Obscure windows rinse or not?

[dazmond]

Rinsing them is best practice, however, my biggest advice, on all windows, check the state of your upstairs sills, if you can get a ladder to them. 
No amount of water fed poling is ever going to do the same job as a scrub by hand when it comes to an upstairs window sill. even if you change the brush angle and rinse a lake over it.

You may notice sometimes that you will have a problem with patio door sills where those endless pieces of crud spill out and you just need to “cloth it” or embedded stuff that needs sponging (baked on bird poo) or else youre using litres and litres of water. 
well, all this will also be on the upstairs window sills more often than not i can guarantee it. Windows may look visibly and acceptedly clean from the ground but climb the ladder and you may just have a shock. Seeing is believing and customers will open bedroom windows to check standards especially if you're a new cleaner.

its much easier to put the necessary elbow grease in to your pole scrubbing on ground floor windows, but the higher you go the less effective your elbow grease and less effective the method is. 
lichen and green algae will grow on upstairs window sills especially Where the windows are obscure in side alleys etc.

im not saying put yourself out and start worrying about window sills above rockeries, slippery decking, extensions, connys etc, but any obviously accessible window sills to a ladder are worth checking.

this is just my opinion, i probably wind a lot of people up saying this, im not trying to & dont want to annoy anybody, but competition is stiff in this game now. To get the best prices you have to stand out above average. Its also an online world, one bad review means 100 of your customers might see it and they will all start checking this and that to see whats been missed. Complaints are no longer isolated one to one private issues they are broadcast to the community. Its well worth having this in mind.

i love water fed poles, for some windows they really are the only option as you just can not get to them in any way by hand, but they do have their limits, especially at height. 
I also agree that there is no such thing as a perfectly clean window but customers expect a lot for their money these days because labor simply costs more. 
dont worry about the time youre taking, if your standards are high you should theoretically always be in demand. We put an average of 5-12 man hours on FSG jobs, i know competitors that will do a full hit (clear out gutters, clean fascias and windows in 2-3 hours) and are charging 1/3 of the price we are. but thats just not me. Im slow and meticulous and thats my comfort zone, but i’m never perfect (who can be)
budget windies are also in very high demand (there are a lot of people out there happy to pay cheap get cheap etc) doesnt bother me. it just depends which side of the fence you want to sit on. I can not do more than 2-3 maintenance cleans an hour on my own. if i was, i would be worried about my quality control. 
These are just my thoughts and i dont expect anybody else to agree with me ? because at the end of the day, i know the struggles we all go through and i love you all ?

you d make a fair bit more money if you were a "splasher and dasher"......its all about the money IMO....i couldnt care less about the upper windows sills!(not enough to get the ladders off anyway!)?......

i do an adequate job on a regular basis and im reliable...im also very fast as i want to keep my hourly rate in the £40-£80 an hour range and work the least hours possible for the most money..pure and simple....so i can live a comfortable life and enjoy my hobbies outside of work,go on luxury holidays,drive nice cars and spend time with the missus and the family without being worked to death or having to employ.....?

 

[Incheck]

you d make a fair bit more money if you were a "splasher and dasher"......its all about the money IMO....i couldnt care less about the upper windows sills!(not enough to get the ladders off anyway!)?......

i do an adequate job on a regular basis and im reliable...im also very fast as i want to keep my hourly rate in the £40-£80 an hour range and work the least hours possible for the most money..pure and simple....so i can live a comfortable life and enjoy my hobbies outside of work,go on luxury holidays,drive nice cars and spend time with the missus and the family without being worked to death or having to employ.....?

You’re right, i probably would make a lot more money. I don’t think i’ve got the best mind set for “how to make money” . People can charge low prices and have a very high turnover, i think i compete against this in my area. I probably win less work that affects turnover in a negative way
i dont judge you for it, you live once, want the best of things, etc etc.

i’m not caught up in that though. I dont own a car let alone a fancy one, i dont wear new clothes, we cant have new furniture, carpets, or holidays abroad as little un has autism (which involves destruction of property) and a holiday abroad and flying etc just wouldnt suit him hed go mad. So i dont place much value in material or luxury things. Theres food in the cupboard, a roof over the head, im blessed to have so many loved ones still around me, i’m a happy man inside. Dont get me wrong i wouldnt mind life being easier, working less hours, being a bit more financially secure etc. but i cant bring myself to resort to dropping my standard of work to get things done quicker or earn more per hour. Kind of given up on life goals, but just to be a healthy man in a healthy body does me alright ?. Battling on with the good old british stubbornness whatever odds may be against me.
my father, Grandfathers, great grandfathers, were all working men, some made it rich, some didnt, but the work ethic and doing their job to the best of their ability was always there. Each was a master of their game. However menial or important it was. Guess it just followed in the blood and i like to try and be the same.

different people, different mind sets ?‍ What more can we say

 

[Iron Giant]

Started in January, zero compaints, zero lost customers.  I'm too perfect and looking to reduce my standards.  

I spent 1.5 hours on a house yesterday that should take 1 hour.  I'm the opposite of corner cutting but if there is no difference to doing a final rinse then I have to ask, 'what is the point?'

How many bathroom windows did they have ??

 

[mike007]

As title, is there any point in rinsing the bathroom windows?  I was on a job yesterday that has 2 awkward ones that really get the arms hurting, they looked fine after cleaning but while rinsing I was thinking is there any point in going through this pain?  Only thing I can think is tiny bits on the glass but would most people even look at them?

Did you tell them your quote is to do the windows, or some of the windows!!

 

[mike007]

you d make a fair bit more money if you were a "splasher and dasher"......its all about the money IMO....i couldnt care less about the upper windows sills!(not enough to get the ladders off anyway!)?......

i do an adequate job on a regular basis and im reliable...im also very fast as i want to keep my hourly rate in the £40-£80 an hour range and work the least hours possible for the most money..pure and simple....so i can live a comfortable life and enjoy my hobbies outside of work,go on luxury holidays,drive nice cars and spend time with the missus and the family without being worked to death or having to employ.....?

Is working fast working yourself to death!!!!

 

[dazmond]

Is working fast working yourself to death!!!!

no...i only work 5 hours a day usually but make them count.....its the best way of working for me these days....with light poles,hot water and electric reel i can burn through my work at a good pace...

today im doing 3 hours and then ive got a marquee gig tonight(im a drummer in a band too)so need to get ready for that then im off on holiday to lanzarote on monday for a week....?

 

[dazmond]

You’re right, i probably would make a lot more money. I don’t think i’ve got the best mind set for “how to make money” . People can charge low prices and have a very high turnover, i think i compete against this in my area. I probably win less work that affects turnover in a negative way
i dont judge you for it, you live once, want the best of things, etc etc.

i’m not caught up in that though. I dont own a car let alone a fancy one, i dont wear new clothes, we cant have new furniture, carpets, or holidays abroad as little un has autism (which involves destruction of property) and a holiday abroad and flying etc just wouldnt suit him hed go mad. So i dont place much value in material or luxury things. Theres food in the cupboard, a roof over the head, im blessed to have so many loved ones still around me, i’m a happy man inside. Dont get me wrong i wouldnt mind life being easier, working less hours, being a bit more financially secure etc. but i cant bring myself to resort to dropping my standard of work to get things done quicker or earn more per hour. Kind of given up on life goals, but just to be a healthy man in a healthy body does me alright ?. Battling on with the good old british stubbornness whatever odds may be against me.
my father, Grandfathers, great grandfathers, were all working men, some made it rich, some didnt, but the work ethic and doing their job to the best of their ability was always there. Each was a master of their game. However menial or important it was. Guess it just followed in the blood and i like to try and be the same.

different people, different mind sets ?‍ What more can we say

when you ve been window cleaning for many years like me you stop caring as much......an adequate job is all you need to do on maintenance cleans even when your charging a good price(after the first clean in done)....

no need to bust your balls for less money....been there and done that,dont forget your running a business...you need to make a good profit.....

 

[THL4KEL]

I don't rinse frosted glass unless bird muck is on it.. It's get two scubbs in a maintenance clean, frames and sills cleaned and always look fine. 

 

[Chris34]

Did you tell them your quote is to do the windows, or some of the windows!!

It's funny you mention that, I do my quotes the majority of the time with the customer walking around the house with me as I chat to them about the clean and what to expect.  Quite often when looking up at little toilet windows and bathroom windows (more often the ones on the side of the house) they will say something along the lines of 'oh I'm not too bothered about those ones', but they never say that for any of the other windows.  Obviously I do the quote for the lot but it does show that those windows are the most likely to have less of an impact on what the customer thinks is a good clean.  It also shows the benefit of doing a walk round with the customer while doing the quote as you get a better feel for what the customer is thinking.  

Honestly the more I think back quite a few of them have even said to leave certain windows if they are down the side of the house.  I don't leave them but it does show that the customer is not really going to be bothered about them like the other windows. 

Just to reiterate I'm not saying don't clean them, I'm saying if there is no visible difference to giving a final rinse then what is the point.  It's not so much the time, it's more the strain that it saves.  

Anyway thanks for the comments, it's clear that there is more split opinion than Brexit about this one.  On the difficult to reach windows I think I'll give the no rinse a go and see what happens.

 

[Davit]

I tend to 'rinse on' with frosted glass.

I've never been able to spot any issues doing them that way, even once they've fully dried.

 

[Davy G]

Is working fast working yourself to death!!!!

Probably not, I'd guess. Efficiency means faster, easier, getting finished and getting home. I'm 63, I work like a demon with my son. I match him stroke for stroke from a well kitted and thought out van. I do a full, fast day and I mostly get home a bit tired, but buzzing with satisfaction. 

Fast, light handed working, with efficient long strokes uses far less energy than short slow laborious wìndow scrubbing. Scrubbing is only needed when there is staining from spiders, plant residue and birds etc.