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Wfp

P

pownallca

I am considering becoming a Window Cleaner and have been reading about WFP.

I do understand the basics but when you have washed the window how do you get the water off like you would with the traditional method?

 
May sound stupid but how come we would not leave a window to dry with the traditional method, I guess I may need to read up WFP's

 
Because wfp is done using pure water (all salts, chlorine etc taken out and water deionised) this dries totally clear on the glass. Trad methods mostly use tap water with the impurities still in it and also soap of some kind to help squeegee glide, leave all that on the window and it would dry white.

With trad it is actually the squeegee that cleans not the mop/applicator and with wfp it's the brush that cleans, the pure water just rinses the dirt away.

 
I'll just add mate no question is stupid, we've all been there at some point so ask away. I'm not that experienced myself and was asking the questions myself not so long ago.

 
Thanks Dodger for making me feel welcome and for your help!

A few more Questions for you -

  • How many 3 bed houses could be done in an hour
  • How many 3 bed houses could we expect to do an a day
  • I live in Berkshire, what would be a realistic rate to charge
  • Do you use WFP and if so how much would it cost me to buy it in

Regards

Chris

 
3 bed houses come in all different sizes, I have 3 beds that I could do in 10 mins, others half an hour!

Next question is hard to say aswell, days I could do 30-40 if Iv enough energy.. Other 10-20..

I hate trying to give prices without having something to look at! If that makes sense?

Wfp setups can be cheap if you go trolley/backpack, DIY van mounts from approx 800, plus poles, pro fits from approx £2k+

 
Thanks for that!

I am trying to work out how much income can be earned and then decide if I go traditional to start with or WFP.

I live in a 3 bed house with a single storey extension and I pay my Window cleaner £12, it takes him around 20 minutes!

 
Hi Chris

What system does your window cleaner use, wfp or trad? It's great you know it takes him 20 mins, does he do a good job?

Clean your own windows and see how long it takes you and how good they come up, from there you can roughly work out how long it would take you to do other houses and what you may be able to charge.

good luck with your venture...

 
I was trad for nearly 5 years, bought wfp about 5 months ago. I was happy enough trad but wanted wfp for high work, dodgy tops, but still trad most bottoms. I think it's good to have both! Trad your limited to what you can do, wfp will give you the opportunity to go for higher bigger and sometimes more ££ work

 
On paper there is no limit to what window cleaners can earn depending what efforts they put in but they are also limited to the amount of hours they can physically work during the year. That guy doing 3 houses an hour like yours earns himself£36 for an hour’s work before expenses & tax. Sounds great but in the real world the hardest part is getting enough regular work in the first place to earn a liveable monthly income.



Trad work looks quite easy to do but is a skill that needs a lot of practice to do well especially working from a ladder. You are also limited to what windows etc you can clean safely.

Wfp work however is reasonably easy to pick up compared to trad and in my opinion a lot safer. Also you can earn a bit more by cleaning hard to reach windows, guttering, fascias, soffits, conservatory roofs, solar panels etc. What I call a good window cleaner has the skills sets to do both as trad work is a very handy skill to have when needed especially inside work etc.

 
I was trad for nearly 5 years, bought wfp about 5 months ago. I was happy enough trad but wanted wfp for high work, dodgy tops, but still trad most bottoms. I think it's good to have both! Trad your limited to what you can do, wfp will give you the opportunity to go for higher bigger and sometimes more ££ work

Hi Belfast

I'm looking to do the same as you, what wfp system did you go with?

 
Hey deno,

I bought my set up bit by bit over a couple of weeks. I got 350 tank, pump, controller, battery, relay ( all in a pump box ) hose reel 100m 8mm, 11lt di filled, all the connections for £800. then a clx 27...

Put it together myself just

 
Hey deno,

I bought my set up bit by bit over a couple of weeks. I got 350 tank, pump, controller, battery, relay ( all in a pump box ) hose reel 100m 8mm, 11lt di filled, all the connections for £800. then a clx 27...

Put it together myself just
Cheers Belfast

I'm needing to go with an RO system as the water here in Perth is between 200 to 700 ppm depending on where you are in the city. I dont want a tank as i will mainly be doing trad, but definately see it as a great benefit to me.

The other problem here is total lack of suppliers, ionics have an outlet in sydney, a 5 hour flight away..! and future of cleaning have an outlet in melbourne or sydney, at this stage i'm considering the Ionics quattro (but it's ridiculously expensive) Future of cleaning have a new RO/Di cart coming out soon which will be much cheaper (still be about $1000 aussie dollars though) Gardiners poles seem the go, but i do like the fact that Future of cleaning Poles are both telescopic and modularscopic ( the only ones that are i believe) Do you Know if the Ionics quattro is any good?

Anyway thanks for feedback Belfast and best of Aussie luck to you...

 
Don’t want a tank? Surely using a tank got to be the best way to go instead on pushing an ro/di cart about then having to connect it up to a water supply on every job you do.

I can understand using one on large jobs like office buildings etc when using 100's ltr water but just for domestic work seems a bit of overkill to me. Have you seen this other option rather than using a cart? http://www.gardinerp...le-ro-unit.html

 
Don’t want a tank? Surely using a tank got to be the best way to go instead on pushing an ro/di cart about then having to connect it up to a water supply on every job you do.

I can understand using one on large jobs like office buildings etc when using 100's ltr water but just for domestic work seems a bit of overkill to me. Have you seen this other option rather than using a cart? http://www.gardinerp...le-ro-unit.html
Hi Smurf

Thanks for feedback, yes i have seen this unit and it is the type i'm considering.

none of the rodi carts are hard to set up, you dont push a cart about, you leave it set up near water supply so in that regard it's no different really to operating direct from a tank, if anything it's easier as your hoses are closer to the job.

I dont need to carry hundreds of litres of water about as will only be using it on upper windows on domestic jobs, but will be targeting some good size commercial jobs as well, not many people are using wfp here, ionics want 20 grand for a cheap.! van mount, another reason for going with a cart ( not sure why they call them a cart, as most are more like a trolley or simply have straps for you to carry from vehicle to water supply.

Cheers again Smurf and good luck

 
No problemo mate! I have no idea about ro systems, they look mad all them hoses, lucky my ppm was 042, if it was high enough to need ro I think I would have just stayed trad!! but ionics seem to get good reviews.

I had to get all my gear posted as closest supplier i know of was about 100miles away

Will you be always able to get to a water supply tho? Would you mount the battery/pump/controller onto the ro cart?

The day I had today.... I need some luck!!

 
I would have thought that many houses in Perth are single story houses that we refer to as bungalows in the UK.

So maybe the need for a large wfp system is not as necessary as it is over here. However, although you have compact areas where the houses as close together, there are areas where the homes are a good distance apart. If you are doing these areas, then I can't see a trolley being an ideal tool, especially in the Perth summer heat.

When I converted to WFP I thought about doing tops WFP and bottoms trad. However, as I'm 5'7" tall, I can't reach the tops of most ground floor windows without carrying a pair of steps around. As carrying steps, trad gear, hose and pole around to clean the same house didn't make sense, I opted to clean everything WFP from the very beginning.

The other option is to learn how to trad top windows with an applicator and squeege on a pole. The equipment outlay is much less and easier to carry around on a roof rack on your car along with ladders for occassional use. See all of Wagga's posts on Youtube.

I also don't know what the Australian's view would be if you coupled up to each customers tap and used their water to clean the windows. It's not the professional way to provide a service this way in the UK IMHO but I think its an accepted practise in the USA, especially as R/O systems are as common as other household appliances. If there is an acceptance there then maybe a large 4040 r/o rigged up on a trolley maybe a solution.

The trouble is most of us can't relate to the work environment you have in Perth so we can't always offer good advice. Many years ago, we communicated with a window cleaner using wfp in Cyprus. His major issue was having to rinse the windows first before cleaning them to cool them down, then wash and rinse. If he didn't cool the glass down first the windows dried too quickly and left a mess. We never have to do this in the UK.

 

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