First cleans per month

[Spit & polish]

As a one man band (about a year in) i find first cleans are hogging my time,

As most frames are green i clean and then look grey on sills (so upvc clean the sills)
How many first cleans do you guys/girls get through a month?
As i picked up 8 jobs in 2 hours canvassing the other day but some first cleans might take me 2 hours.

 

[Pjj]

Are you trad or WFP ? It will take longer on the first clean (WFP) we allow twice the amount of time for a regular clean , we don’t do restoration but will remove all algae, moss, and dirt , we either use a virosol or hypo mix if bad but if not to bad just use hot water . We are well established and it’s difficult to estimate how many first cleans we do per month an average modern 3 bed semi on a first clean shouldn’t take us more than 25-35 muinits, obviously bigger houses will take longer .

 

[Part Timer]

The time spent now is an investment for your future. If you're struggling, time wise, then stagger your 1st cleans.
Couldn't possibly advise on time taken unless I can see the job.

 

[ched999uk]

I try and do first cleans last on each day, as the evenings are light you can work later.
It's always a balance as to what a 'first clean' should be, I like to do the best job I can and I do go too far but at the moment I have time to do that. I do try and manage customer expectations and if it's very bad I will charge a first clean price as I don't mind a bit of extra time but there are limits.

As @Pjj said a first clean target time should be about twice as long as a regular clean. So maybe think what you can do in the extra time but limit yourself a little otherwise you will be running out of time to do your repeat work!
That said I did one the other day and when I finished I realised it had taken me 90 mins! I would hope to do the regular clean in 30 mins or so! I still can't really work out how it took me so long!! Custy was very happy though.

 

[Spit & polish]

I am wfp @Pjj , normally soap up all the frames and glass scrub it, rinse, sponge scourer the black left if its not been done in a while then rinse again.

Moving on to next window once that window is done i upvc creme the 1st sill.

As @Part Timer says i see it as a long term in lnvestment
but it really digs into my time.

Considering trying razorwash etc on first cleans for stubborn mess on frames see if it speeds it up.

 

[moto]

Charge accordingly.

 

[AllGleam]

I did 6 first cleans in a day with WFP method to get a small round setup, started at 9 finished for about 3.30 afternoon bloody killed my shoulders tho and back of my neck worth it tell inwas getting older lol

 

[AllGleam]

I also leave a day or 2 spare for add ons like conny roofs or facias etc gutter cleans or for generally first cleans

 

[mike007]

As been stated before, a first clean is different to a restoration clean. I certainly would not spend much longer per window on normal first cleans . Though I do use chemicals if required which takes time to dwell etc. If you start using pink stuff etc you are starting the restoration route. You need to give them 2 prices one for normal first clean (If you charge different to maintenance cleans) and secondly for a restoration clean.

 

[Pjj]

As been stated before, a first clean is different to a restoration clean. I certainly would not spend much longer per window on normal first cleans . Though I do use chemicals if required which takes time to dwell etc. If you start using pink stuff etc you are starting the restoration route. You need to give them 2 prices one for normal first clean (If you charge different to maintenance cleans) and secondly for a restoration clean.

We don’t give them a choice just say first clean will be xxx regular clean after that will be xxx if they accept it we then use what’s needed to clean the job either just hot water , or virosol , or hypo sprayed on scrubbed in and rinse , this will remove all known dirt but not pain , silicone , cement that’s a builders clean in my books and we don’t do them .

 

[Part Timer]

We don’t give them a choice just say first clean will be xxx regular clean after that will be xxx if they accept it we then use what’s needed to clean the job either just hot water , or virosol , or hypo sprayed on scrubbed in and rinse , this will remove all known dirt but not pain , silicone , cement that’s a builders clean in my books and we don’t do them .

And that is your method @mike007 is saying how he does it, no need to criticise his methods just because you do it a different way. Believe it or not there are other ways than yours you know.

 

[Pjj]

And that is your method @mike007 is saying how he does it, no need to criticise his methods just because you do it a different way. Believe it or not there are other ways than yours you know.

Ime not criticising his methods just saying how we do it , keeping it very simple letting us decide how we do the job rather than giving the customer to many options , as it might confuse sum

 

[Part Timer]

Ime not criticising his methods just saying how we do it , keeping it very simple letting us decide how we do the job rather than giving the customer to many options , as it might confuse sum

You are, you'd already posted how you do it then quoted his post and criticised him by doing so.

 

[Chris34]

I used to degrease all the frames and windows with screwfix degreaser, then clean them with pure water, then do the sills with pink stuff and a magic sponge.

For about the last 6 months I've just cleaned them twice using pure water, I'll clean one set of windows quickly but thoroughly trying to remove most of the dirt downwards, then I'll do the same with the next set of windows, then I'll come back to the first set and give it a 'more perfect' clean. It just allows dwell time to soften any stubborn dirt on the glass. I finish off by giving all the sills on the ground floor a scrub with a magic sponge and the pink stuff.

I find they're more than happy with the results and it's a lot faster than using degreaser. Finishing off the sills bringing them white with pvc cleaner just gives the 'wow' effect which is what you need to gain their trust that you can do a great job.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I used to degrease all the frames and windows with screwfix degreaser, then clean them with pure water, then do the sills with pink stuff and a magic sponge.

For about the last 6 months I've just cleaned them twice using pure water, I'll clean one set of windows quickly but thoroughly trying to remove most of the dirt downwards, then I'll do the same with the next set of windows, then I'll come back to the first set and give it a 'more perfect' clean. It just allows dwell time to soften any stubborn dirt on the glass. I finish off by giving all the sills on the ground floor a scrub with a magic sponge and the pink stuff.

I find they're more than happy with the results and it's a lot faster than using degreaser. Finishing off the sills bringing them white with pvc cleaner just gives the 'wow' effect which is what you need to gain their trust that you can do a great job.

I used to clean the windows twice but now I have another procedure. I spray plenty of hot pure water on all the windows before I begin. This softens all the dirt before I get stuck in to scrubbing the windows. After this I go back round and just clean the glass. Next clean I will scrape ground level windows and use pink stuff on the front door. If I have time I will clean the front door with pink stuff at the beginning. It seems to make a big impression on the customer when they notice it.