Welcome to the UK Window Cleaning Forums

Starting or own a window cleaning business? We're a network of window cleaners sharing advice, tips & experience. Rounds for sale & more. Join us today!

What is your complete current set up for pole cleaning top windows?

WCF

Help Support WCF:

My llyte ladders are 8.46m triples..still.quite heavy (especially with the ankalad) but I often just pull the first 2 sections off the roof

Most houses I only need to extend 2 rungs

But have a real solid big ladder if needed and if I am doing above a full lenth conny at the back I only need to carry 1 section round

 
My llyte ladders are 8.46m triples..still.quite heavy (especially with the ankalad) but I often just pull the first 2 sections off the roofMost houses I only need to extend 2 rungs

But have a real solid big ladder if needed and if I am doing above a full lenth conny at the back I only need to carry 1 section round
In my younger days when I at times walked my round I just carried one section from my 11 tred ladder and sat lovely just under the sills

 
Carryin two ladders was the best move I ever made. The small one is great for most, and nice and light to move about. But the big one will get me to gutter height if needed. Both are A frames. The big boy smurf setup comes out on gutter days only.

 
Carryin two ladders was the best move I ever made. The small one is great for most, and nice and light to move about. But the big one will get me to gutter height if needed. Both are A frames. The big boy smurf setup comes out on gutter days only.
Them big a frames can be so heavy, I used to clean the windows at ALEA casino in notts that had a glass walkway canopy half it's length , we had to do it monthly and it was ditched each time , the big a frame fully extended did a awesome job

 
I was also carrying my 9 rung 3 section wickes special but found I was just using 1 section of my flutes instead

Did gutters on a townhouse the other day with them..best of both worlds

 
i take it youre not getting a ladder Scottie? why is that ? maybe you have a fear of heights,well let me tell you when i first started out i HAD that fear ,i didnt realize i had got the shakes until about 2 weeks in i got to a proper big house and i had to crawl up my ladder ,proper sh/ttin it i was - what made it worse was the customer was stood down below,chattin about details of an aircraft crash he had survived.
but i had to overcome my fear if i was going to make a go of it ,and gradually i did .
I have the same problem as you mate I even went and bought a hypnosis cd for heights but found out that it was a confidence and not a ladder thing. I think in my case its having faith that you can do window cleaning, if you have faith in your ladder your half way there. Another piece of advice Scottie is that you have to practice, practice, practice just like all they guys have said.

I have two poles Scottie for the upper windows that I can't get to with a ladder, they are both made by Unger....Ones an Opti Loc 3 section pole that extends to 9m, its really heavy when extended without anything on the end and the other is a Opti Loc 3 section 3 x 1.25m. I use a 14" Wagtail Combi for the upper windows when a porch, slopping roof or extentions. I must admit that I can't get on with the wagtail at the moment and have bought a 14" Visa Versa, so I've got to practice more;)

 
Boarcity - Its not so much fear, its just safty. A window cleaner came own in the road once and he was in a bad way, kinda off putting. I just feel after seeing the vids online and now using a pole that I can achive decent results. I am buying really good quality proucts form handle to pole, so that will help complete the jobs better. I wont be doing large buildings, just residential upper floors and the normal trad way downstairs. I just not sure about WFP, even on the downstairs, I rather trad them tbh. I was watching a guy WFT the uppers in my road last week and he took for ever and the pole seemed more bulky and heavey, I dont know. Either way, we are all different and choose our own ways, I am fussy in nature and will always ensure jobs are done to a great standard as possible. Our windy is just awful, I mean really bad, so much so there worse than they were before he started, I am serious. Family member says the same too.

Boarcity thanks for your continued support and advice really appriciate it mate, really do.

Tony Hall - Yeah thats what I will use the optiloc 3 section 24ft, thats plenty for me, I am only doing uppers max, now may feet is a upper normal house, emm... not that tall. Should be ok on weight as not needing it up fully, you see some of them guys doign pole work on them huge offices a few floors up form floor, that must be heavey.

Cheers guys.

 
I have two sets of ladders on my van. One is 15 rungs closed, the other is 11 rungs closed. Not sure what their full extended lengths are. I just seem to know which to grab off the van when needed.
I'm considering getting rid of both and replacing them with one decent triple.
keep your double SP,

I,VE got triple in my van since i,ve went WFP so heavy ,you canny beat the double lighter so much easier

 
I only got the triple as I do gutters on townhouses etc

but they are heavy..lyte my arris

 
Hi Scottie

Good luck to you for when you start

if you haven't already.i hope you got all your kit sorted I would love to be able to do all my work with a pole but for me I find I just can't get anywhere near as good a result as when off a ladder

Have you tried upstairs windows with a pole etc yet I just didn't have much sucess and only use my pole on awkward windows and I tell the Cust it might not be quite as good a result

Good luck with it and let us know how your getting on

Tony

 
one of the strangest ladders i ever owned was a domestic ladder made by lyte . everything about it was exactly the same as a normal trade ladder [D rungs ,box section stiles etc ] but made IN MINIATURE! it was almost a work of art ,with mini sized rungs designed for a bird foot not a mans . i did only 1 or 2 houses with it before deciding i dare not use this toy any more .

 
one winter when the snow was deep [few yrs ago] i had a week using just a trad pole for the upstairs instead of my ladder - try as i might i couldnt get a good result consistently ,once my arms tired after half a dozen houses ,the results slid . i almost got several cancellations over it ,luckily non did but i got told off lol

 
Last edited:
I wouldnt like to be doing all upstairs windows with a pole, trad style. How would you know whether you have left a streak and how do you detail properly. It must be a total nightmare in the blazing sun. I think if you are tradding you really need to use a ladder and just use your pole for awkward, hard to get to windows.

 
I have the same problem as you mate I even went and bought a hypnosis cd for heights but found out that it was a confidence and not a ladder thing. I think in my case its having faith that you can do window cleaning, if you have faith in your ladder your half way there. Another piece of advice Scottie is that you have to practice, practice, practice just like all they guys have said.
I have two poles Scottie for the upper windows that I can't get to with a ladder, they are both made by Unger....Ones an Opti Loc 3 section pole that extends to 9m, its really heavy when extended without anything on the end and the other is a Opti Loc 3 section 3 x 1.25m. I use a 14" Wagtail Combi for the upper windows when a porch, slopping roof or extentions. I must admit that I can't get on with the wagtail at the moment and have bought a 14" Visa Versa, so I've got to practice more;)
A fear of heights is a good thing at times as it keeps you safe when working up ladders as you take extra setting up and double checking things are safe.

Me myself I have no fear of heights and I used to skydive and

I have the same problem as you mate I even went and bought a hypnosis cd for heights but found out that it was a confidence and not a ladder thing. I think in my case its having faith that you can do window cleaning, if you have faith in your ladder your half way there. Another piece of advice Scottie is that you have to practice, practice, practice just like all they guys have said.
I have two poles Scottie for the upper windows that I can't get to with a ladder, they are both made by Unger....Ones an Opti Loc 3 section pole that extends to 9m, its really heavy when extended without anything on the end and the other is a Opti Loc 3 section 3 x 1.25m. I use a 14" Wagtail Combi for the upper windows when a porch, slopping roof or extentions. I must admit that I can't get on with the wagtail at the moment and have bought a 14" Visa Versa, so I've got to practice more;)
Come skydiving with me and ill show you something high /emoticons/smile.png

 
I wouldnt like to be doing all upstairs windows with a pole, trad style. How would you know whether you have left a streak and how do you detail properly. It must be a total nightmare in the blazing sun. I think if you are tradding you really need to use a ladder and just use your pole for awkward, hard to get to windows.
When on some of my old commercial work my friend went along putting on and i followed taking off, we had unger 3 tier 36ft poles each we did a fair enough job but poled 1 month laddered the next ladder did way better and we couldn't of poled every time , in my opinion anyone even trying to pole domestic tops needs to give there head a wobble

 
I can pole to a good standard from the ground but you can never see the missed fly poo and other bits of cack

 
That's good but if do it right a microfibre stuck on the end of the pole to detail edges is all you need

 
A fear of heights is a good thing at times as it keeps you safe when working up ladders as you take extra setting up and double checking things are safe.Me myself I have no fear of heights and I used to skydive and

Come skydiving with me and ill show you something high /emoticons/smile.png
Puraclenz if the good lord wanted me to fly he would have given me wings:D

 
Hi Guys, had a good day at the office today, did my first shop fronts and picked up a few more customers while doing it.

Ineeded to use my little giants as steps inside and out which was a bit harrowing as there were people all over the place, in and out the shop. Need to get a pole but also been seeing alot of these wagtails and attached microfibre pads that flip and pivot #pow. can someone tell me what the set up is please, including the angle thingy as its just too dam time consuming faffing with the ladders, worrying theyre gona get nicked when I'm not using them, and its a bit dam risky as I have no where to hold onto once im up the ladder unless I put them right up.

Thanks in advance, this site and you folk really are helping and keeping me on my game too

 
Back
Top