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Degrading seals

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Col

Col

Well-known member
Messages
60
Location
Scotland
No not a thread about amphibious perverts but the annoying black streaks from the degraded rubber seals on some upvc windows.

Trad i have come across them now and again but today i had the job from hell when every window i detailed spread the black ink onto the white frame.

No matter how much i tried to clean it off it remained.

White spirit soaked cloth ?

Thankfully i dont smoke these days.

Any advice gladly accepted and yes i use Liquidators but i am a perfectionist and yes i have a Wfp but this is city centre job with limited access.

 
The seals are knackered and need replacing evan if you spend hours by hand cleaning the frames up the seals will bleed again in a few weeks/months been there and had the same issues we now tell the customer that they need replacing and we cannot stop the black lines it’s then up to them to get them replaced if they want to stop it . 

 
Cheers for the reply Pjj.

This is one flat in an old building where the windows have been replaced over the years but this the only one that is giving me grief.

It is a listed building and the windows have to be uniform but i feel guilty leaving black smears over the frames where the neighbours ones come up well.

I am looking for a tip for getting the marks off as they only seem to appear when i clean them.

There are no run marks from the rain.

Before anyone says walk away these are good jobs 4/5 bedroom apartments in an agreeable Art Deco building with free parking while i am there.?

 
Col said:
Cheers for the reply Pjj.

This is one flat in an old building where the windows have been replaced over the years but this the only one that is giving me grief.

It is a listed building and the windows have to be uniform but i feel guilty leaving black smears over the frames where the neighbours ones come up well.

I am looking for a tip for getting the marks off as they only seem to appear when i clean them.

There are no run marks from the rain.

Before anyone says walk away these are good jobs 4/5 bedroom apartments in an agreeable Art Deco building with free parking while i am there.?
Click to expand...


Try a solvent like UPVC cleaner this will desolve the surface of the rubber seal and remove the outer perished surface , as for any marks on the white plastics most on hear recommend pink stuff ?.. I have never used it generally use cif cream cleaner , this method will remove 99% of the staining but it will return in weeks or months but if you want it to look good this method will work 

 
Thank you for the reply.

I didn't fancy telling the customer to replace the windows but i will try some Cif on them next time.

It's just bloody annoying stuff to get rid of.

 
If I was you I would have that conversation with the customer because they will blame you for having dirty windows. 

 
Col said:
Before anyone says walk away these are good jobs 4/5 bedroom apartments
Click to expand...
Unfortunately sometimes this is our only option. I did a building clean once, or tried to, and no matter what I used it wouldn't clean the, smoke damaged, surface. 

Just make sure that whatever chemicals you use to try and prevent this happening your Liability insurance company is happy for you to do so. You don't want a claim saying you caused the problem 

 
Have quite a few leaking seals, as my scrims can testify, just have to be extra careful detailing, do not really want to tell my customers to spend hundreds of pounds replacing their windows so my job is easier for myself. They are paying me to clean their windows!.

 
mike007 said:
Have quite a few leaking seals, as my scrims can testify, just have to be extra careful detailing, do not really want to tell my customers to spend hundreds of pounds replacing their windows so my job is easier for myself. They are paying me to clean their windows!.
Click to expand...




Surely telling them is beneficial to them as they can then get them replaced whereas they may not even notice until more damage is done?

 

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