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!

Bits on window cills. How to get rid of them faster?

G

Gazz K

Wondering how to wash out those bits faster from the space / cleft between the window and the cill. I use so much water and take so much to do this on a first clean. It's getting on my nerves. Any tips on how to do this more efficiently would be appreciated

 
If the customer has a garden hose i sometimes blast the gaps out round the back of the house before cleaning the window.. especially on conservatories 

Makes life a bit easier

 
Wondering how to wash out those bits faster from the space / cleft between the window and the cill. I use so much water and take so much to do this on a first clean. It's getting on my nerves. Any tips on how to do this more efficiently would be appreciated


I understand your frustration. Sometimes you can spend more time flushing the muck out of the gap than cleaning their windows.

Some windows aren't a good fit, whether that's because they were poorly made or the frames poorly measured before the windows were made and fitted. Most of those bits are algae growth where water sits because the sills haven't a good slope for it to drain away. Some sill even slope backwards into the frame. Some of its is also from spider activity. (My son says that window cleaning day is also spider's bin day.)

What do you do? I sometimes think we can be our own worst enemy - this is my own experience. Sometimes we strive to do a 100% job when actually our customers are happy with less.

A number of years ago now a local windie told me he was looking for customers who were happy with a 90% job. That shook my inner core as it went against the principle I believed in of supplying service excellence. He went on to say that he believed it could take more than double the time to clean from 95% to a 100% standard. The customer won't pay you double so why do you do it?

After thinking about it I tried to work out what extra valve that 5% was that was taking double the time. It was all the time I spend trying the flush the muck out of the sills.

We have a couple of houses where this is particularly bad. So we wash the upper windows and then wash the sills. I then switch the water off and wipe the sills with the brush. I then lower the brush flip a dry towel over it and wipe the sill again. If there are any bits left behind that's tough.

We do the same with bottom windows but we put a dry/damp towel over the sills when we are finished and wipe them down by hand. If there are any bits left behind in the sill gap, they stay there.

We have being doing this for the past 5 years and haven't had 1 complaint. I believe we often set the bar too high ourselves.

I'm not saying that we must provide a poor service, its just we can spent too much time messing on with the fine detail that doesn't mean much.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
i agree spruce , i get as much off as possible turn the water off and give it a brush over, i never leave anything visible but im sure stuff probably leaks out after ive gone  but the customers are always happy which is what counts, i've thought about clothing them but never bothered. i find fan jets are much better for sills than pencils were though 

 
Most ledges I wipe with the brush but with the flow turned off after the windows have been cleaned. If the muck is excessive on the ledge then I use a 4" squeegee that I keep in a pocket followed by a microfibre. I seldom have to do more.

 
Most ledges I wipe with the brush but with the flow turned off after the windows have been cleaned. If the muck is excessive on the ledge then I use a 4" squeegee that I keep in a pocket followed by a microfibre. I seldom have to do more.
I'm sure you mentioned that before Mark, I have done the same ever since I read that comment before it's a good tip.

 
A number of years ago now a local windie told me he was looking for customers who were happy with a 90% job. That shook my inner core as it went against the principle I believed in of supplying service excellence. He went on to say that he believed it could take more than double the time to clean from 95% to a 100% standard. The customer won't pay you double so why do you do it?

After thinking about it I tried to work out what extra valve that 5% was that was taking double the time. It was all the time I spend trying the flush the muck out of the sills.

We do the same with bottom windows but we put a dry/damp towel over the sills when we are finished and wipe them down by hand. If there are any bits left behind in the sill gap, they stay there.


It's the law of diminishing returns. 

I generally clean a 3 bed semi in 15 mins or so. I've cleaned my own in 5 minutes and when I checked the windows they were almost perfect except a couple of small water spots near the top frame in a couple of windows. I think we could get away with a lot mote than we do but it's hard to not be a perfectionist when it's your own business.

 
Sometime those 'bits' run out onto the ledge after you've left as well. I've had one or two that have commented on it.  However, what they don't always realise is, it's actually a good thing even though it looks unsightly. 

That gap between window frame and ledge is supposed to be there. There are drain holes in the bottom of the frame to allow any water that gets inside the frame to drain out otherwise it'll fill up and possibly cause early failure of the double glazed unit.  If you never flush the bits out from under the frame they will eventually block up the drain holes.  So from the customer's point of view it's actually a good thing but if the bits run out after you've left and leave a messy looking ledge they don't always see it that way.  However, most are more than happy with dealing with it as I described above.

 
Back
Top