Need advice

[AD window cleaning]

Ok lads ive got myself a wfp system. Still going to be 80% trad. But i tried the wfp for the first time on a first clean. I cleaned frames vents etc and rinsed them for ages to make sure. I also done each window twice. I was still getting dirty runs down the glass. Even on the conservatory were there was no vents. What am i doing wrong? My water is at 0ppm. I walked away after the job feeling nervous about a complaint. Any advice welcome guys. Thanks

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[AGlassAct]

Just keep rinsing! Your tickling all the built up dirt from all the nuts and crannies that wouldn't have been touched when you cleaned trad. Plus you are cleaning off all the old soap residue that's built up over the years.
Personally - and I know others will disagree - I get up close with a first clean and use a washing up type of brush to get as much of the old dirt out as possible, I also give the frames a quick magic sponge just in
case the frames are oxidised (white milky run off when rinsing). I too was nervous and couldn't believe how much water you can get through on a first clean - I use every first clean as a 'back to new' clean up and have never had an issue. Just make sure you charge a premium for first cleans - and if the are disgusting - use some form of TFR and the customers outside tap so you can rinse to your hearts content!!!


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[AD window cleaning]

Thanks mate great advice there. I rinsed for ages guess ill just have to be a little patient in future. This particular job only came in this morning so called and done it as i was close by i was in a bit of a rush tbh. I told the home owner i would called back and fix the problem if there was any. She hasnt called back so must be ok. Fingers crossed

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[spruce]

Thanks mate great advice there. I rinsed for ages guess ill just have to be a little patient in future. This particular job only came in this morning so called and done it as i was close by i was in a bit of a rush tbh. I told the home owner i would called back and fix the problem if there was any. She hasnt called back so must be ok. Fingers crossed

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I honestly think you should go back and check the job. I would rather be 100% sure than leaving the customer to complain. It will also give you valuable experience to see the results of your efforts. As you gain experience you will get to know where your first clean issues will be before you even start the job. You can't buy that experience.

 

[CleanerWindows]

Always! Rinse where soffit meets frame then clean top opener and main glass then rinse from bottom of top opener all the way down. You'll learn to see if its still got crud hanging whilst your rinsing down
And agree with AGlassAct, tfr sprayed on the brush works a treat

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[HollasSpecialistCleaningSystems]

It takes a few cleans to change a window from traditional to wfp. You can spend a lot of time and lots of water rinsing until you sterilise the window in one go. Obviously you can't leave em spotty so I tend to clean em twice. A good reach and wash scrub then ladder up and cloth off any spots, any bad areas squeegee with small amount of soap.


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[Dave B]

It takes a few cleans to change a window from traditional to wfp. You can spend a lot of time and lots of water rinsing until you sterilise the window in one go. Obviously you can't leave em spotty so I tend to clean em twice. A good reach and wash scrub then ladder up and cloth off any spots, any bad areas squeegee with small amount of soap.


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This is a complete fallacy that i read everywhere

Use the right chemical such as screwfix no nonsense degreaser and spray it on the brush

Good scrub of everything including frames

Rinse

Scrub glass again quickly

Rinse again

Perfect job every time

 

[Dazzy123]

How long is it before you have to change your Ro filter , I've had mine since new , that's about 6 years and my water still reads 0.00 ??


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What's the point of wfp if your going to clean em traditional afterwards ? I've been a window cleaner 26 years , changed to water fed pole 10 years ago , on first cleans we also clean twice , but we use two different brush heads for frames and glass , and hand on my heart we don't have any spotting , most of the time it's down to the user why spotting is there in first place .


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[spruce]

Spotting usually comes from the top frame.

So the top frame needs a good scrub and rinse along with the rest of the window. We do the windows a second time and concentrate on the glass only being careful not to splash water over the top frame.

If the top frame still has droplets of water when we start the second clean I usually put a towel over the brush head and dry it off before cleaning the glass below.

We may need to go back and redo any issues once the windows had dried. In 99% of cases that's enough to condition (sterilize) the windows and they come out fine next clean. (We clean the top frame with every subsequent clean we do.)

But some windows will always be an issue. We have a couple. The worst is our lounge window at home which I'm not too bothered about.

 

[HollasSpecialistCleaningSystems]

@dave b ,
I agree completely. Though using chemicals I class as a bit of a deep clean. I was referring more to my standard monthly clean. Which if I was to do wait, wait for it to dry and do again would take a few goes before I would be happy to leave knowing they were going to dry nice. However that is just my opinion.


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[Dazzy123]

@dave b, my water pressure comes out at 160 approx


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[AD window cleaning]

 
I honestly think you should go back and check the job. I would rather be 100% sure than leaving the customer to complain. It will also give you valuable experience to see the results of your efforts. As you gain experience you will get to know where your first clean issues will be before you even start the job. You can't buy that experience.

Nah mate i told her if she has any problems to give me a phone and i will call back and fix it. Sorry never mentioned that part. It wasnt just a case of "lets get out of here" lol

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Done a few of my houses today with the wfp. Ive still got that nervousness about it. Ill prob learn to trust it the more i do im sure.

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[spruce]

Nah mate i told her if she has any problems to give me a phone and i will call back and fix it. Sorry never mentioned that part. It wasnt just a case of "lets get out of here" lol

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Done a few of my houses today with the wfp. Ive still got that nervousness about it. Ill prob learn to trust it the more i do im sure.

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IMHO developing a good wfp window cleaning business is all about your reputation. The only way you can do that is to provide service excellence. I'm not saying you did a poor job, what I am saying is that YOU have no idea whether you did a good job or not. Just because the customer didn't phone you back doesn't mean you did a good job and they were satisfied with it. (I believe our reputation is based on our standards and not the standards of the customer.)

We have a neighbour behind us who has had a string of window cleaners who just stopped coming. I've had the job for 4 years now and there has never been an issue with payment. The problem is that all her windows are the ones with 2 fly windows above a large glass pane underneath. When we clean the windows we get a streak in the center of the glass from the top 2 openers.

Before we took on the job I knew it was going to be an issue so explained the problem before hand. Previous wfp cleaners had left a streak down the windows and she said she thought that normal. But I wouldn't find it acceptable as a service provider to leave the windows with a streak down the center. But if I had left it with her to phone me I would think I've done a good job not getting a phone call.

Before we changed to wfp 12 years ago we did a bit of traditional cleaning. So cleaning these top opener windows weren't a problem. It was only when we start wfp cleaning that we discovered a whole new world of problems with them. We only found this out going back and making sure all our first cleans were perfect before asking for money. (I've related our first experiences with wfp with a trad round we purchased that was cleaned by glass only cleaners leaving the window frames untouched for years on the site before.)

A couple of months ago we got a job in the high street across the road from a pub we clean on a Saturday morning. The downstairs lounge window is also one of these 2 openers above a large pane of glass. Once we finished we knocked on the door for payment and we also said we would be back on the way home to check them once they had dried. Sure enough we found a small streak where we expected we would.

We re-cleaned the bottom glass and we were happy. The following clean we did that house first and then did all the houses and pub we usually do. We then went back to that house to check and found the window fine. We would never have known that had we not checked our work. Once we see that window drying nicely to our standards over the next few cleans, only then will we have the confidence to clean it, get paid and walk away knowing it will be right.

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