Standards/ first clean

[philb]

I'm a newbie just about to start out in the world of wfp. Decided to practice on my own house which hasn't had windows cleaned in at least 7months since we moved in. A few queries/questions -

1. Tried scrubbing with pole brush for a bit but little bit of dirt in corner wouldn't clear - will this come off after a few cleans or do I need to use something else? 

2. Black bits stuck to cill - if I pick with my nail eventually comes off but not with brush. Would you clean this off if was a customer & first clean?

3. This window has been fitted recently and has some yellow staining on frame - how would you get it off & again would you be expected to get it clean? (I ask because I would have said yes but my wife says not expected as builders muck)

4. After cleaning first floor window I looked from inside and realised cill was still dirty (without going in customers house) how do you know if cleaned first floor cill ok? Ladders or just presume it's ok until customer pulled you up? (Don't like thought of 2nd option)

thanks

 

[Clisty1989]

what brush u using? If it's a sill brush then you should get it all off, of not it's a little trickier. If you use some ubik/virisol/no nonsense degreaser on 1st cleans it'll be a lot easier, spray some on brush, scrub all over frame sill and glass, leave a min, scrub again and rinse like a man possessed until no bubbles are left. Then once the top frame stops dripping go over the glass as normal. Some stains won't come off easily and then it's a magic sponge job, but most will. It'll take 2-3 times the time of a normal clean, so make sure you charge appropriatly I.e first clean charge double normal price, will help weed out Messer's too.

 

[spruce]

I'm a newbie just about to start out in the world of wfp. Decided to practice on my own house which hasn't had windows cleaned in at least 7months since we moved in. A few queries/questions -

1. Tried scrubbing with pole brush for a bit but little bit of dirt in corner wouldn't clear - will this come off after a few cleans or do I need to use something else? 

2. Black bits stuck to cill - if I pick with my nail eventually comes off but not with brush. Would you clean this off if was a customer & first clean?

3. This window has been fitted recently and has some yellow staining on frame - how would you get it off & again would you be expected to get it clean? (I ask because I would have said yes but my wife says not expected as builders muck)

4. After cleaning first floor window I looked from inside and realised cill was still dirty (without going in customers house) how do you know if cleaned first floor cill ok? Ladders or just presume it's ok until customer pulled you up? (Don't like thought of 2nd option)

thanks

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Always a difficult one to decide if its acceptable or not to the customer.

You are there to clean the glass of the windows and clean the frames as well. You are not there to do a frame restore clean as that's not your remit. But you may need to spend a bit of time on downstairs sills to clean them up a bit on the first clean. After all each job is your showhouse and advertising board. So you need to charge extra for doing a first clean. There is a wc business that will quote to do a window frame restore (a deep clean) as part of the first clean and quote high as these can take a few hours. If the customer doesn't accept that then you don't need to be to particular about the odd blemishes. 

We aren't there to remove fencing paint splattered all over the windows or paint drips from fascias etc. Thats an added extra and they must expect to pay for that. (I will take paint off the glass but won't take it off the frames.)

I personally would remove the black bits with my finger nail or a tool made from plastic such as a small ice scraper. I wouldn't bother too much about the bit of corner stain.

We usually put a squirt of Cif cleaner on the brush and that removes surface dirt and will make that corner a bit cleaner.

The top sill is one you need to clean by running the brush back and forwards a few times. If you see bits coming off the sill edge in the rinse water then we rinse some more. If they keep coming then I lower the brush after switching the water off, shake any water from the brush head, wrap a towel around the brush head and wipe the sill off with that.

If there is a bird strike on the window then presume that there will be some on the sill. Scrub that area a little more. If there is a TV aerial above the window then expect the sill to have bird poo on it. If its baked on then there isnt much you can do, just let nature do its thing. (I had a complaint once above the filthy sill I left on a top window. I got the ladders out and inspected and it was clean apart from a tiny bit of grit on one of the corners which made no difference to the general appearance of the sill. I wiped it off with a cloth. It was a first and last clean as she used it as an excuse to cancel the regular window clean she had asked us to quote for. It gave her immense satisfaction to tell me what a bad job I had done. I generally smile, apologise for my tardy service and walk away, thankful as I didn't want customers like her on my round anyway.)  In the past 12 years wfp she is the only one who has complained about a dirty upper story sill being dirty.

The stain in the photo probably won't come off even with strong chemicals. In time the UV light will bleach it. We get this from time to time. Spider poo in Oct and Nov can be a pain and often leaves black stains on the sills. They slowly disappear over winter in most cases.

When doing first cleans my son's stiff brush is better at cleaning them than my softer brush is. So it is a good idea to carry a couple of different brushes with you that you can swap over as needed. We have the stiff one on son's pole, a medium mixed on mine and a flocked one on the third pole for leaded windows. We also have a sill brush on the van but I find it a bit heavy using it day in and day out. Its a good brush though.

 

[Marko067]

I pretty much do the same as spruce

 

[Minty]

I always say the frames and cills are washed down with each visit and do get cleaner over time. I don't think the majority of customers look for perfection on the plastics, some can be so damaged by the sun.

make sure the glass is clean and spotless and you won't go far wrong.