Heavy tree sap on windows

[Chris34]

Not ordered the kit yet but my mother has been on at me for weeks now wanting her windows cleaned.  The windows at the front have heavy tree sap, they are next to a huge oak tree.  It can literally feel like it's raining when you are stood under the tree in summer.  Is it ok to clean windows via wfp that are caked in tree sap or will it contaminate the brush?  Will the sap clean easily off or do you use chemicals and then rinse off?

Thanks in advance,

Chris.

 

[Dave Shaw]

I have a few like this. Used to be a right ball ache when I used to trad em especially in summer but I’ve found that pure water dissolves the sap effortlessly. Just scrub a little more and rinse the hell out of em and you shouldn’t have a problem.


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[Chris34]

That's good to hear.  Would you use a separate brush for just doing these jobs or does the brush not get glued up?  Interesting that you state that these jobs were a pain when you were cleaning them traditionally, my mother has asked 4 window cleaners over the last couple of years to clean the windows, they agree to it and give her a price and then never turned up, might be because of them working trad and seeing the tree sap couldn't be bothered.

 

[Dave Shaw]

No mate, it dissolves into nothing. Just make sure you rinse well.


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[Marko067]

There's not too much stuff that gets onto windows that will contaminate a brush to the point where you have to decontaminate it. The only times you will have to do it is if there has been some form of greese or oil that has gotten on the glass.

Last year I did a job where someone had thrown some thick white greasy substance up the front of a house. It was like cooking lard. Only thing was I didn't see it on the window frame till it was too late and got it on the brush and spread it all over a window. I had to put a ton of degreasant on the brush and window and rinse like crazy to get it all off. Took ages and a ton of water.

I've also had customers use WD40 on window frames to rejuvinate them and spray it all over the glass which then gets on the brush. Again this can require a degreasant on the brush to clean it.

By far the worst thing I've got on a brush that almost destroyed it was a pigeon repellent goo the local council had used to try to remedy a bad pigeon problem one of my customers had. It was the gooeyest most mucky stuff I've ever come across and hope I never do again. Fortunately I noticed it before putting the brush back on the glass, but I had to go home and get a spare brush. since then I've always carried spare brushes with me.

I will add, these occurrencies have been rare so don't let it put you off.

 

[Pjj]

We use hot water and this desolves it well but a mix of virosol or similar will soften it up and make it a lot easier to remove especially if you are using cold water 

 

[Chris34]

Thanks for the advice guys, I really do appreciate it.  Good to hear that it's pretty straight forward.  Looking forward to giving them a go   : )

 

[DanielT]

I use Isopropyl alcohol to clean tree sap off the car. It needs washing afterwards but it dissolves it nicely.