Brushes

[Aide]

Hi All,

I've been reading for a couple of months now and starting up in Feb (due to other work). I've already got my van with 250l Brodex system in....all second hand but works well.

There are 2 poles & brushes but I was after a bit more brush info please.

Do you use the same brush for all cleaning (first cleans and maintenance) (wood and upvc) ?

How many brushes should I be carrying ?

Is it best to have a swivel/tilt for awkward angles ?

I'm just trying to make it as easy as possible for when I start.

Thanks for all the info and advice on here, it's fantastic for a newbie.

 

[rshandyman]

I use only one brush for fascia, gutter and soffits

 

[Aide]

Do you use it on the windows too ?

 

[rshandyman]

I do not do windows with wfp only trad.no wf in my van

 

[Richard]

Hi All,I've been reading for a couple of months now and starting up in Feb (due to other work). I've already got my van with 250l Brodex system in....all second hand but works well.

There are 2 poles & brushes but I was after a bit more brush info please.

Do you use the same brush for all cleaning (first cleans and maintenance) (wood and upvc) ?

How many brushes should I be carrying ?

Is it best to have a swivel/tilt for awkward angles ?

I'm just trying to make it as easy as possible for when I start.

Thanks for all the info and advice on here, it's fantastic for a newbie.

Hi Aide,

It will come down to your own cleaning method, and how you use brushes. To start with 2 different types of brush is the minimum requirement –

Some first cleans are not all bad, so you could use your regular maintenance clean brush, if the new customers has had a regular window clean service previous, these jobs may not have to much accumulated dirt, road grime, oily deposits etcetera, that will soil the brush for the next clean. If you’re unsure don’t use the main brush.

Primarily a non Absorbent Polyester Monofilament brush (or Hybrid) for regular maintenance cleans this is for speed of cleaning, and reduced final rinsing. This will be your most used brush when you have built up your round.

Your second brush could a Absorbent Nylon Monofilament for first cleans, this should be a slightly bigger monofilament and it also has much more scrubbing ability, you must always do the final rinse with a absorbent monofilament, other wise you will get spotting – Not so with Non Absorbent Polyester Monofilament, you will learn this as you gain experience.

After these two brushes, you should know the difference between your first 2 types of brush, and then you can move on to others.

It comes down to speed of cleaning; you match the best brush to the job, with good working practice and cleaning method, you will find it takes you longer to set up, get out the hose reel and put it back etcetera - if it doesn’t your still slow.

 

[Tuffers]

Sill brush for Georgians.

Extreme dual trim for leaded lights.

Dual trim medium mixed or Tecbuk Hybrid for any other windows.

That's 3/4 brushes I definitely would have for starters. I'd also buy a swivel neck along with a rigid neck.

Then you have to decide if you want pencil jets or fan jets.

Decisions, decisions /emoticons/biggrin.png

 

[kevinc250]

ok,aide,a brodex stystem is pretty robust so will last for ages,i wouldn't waste my money on new brushes etc as you i assume have to learn to use a pole?its not as simple and easy as some make out,for me i would ditch the poles and buy a phoenix of gardiners with a tecbuck brush or maybe the gardiners brush,i am only saying this as everyone has overlooked your poles,if they are brodex's everyday day is gonna be a pain regardless of the brush,your going to hate wfp and then give up,post some pics up of what you have so a better solution could be made,not being arsey but have made all those mistakes a long time ago

 

[Richard]

I agree with Kevinc250, use the most rigid 25ft pole you can get, you’ll be able to work much faster; rigid poles are far more effective and efficient when on the glass flex causes delay and takes more effort to get the brush working.

Your hourly rate will be higher regardless of how much you charge (pricing is a different matter altogether).

Don’t make the mistake of listening to anyone who thinks a few grams less in weight makes you get through the work faster, they are oblivious to how fast you can actually window clean.

Reducing weight has its limits; otherwise you could be cleaning windows with a tooth brush. It’s all about the time you spend cleaning, not spending longer cleaning with a little less weight. The actual time spending cleaning on some 3 bed house can be as little as a couple of minutes on regular cleans, if you know how to do it.

No need to spend an extra 10 minutes holding a lighter set up, with every job. /emoticons/biggrin.png

 

[Duncs]

richard is right get gd pole and brush and you wont go wrong

my favourite pole is 22ft gardiners SLX worth the extra money

I only clean windows don,t do facias or cladding

only use tecbuk hybrid tryed them all but the tecbuk gets the golden star

 

[Richard]

Duncs, knows what he’s doing - his 22ft pole (reach probably 28ft) will be able to reach all ground floor and 1st floor windows. Chances are the majority of your work will be for these windows. So it makes sense to use the best equipment for the bulk of your work and spend less on equipment for work that may only provide 10% of your income.

I’ve sold brushes to window cleaners who spend hundreds on a carbon fibre pole for occasional higher work, then use a whippy pole for the majority of the work – it’s the wrong way round.

Always keep in mind your in service based work, and you get paid for your time. Speed of cleaning accounts for everything, nothing else really matters. The quicker you can service your customers the more you can earn, the fewer hours you can choose to work, cost will be lower, and profit margins will be higher etcetera.

 

[SPCleaning]

My every day pole is a 22' Phoenix hybrid with a vikan brush. Recently I bought a SLX-35 with a super lite duel mix brush. Now I hate my Phoenix and vikan combination and have found myself reaching for the SLX-35 on even the smallest jobs. It just works better. I now need to order another SLX maybe an 18' and put the Phoenix on ebay.

 

[koopmaster]

I have the phoenix UL 26 foot with a long swivel neck and a superlight duel trim sill brush. Just buy another superlight brush and stik it on your phoenix. I even have them setup with quick lock.

 

[SPCleaning]

Is the Phoenix UL the same as a hybrid Koop?

 

[kevinc250]

My every day pole is a 22' Phoenix hybrid with a vikan brush. Recently I bought a SLX-35 with a super lite duel mix brush. Now I hate my Phoenix and vikan combination and have found myself reaching for the SLX-35 on even the smallest jobs. It just works better. I now need to order another SLX maybe an 18' and put the Phoenix on ebay.

you could buy a base section for your 35 so you can make it an 18 when you want to and revert to a 35 when needed,that would save a bit of cash for the moment,pop a tecbuck on the end and you are laughing matey,(i am biased towards tecbucks btw,the brush earns me money)

 

[SPCleaning]

you could buy a base section for your 35 so you can make it an 18 when you want to and revert to a 35 when needed,that would save a bit of cash for the moment,pop a tecbuck on the end and you are laughing matey,(i am biased towards tecbucks btw,the brush earns me money)

Thats not a bad plan. How easy would it be to take apart and rebuild whilst working on a property?

 

[koopmaster]

The ultra light section is just a extra section that goes on the red clamp to add a extra 4 foot and I love it. Also they now have the neck in metal on that section instead of plastic to it can't break.

I was sent one for free but haven't put it on yet.

 

[kevinc250]

Thats not a bad plan. How easy would it be to take apart and rebuild whilst working on a property?

it may take a few mins to do it,-putting the hose back through and putting the extra sections on,it'll be a pain but if you don't have much work above 18/22 foot then it would work for the short term,have a plan in mind to do this-may try it out over the weekend

 

[SPCleaning]

It looks like a base section for an SLX-18 is £67 inc vat. A new SLX-18 is £207 inc vat. Interesting idea.

 

[Aide]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll stick a couple of photos on tomorrow and you can tell me what I've got :thumbsdown:

I've done my own windows and the wife was happy :thumbsup:

 

[Aide]

Will these 2 brushes get me going ? The slimmer one for main cleaning. Also are all brushes universal fitiing ?

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[Aide]

raring to go !!

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