of them tbh, probably doesn't because of time getting it in and out the van building it taking down then back out the van. Ladders are perfectly safe if used correctly. I know a few people who have had a couple of serious injuries from falling off. Every time it was there fault. Trying to bounce the ladder over to the next window instead of just coming down the ladder. Everyone has a height they start to not feel comfortable though. I get to the 13 rung then I'm not going up any further doing windows. I do it while doing gutters but I dig it into the ground or jam it against something as its higher than I normally go. I know it's all in my head, guy who works with me says I'm the first window cleaner he's met who's scared of heights.
ched999uk
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Setting up the tower would take significantly longer and then agro of moving it, but how much agro would it be to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair or worse!
In my much younger days I was fine with heights, even remember once going up a triple rope pull ladder against pipe work going over a road, so nothing in front of you when scaling the ladder! I thought I was brave when non of the other older guys would do it! Looking back now I wouldn't do it. We had towers too that we could have used but 'it was just to run some fibre optics and cable tie it over the gantry', so a ladder was quicker!
The only time I use a ladder now is to reach over a gate to unbolt it! I just don't think it's worth the risk, it just takes 1 slip or over reach and down you come....
While you are experienced in ladder work and it's completely your own choice I do worry that noobs might think that a ladder is the way to do things when usually there are safer alternatives.
Fire brigade ched lol. Is that another one of many jobs he's done lol. ?
ched999uk
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I thought he had served and that's who he receives his pension from!
scottish cleaning service
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I like to take risks I guess. The ladder mitts get jammed under the gutter so can't really go anywhere but as you say it's a risk.
Only a few years ago the boy who works with me was up a 2 section 21 rung fully extended when we were doing a pvc job. I got about half way up it and came straight back down and said that's suicide.
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We have a triple 12 or 13 rung ladder, we use on blocked gutter downpipes. I'm not a fan of getting on the last section when fully extended, but will if I have to
I don't think I'd physically be able to go up that high, I'd end up freezing before reaching the top and coming down looking daft going in slow motion
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You have a 10k hot water system more poles and brushes than you know what to do with as you only have 100 regular jobs and you go up and ladder and put yourself at risk of serious injury pishing around on a ladder with a wfp
HSE advise that we need 3 points of contact when working off a ladder. The only way you can safely do this is by securing the ladder with an anchor drilled into the wall and a front securing safety harness; the same as used by Sky dish installers.
Damaging a fascia isn't the issue here. The most important advice to give on this forum is to adhere to H&S guidelines regarding ladder use. As far as we are concerned, if we can't clean solar panels standing on the ground, then we refuse the job.
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