How much water are people using?

[Danbo]

Newbie alert ... 

Started off with just doing traditional work but rapidly encountered more jobs where i had to reach over things like a conservatory or porch to access windows, which just wasn't possible from a ladder. So... I invested in a Gardiner Backpack and a Carbon Pole.

I've tried it out on my own place today, and felt like i was using a huge amount of water (Went through a whole backpack doing just front of the house - Which is 13 windows/panes (2 x Bays of 8 - 1 up one down,  and a few smaller windows)

Is this about right? Or am i using way too much? If it's right then i need to re-think the volumes of water i'm going to need!

Any tips for a newbie to WFP appreciated. 

 

[Pjj]

Sounds about right to me especially if it’s a first clean and you are new to wfp . 

 

[spruce]

Newbie alert ... 

Started off with just doing traditional work but rapidly encountered more jobs where i had to reach over things like a conservatory or porch to access windows, which just wasn't possible from a ladder. So... I invested in a Gardiner Backpack and a Carbon Pole.

I've tried it out on my own place today, and felt like i was using a huge amount of water (Went through a whole backpack doing just front of the house - Which is 13 windows/panes (2 x Bays of 8 - 1 up one down,  and a few smaller windows)

Is this about right? Or am i using way too much? If it's right then i need to re-think the volumes of water i'm going to need!

Any tips for a newbie to WFP appreciated. 

You are going to use more water doing a first clean. Now is not the time to focus on how much water you will use. You need to focus on the technique of cleaning windows wfp to begin with. The most important thing is to get those windows to dry clean with no streaks first time. You will use much more water to begin with 

My son prefers his Gardiner backpack to using a hose reel. He will empty his backpack cleaning a normal 60's built 3 bed semi front and back. But those aren't first cleans, they are maintenance cleans.

 

[AW Services]

Newbie alert ... 

Started off with just doing traditional work but rapidly encountered more jobs where i had to reach over things like a conservatory or porch to access windows, which just wasn't possible from a ladder. So... I invested in a Gardiner Backpack and a Carbon Pole.

I've tried it out on my own place today, and felt like i was using a huge amount of water (Went through a whole backpack doing just front of the house - Which is 13 windows/panes (2 x Bays of 8 - 1 up one down,  and a few smaller windows)

Is this about right? Or am i using way too much? If it's right then i need to re-think the volumes of water i'm going to need!

Any tips for a newbie to WFP appreciated. 

Are you producing your own pure water or buying it?

When starting out with wfp it's hard to gauge water volume usage.

On a first clean per window you shouldn't in theory be cleaning a window for any longer than 20s

From my flow tests for example i'm using 2.3ltrs per minute of brush on the glass cleaning and if you are working from barrels you'd need anything from 6 to 8 to sustain a fair few cleans in the day.

Next time when you clean a window count how long it takes from start to finish and post your average timings

 

[Part Timer]

You will always use extra water after following on from a cr@p trad guy. Just realised that was you ???

 

[ched999uk]

From my tests using a Gardiner Backpack and 2mm pencil jets with 10m PU pole hose I had a max of about 2.5lts per min on full flow setting. I'm a noob (6 weeks in) and have my backpack set to about 2lts/min flow rate. I know I am slow and I am trying to be very thorough. On a small newish 2 bed semi I would say I use close to a full backpack on first clean (it wasn't a bad first clean). On say a 3 or 4 bed semi with small conservatory sides I would use about 40 to 50 lts on a first clean! Next week is my first 2nd cleans so I am hoping they will be quicker (but still maintain quality) and less water use but time will tell. 

 

[NewGuy]

On a first clean per window you shouldn't in theory be cleaning a window for any longer than 20s

Obviously this is not a formula for calculating a quote ??

 

[AW Services]

Obviously this is not a formula for calculating a quote ??

No it's trying to help out a new starter with water usage

 

[Den]

Time 60 seconds and measure your flow I find my optimum flow is 2lpm when cleaning.     

 

[Danbo]

Really appreciate the amount of responses! 

Are you producing your own pure water or buying it?

On a first clean per window you shouldn't in theory be cleaning a window for any longer than 20s

I'm buying my water, Live close to a Spotless Water site which seems the most convenient at the moment , rather than invest in a set of filters as i have nowhere to put a tank at the moment.

Definitely spent longer than 20s but will time it next time.

As for storage, I'm using 4 x 25 litre containers (As well as filling the backpack) , So every time i fill up, I should have 125 litres available.

Good to see i'm not alone in the high-water use, I do wonder if there's an easier way to stop the flow, As the valve fitted inline for the hose, Is right near the end where it connects to the backpack hose, maybe i should extend the hose and try and keep the valve to hand?

If somewhere is particularly bad, would it be a good idea to hook up to a hose if available, and give everything a good scrub with normal water, before finishing off with pure? As in, would the pure be able to flush away all the "non pure" water? I'm sure this will get easier if i can get more business to justify buying a van....

You will always use extra water after following on from a cr@p trad guy. Just realised that was you ???

Hah... Yeah neglected doing my own place for a while! You'd think the windows haven't been cleaned for months... Oh wait,...

 

[Ian Docksey]

Really appreciate the amount of responses! 

I'm buying my water, Live close to a Spotless Water site which seems the most convenient at the moment , rather than invest in a set of filters as i have nowhere to put a tank at the moment.

Definitely spent longer than 20s but will time it next time.

As for storage, I'm using 4 x 25 litre containers (As well as filling the backpack) , So every time i fill up, I should have 125 litres available.

Good to see i'm not alone in the high-water use, I do wonder if there's an easier way to stop the flow, As the valve fitted inline for the hose, Is right near the end where it connects to the backpack hose, maybe i should extend the hose and try and keep the valve to hand?

If somewhere is particularly bad, would it be a good idea to hook up to a hose if available, and give everything a good scrub with normal water, before finishing off with pure? As in, would the pure be able to flush away all the "non pure" water? I'm sure this will get easier if i can get more business to justify buying a van....

Hah... Yeah neglected doing my own place for a while! You'd think the windows haven't been cleaned for months... Oh wait,...

In regard to the valve/tap , to save water just pinch the hose round and shove it up the base of your pole, that will stop the flow of water, or fit a univalve.

 

[spruce]

If the o/p has done a good job cleaning trad and wiping the frames down as best he could with every clean, then it's likely that the first clean wfp will be easier @Apw1210 But he will still need a lot of scrubbing and rinsing to flush the dirt from those corners we couldn't get into trad.

I believe that the first step is to gain confidence in the task he is performing. Once he has gained that confidence and he is getting a high standard of clean, then he can start reducing his cleaning time spent on each window. If he is spending 90 seconds on a window then he could  reduce that to say 60 seconds and check the results. Once @Danbo is comfortable with that, then try 45 seconds, etc. Rome wasn't built in a day. This is a skill that takes time to master and hone.

One of the big issues with first cleans is that you need to spend more time scrubbing. IMHO you don't need a high water flow for this, but you do need a higher flow when rinsing. I have a Varistream controller which I set on 3 for normal cleaning. If I run it on 4 I get a much quicker rinse, but I use more water during the day doing the same houses.

 

[ched999uk]

Good to see i'm not alone in the high-water use, I do wonder if there's an easier way to stop the flow, As the valve fitted inline for the hose, Is right near the end where it connects to the backpack hose, maybe i should extend the hose and try and keep the valve to hand?

I fitted a little 12v remote RF switch to my backpack so I have a remote round my neck that allows me to switch the flow on and off. It's not bad at all, works round most houses, front to back. I bough the version with 2 remotes in case I break one. When connecting it make sure you wire it so that if it becomes non functional the pump still runs ie wire it to relay contacts that are normally closed. It will mean that when you start the back pack the pump runs so you have to press button to stop. 

 

[AW Services]

I fitted a little 12v remote RF switch to my backpack so I have a remote round my neck that allows me to switch the flow on and off. It's not bad at all, works round most houses, front to back. I bough the version with 2 remotes in case I break one. When connecting it make sure you wire it so that if it becomes non functional the pump still runs ie wire it to relay contacts that are normally closed. It will mean that when you start the back pack the pump runs so you have to press button to stop. 

Sounds like a great idea ? ?

 

[Stevieboy]

Just fit an inline tap and have it fixed to your pole where your lowest hand is. Easy to turn on and off and control the flow without taking your hand off the pole. I can do a lot with 80 litres which most on here would use 300 litres. 

 

[JohnDoeWindows]

I have an 800L tank which I fill to the 600-650L mark. I normally have around 100-200L left doing 25 houses a day, sometimes I will use the lot, sometimes I'll have more left. I have my flow on 99 and wouldn't say I am careful with water.

 

[Davy G]

I reckon we do around five houses to a hundred litres on average. This is a rough estimate and includes a mix of different size domestic properties. Many with extensions or conservatories. Our flow is usually between about 50 and 70 through 100 degree fans. I expect we mostly use a similar amount once we have a regular maintenance round and a bit of experience under our belts. We do a very few small commercial jobs including a couple of shop fronts.

 

[Jaygti]

If you can hear the water fizzing off the windows, your about right??
If it sounds like a trickle , crank it up. 

 

[Davy G]

If you can hear the water fizzing off the windows, your about right??
If it sounds like a trickle , crank it up. 

That's certainly the case with fans (fizzing like a firework sparkler).
I can't say for pencils. I wouldn't entertain them. They seem like something is missing, to me. ?

 

[Danbo]

That's certainly the case with fans (fizzing like a firework sparkler).
I can't say for pencils. I wouldn't entertain them. They seem like something is missing, to me. ?

Funny you mention that, I did wonder if pencil jets were a bad choice... Cheap enough that I can change them for some fan jets if needed, but will try to persevere for now. Hopefully as experience grows, time and water taken will reduce. Still very much a part time thing until I can build up enough reliable work. 

 

[Davy G]

Funny you mention that, I did wonder if pencil jets were a bad choice... Cheap enough that I can change them for some fan jets if needed, but will try to persevere for now. Hopefully as experience grows, time and water taken will reduce. Still very much a part time thing until I can build up enough reliable work. 

I cant say from experience that pencils are a bad choice. They just never made sense to me. Why would I use a rectangular brush but only provide water through two localised pencil jets, when I need a good density of water right across the full width of the brush? Some used to rave about rinse-bars to achieve the full width of water. For me the fans do everything I want and they do it simply, without adding weight or complication. By all means experiment with different configurations and see what you prefer. They all work.