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Help please - Changing over from traditional

Mr JTPhill

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3
Location
Glasgow
Hi there changing over soon from traditional to water fed pole system. Does anyone know the solution best used to clean the windows with for the last time before moving over ? Heard it helps with the transition 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi there changing over soon from traditional to water fed pole system. Does anyone know the solution best used to clean the windows with for the last time before moving over ? Heard it helps with the transition 
There really isn't to be honest, you could wipe down all the frames if you don't already and this would help somewhat but not a great deal, as all your jobs will be classed as first cleans and they will all take 3-4 times longer on a first clean to get the frames, glass and sills up to standard. 

A lot of people assume it's a quick transition but it really isn't and you can't whizz through your work until you have fully mastered the basics of wfp. 

 
There really isn't to be honest, you could wipe down all the frames if you don't already and this would help somewhat but not a great deal, as all your jobs will be classed as first cleans and they will all take 3-4 times longer on a first clean to get the frames, glass and sills up to standard. 

A lot of people assume it's a quick transition but it really isn't and you can't whizz through your work until you have fully mastered the basics of wfp. 
Thank you 

Thanks 

 
My advice would be to make sure the frames are as clean as you can get them. Especially the tops and vents as much as you can by hand.

 
My advice would be not to change the whole round over in one go, especially as we are heading into winter now. Do it in stages. As @Iron Giant has said, each house will take you 3 to 4 times longer. That will initially impact on your income. It will catch up later though. Some might disagree; that's fine. Its up to you.

We bought a compact trad round. When we changed this new round over I did it all at once. 90% of the houses are dormers so I wasn't going to walk across roofs. We also needed to do it quickly to 'keep our foot in the door' before news got around. I did the complete house, frames, glass and sills, giving each window a good scrub and rinse. I then moved onto the house next door and did the same again. I then moved onto the third house and repeated that. I then went back to the first house and did the glass only - tops all the way round and then bottoms all the way round. I moved onto the second house and then the third.

I then came back and checked each window for streaks. (The previous cleaners had only done glass and the frames were minging.)  I had to redo the odd few windows a third time that still had streaks. I then knocked for payment when the windows were spot free.

On one house I just bladed those south facing windows off and made a note that if they continued to create trouble after a few cleans I would discontinue our service to them. There was no issue with the next clean. I learnt that just because I couldn't get them right to start with didn't mean they wouldn't come right within a few cleans.

I used around 550 liters a day and did around 6 to 8 houses. These were the days before flow controllers. We used 1/2" garden hose and our brushes had 3mm jets. We were also new to WFP so definitely used more water per day than we would if we were doing the same again. It was also in May so the days were getting longer. No Alex yet with carbon fibre poles or wfp brushes (he was still in high school then ?). It was a heavy Vikan oval on the end of an Unger Teleplus ali pole.

Another thing we didn't count on was the cleaning schedule. The round was done trad every 2 weeks. Within a few months we started to get "please leave it this time as they are still clean." Within no time the whole round was doing it. I wasn't prepared for this.

We also have a number of houses with top fly windows above a large glass pane underneath. These can be a wfp nightmare as dirty water drains from the top glass and leaves a streak down the middle of the glass below. Even today we do the top openers first and let them finish draining down before cleaning the glass below.

Make it your resolve not to go back to trad. There will be some who prefer the old way, but stick to your decision. They might threaten you with them discontinuing your service, but with fewer and fewer trad cleaners, replacing you will be a challenge for them Your results won't be perfect to begin with - be honest about it but don't make a big deal of it. Your safety is paramount. You don't want to be like that windie I've mentioned before who fell off his ladders and received life changing injuries. He will never walk again.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
My advice would be not to change the whole round over in one go, especially as we are heading into winter now. Do it in stages. As @Iron Giant has said, each house will take you 3 to 4 times longer. That will initially impact on your income. It will catch up later though. Some might disagree; that's fine. Its up to you.

We bought a compact trad round. When we changed this new round over I did it all at once. 90% of the houses are dormers so I wasn't going to walk across roofs. We also needed to do it quickly to 'keep our foot in the door' before news got around. I did the complete house, frames, glass and sills, giving each window a good scrub and rinse. I then moved onto the house next door and did the same again. I then moved onto the third house and repeated that. I then went back to the first house and did the glass only - tops all the way round and then bottoms all the way round. I moved onto the second house and then the third.

I then came back and checked each window for streaks. (The previous cleaners had only done glass and the frames were minging.)  I had to redo the odd few windows a third time that still had streaks. I then knocked for payment when the windows were spot free.

On one house I just bladed those south facing windows off and made a note that if they continued to create trouble after a few cleans I would discontinue our service to them. There was no issue with the next clean. I learnt that just because I couldn't get them right to start with didn't mean they wouldn't come right within a few cleans.

I used around 550 liters a day and did around 6 to 8 houses. These were the days before flow controllers. We used 1/2" garden hose and our brushes had 3mm jets. We were also new to WFP so definitely used more water per day than we would if we were doing the same again. It was also in May so the days were getting longer. No Alex yet with carbon fibre poles or wfp brushes (he was still in high school then ?). It was a heavy Vikan oval on the end of an Unger Teleplus ali pole.

Another thing we didn't count on was the cleaning schedule. The round was done trad every 2 weeks. Within a few months we started to get "please leave it this time as they are still clean." Within no time the whole round was doing it. I wasn't prepared for this.

We also have a number of houses with top fly windows above a large glass pane underneath. These can be a wfp nightmare as dirty water drains from the top glass and leaves a streak down the middle of the glass below. Even today we do the top openers first and let them finish draining down before cleaning the glass below.

Make it your resolve not to go back to trad. There will be some who prefer the old way, but stick to your decision. They might threaten you with them discontinuing your service, but with fewer and fewer trad cleaners, replacing you will be a challenge for them Your results won't be perfect to begin with - be honest about it but don't make a big deal of it. Your safety is paramount. You don't want to be like that windie I've mentioned before who fell off his ladders and received life changing injuries. He will never walk again.




When I changed from trad to wfp I had around 300 customers and worked on my own I didn’t think I would ever get them all done took so long I was knackered by the time I finished but it was well worth it , I did it all in one go it was a full month of first cleans and took at least two to three times longer than trad , I was learning his to use the pole as well , two weeks in I nearly gave up but glad I didn’t the second time round it was a lot easier then the third time was fine , stick with it it will be hard work and a sharp learning curve but worth it in the long run , good luck 

 
When I changed from trad to wfp I had around 300 customers and worked on my own I didn’t think I would ever get them all done took so long I was knackered by the time I finished but it was well worth it , I did it all in one go it was a full month of first cleans and took at least two to three times longer than trad , I was learning his to use the pole as well , two weeks in I nearly gave up but glad I didn’t the second time round it was a lot easier then the third time was fine , stick with it it will be hard work and a sharp learning curve but worth it in the long run , good luck 


Changing a round from trad to wfp can be very challenging. This was the first time we had done wfp as well although I practised a bit on our house.

I think that you have given the best advise - don't give up @Mr JTPhill. There will be times when you wonder what got into you to do this, but as @Pjjsays, it will be worth it in the end.

 
Just done it this cycle mate. 

600 trad to wfp. 4 more days and all converted over. Been tricky. We did a mega cloth clean cycle before this to help with tops of frames. Worked well but my god the wfp strips out dirt. 

We have had a few spots and runs and I've been repairing them when collecting. Customers been great with transition but ive spent ages repeating myself. 

We just blitz the top frames and move to next window. Then back to same window to do tops then next tops then back for bottoms. And we still had spots and few runs. Frames look amazing. 

Lots of houses we have nailed them but some are tricky. 

Like spruce said the 2 top openers with a large pane below is a nightmare. We had a bad one yesterday. 4 on one house with runs. went back today and scrimmed them cleaned. Got customer to open windows and we scrim cleaned under the seals. Hopefully that will help. She never opens windows she said. 

It's been very tough mentally worrying about cancellations after spending out on new van and gear. All in with van insurance gear etc I've spent £13.5k

Went balls deep and bought a 2nd hand 1000l 4040 ro delivery tank for van. Got a 4021 ro and 1000l ibc container in garage for winter fills and back up. 

We have nearly drained the 1000l tank a few times 

Buy a clarks 240cbm booster pump. I can fill my 1000l in 6 hours from nearly empty. 

Bought 2 water works electric reels and a 3rd manual back up reel and pump. 

We are finding the gardiner extreme flocked cill brush really good. Used Gardiner universal 35cm for first 2 days but flocked much better. 

We've still traditional some windows mainly as access problems. Single storey extension where gardens drop etc. Would need a 70ft pole. 

We bought 2nd hand 32ft unger carbon

2 brand new 25ft Gardiner slx and they reach all we need. 

Time wise we are same as traditional. Some days slightly quicker others slower. Depends on windows etc. 

Am I glad I've changed. YES defo. Has it been hard. Unbelievably stressful but no more ladders (well hardly) no more footing. No walking on wet roofs doing velux windows 3 ft from gutter. 

Expensive yes. 

Worth it definitely 

 

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