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How windy is too windy to work?

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its the nature of the beast. You have got to play the game the way the customers want or you lose them. I gained 2 bungalows because their windy was there when the weather was like this. The woman was appalled that he was trying to clean her windows in this type of weather as he used a ladder. I ended up with the job every month now. You have just got to play the game or lose it, I'm afraid. fwiw
Why did he need a ladder for a bungalow? Has John Bercow bought a window round?

 
i think today was the windiest day ive ever worked in 27 years of window cleaning!it started off ok for around an hour then hailstone showers off and on all day,bright sunshine and increasingly stronger winds resulting in 60mph gusts this afternoon......im quite sure some of my customers windows,frames and sills will be dirty again now but ive done my job of taking 4 weeks worth of muck off the windows....also its a myth that only ground floor windows get dirty in gale force wind.....i live in a 1st floor flat and mine are filthy now after the last few days of storms(i only cleaned them a few weeks ago)....

i dont think i would have worked today if my larger domestics on longer frequencies were due.....luckily its my smaller 4 weekly domestic estate stuff for the rest of the week so i just cracked on......i got a couple of brews made for me too which helped the day along a bit.....

 
We loose more days to high winds than we do to rain , a lot of our work is costal and we get a lot of high winds it whips the water off the sills back onto the windows in a circular motion when it dries it looks awful , also quite often it’s that strong you just cannot keep the pole in the air on houses let alone 3-6 storey stuff , I have nearly lost the pole a few times and the sudden gusts grab the pole this can cause back and shoulder injuries,so not worth the risks 

 
i think today was the windiest day ive ever worked in 27 years of window cleaning!it started off ok for around an hour then hailstone showers off and on all day,bright sunshine and increasingly stronger winds resulting in 60mph gusts this afternoon......im quite sure some of my customers windows,frames and sills will be dirty again now but ive done my job of taking 4 weeks worth of muck off the windows....also its a myth that only ground floor windows get dirty in gale force wind.....i live in a 1st floor flat and mine are filthy now after the last few days of storms(i only cleaned them a few weeks ago)....

i dont think i would have worked today if my larger domestics on longer frequencies were due.....luckily its my smaller 4 weekly domestic estate stuff for the rest of the week so i just cracked on......i got a couple of brews made for me too which helped the day along a bit.....
I worked in the hills above Oldham today and it was windy and sleety, pretty horrible to be honest, but dressed for the occasion, put the radio on  and cracked on with it  and yes as I write its still windy and some of them will be mucky again, that's the way it goes.

I have a gardener from May to October he comes  every other Monday (including bank holidays),rain or shine and he sometimes churns up the grass in places if it's raining, but I don't have a problem with that because I appreciate he has a business to run.

 
I bit the bullet and just went for it.  After the first house it was hail, strong winds, sunshine, did the front, then the back, came back to the front and they looked like I'd not touched the sills, bits all over them.  I was thinking of just calling it a day, but I thought if I text all my other customers now, well what will they say the next time its raining.  Then then the old lady came home and I explained that I had cleaned them the best I could but within 10 seconds bits are blowing back on the frames, I said the weathers been bad for weeks so there is no ending, she said don't worry, you've got a business to run, you crack on.  Once she said that I thought right, the rest are getting done.  

Hard day, cold and aching joints but least it keeps the money coming in.  I took my time and cleaned them just as good if not better than if it was a nice day.  If they're paying to have me clean them, I'll clean them to the best of my ability then I know there is nothing more I could have done.

Thursday is looking really bad so a no go day, then there is another storm next week, so think it's a case of working in everything except the absolute worst days.

My new line 'I've got a business to run, I can't afford to shut the shop for a month' seems to get agreement.  I think because I do a good job they probably are more accepting of it.  If I was a **** window cleaner then they might not be so accepting.

 
I worked today and it was as bad as I've ever cleaned in. A mix of sleet and rain but the wind made it a nightmare. 

Not confident that a lot turned out that great but what can you do, it's forecast all week and doesn't look any better next week. 

I didn't work Monday so need to crack on now regardless. 

 
Got everything done and 3 extra jobs so tomorrow should be easier. Don't know if it's all the heavy rain and strong winds but a lot of the gutters were clear  :dancingparty:
And had an absolute nightmare today. Blocked down pipes with screws in them so you couldn't  get the vac down the downpipe. Ladders out for 8 of them

 Expecting to finish the gutters by 11, 12 at the very latest. Pulled off site at 2.40 so didn't  have time to do my window cleaning job so 6am start tomorrow rather than 8.30 ?

The swings and roundabouts of being self employed.

 
And had an absolute nightmare today. Blocked down pipes with screws in them so you couldn't  get the vac down the downpipe. Ladders out for 8 of them

 Expecting to finish the gutters by 11, 12 at the very latest. Pulled off site at 2.40 so didn't  have time to do my window cleaning job so 6am start tomorrow rather than 8.30 ?

The swings and roundabouts of being self employed.
It goes that way sometimes, i’ve shown up to 3 bed semis expecting to be there an hour and been there nearly three hours due to severely blocked downpipes (all the way solid like a sausage) and those horrible occasions where the blockage continues underground and you then have to refer them to a drainage company. On the other hand we did an enormous house the other day with very high gutters, castle towers and everything on it, must have been 8-10 bedrooms possibly more. multiple minor repairs needed also. Looking at it you’d swear it would take two men the best part of a day but All went to plan & we were done by mid day. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Bungalows are easy to get caught out on. They are often very large Properties with huge runs of guttering on all 4 sides, usually a conny also, and because the gutters are low if there are trees above they can be in a hell of a state. Learned the hard way a few times with bungalows. On one It took two of us 4 hours and 6 Full Vac drums worth of moss and umpteen buckets of it also just to clear the gutters out. And the full hit (fascia and soffit cleaning) + conny roof & windows was another 5 hours between the two of us. 9 hour day...two of us...so 18 man hours...to say it turned in to a big job would be an understatement

 
And had an absolute nightmare today. Blocked down pipes with screws in them so you couldn't  get the vac down the downpipe. Ladders out for 8 of them

 Expecting to finish the gutters by 11, 12 at the very latest. Pulled off site at 2.40 so didn't  have time to do my window cleaning job so 6am start tomorrow rather than 8.30 ?

The swings and roundabouts of being self employed.


I just found out what was blocking my Rigid Neck when I swap over to Spinacleans carbon one. It was those green fencing wire. They paid someone to fit wire to stop the pigeons roosting. Bits of wire ended up in the gutter and stuck in the bend.

 
It goes that way sometimes, i’ve shown up to 3 bed semis expecting to be there an hour and been there nearly three hours due to severely blocked downpipes (all the way solid like a sausage) and those horrible occasions where the blockage continues underground and you then have to refer them to a drainage company. On the other hand we did an enormous house the other day with very high gutters, castle towers and everything on it, must have been 8-10 bedrooms possibly more. multiple minor repairs needed also. Looking at it you’d swear it would take two men the best part of a day but All went to plan & we were done by mid day. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Bungalows are easy to get caught out on. They are often very large Properties with huge runs of guttering on all 4 sides, usually a conny also, and because the gutters are low if there are trees above they can be in a hell of a state. Learned the hard way a few times with bungalows. On one It took two of us 4 hours and 6 Full Vac drums worth of moss and umpteen buckets of it also just to clear the gutters out. And the full hit (fascia and soffit cleaning) + conny roof & windows was another 5 hours between the two of us. 9 hour day...two of us...so 18 man hours...to say it turned in to a big job would be an understatement
We did the job last year, so I knew it, it took 3 hours and usually the following year is quicker. It took 6 hours today ?

 
And had an absolute nightmare today. Blocked down pipes with screws in them so you couldn't  get the vac down the downpipe. Ladders out for 8 of them

 Expecting to finish the gutters by 11, 12 at the very latest. Pulled off site at 2.40 so didn't  have time to do my window cleaning job so 6am start tomorrow rather than 8.30 ?

The swings and roundabouts of being self employed.




Lol yes I know what you mean , we get the same thing happen now and again I keep meaning to put some short self tapers in the van so we can replace the screws but keep forgetting!,,, 

 
Lol yes I know what you mean , we get the same thing happen now and again I keep meaning to put some short self tapers in the van so we can replace the screws but keep forgetting!,,, 
Three floors and the triples barely reached. Made it a very slow process as for safety reasons my helper had to work very slowly and the gutters went into the ground so it wasn't just the case of pushing it down the pipe

 
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