Starting up working from car with wfp

[Hyzer373]

Right, I’m having trouble with roof racks for my car so I’m looking at getting a water fed system but it would need the back pack thing (tank to hold water) with it as I don’t have a van etc, something like this but preferably cheaper and good reviews  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Window-Cleaning-Water-Fed-Poles-Telescopic-Extendable-Clean-Brush-Backpack/263675797461?epid=1961948999&hash=item3d644d5fd5:m:moV_hlSHf1_a1ahvubVpnSg:rk:23f:0

Can anyone recommend a good system to buy that’s a decent price and works well? 

 

[Joshyouare]

That eBay listing you've linked is a cheap pole. You'd probably need to spend a bit more to get something decent. 

Backpacks all do the same thing - gardiner do a good one. Think it's just over 100 pounds with tax etc.

For a pole, if you're on a tight budget, buy a second hand one in decent condition. That pole on the eBay listing I'm guessing will be heavy and not the best quality - I mean it comes with a squeegee attachment. 

Have you thought about how you're going to get pure water yet?

What car is it? Most cars have roof racks available.

 

[dasslr1]

alright bud , welcome .   the back pack in the link is fine to use but you will soon get fed up of refilling it (holds 16ltr ). the pole it comes with mmmm is fine for now but its heavy and when fully down is still bigger then 5-6 ft so awkward to carry all day and awkard for doing the bottom windows .cleaning with It all day will strain your arms .   what I suggest and ill try put links up in a min is it make your own trolly system ,get some 25ltr barrels .and a better pole .

 

[Hyzer373]

That eBay listing you've linked is a cheap pole. You'd probably need to spend a bit more to get something decent. 

Backpacks all do the same thing - gardiner do a good one. Think it's just over 100 pounds with tax etc.

For a pole, if you're on a tight budget, buy a second hand one in decent condition. That pole on the eBay listing I'm guessing will be heavy and not the best quality - I mean it comes with a squeegee attachment. 

Have you thought about how you're going to get pure water yet?

What car is it? Most cars have roof racks available.

Do you have link to any good ones?

sorry to be a pain I’m really not sure with backpack systems etc.

I will get water from taps at home then bring a barrel or two in my boot.

there are roof racks that can be fitted but like £90-110, so I’m thinking I’d rather get a system and not use ladders.

 

[dasslr1]

I had that pole in the link when I first started  minus the squeegee bit lol  worst pole iv had   the second pole I got was this in the link https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Window-Cleaning-DIY-Water-Fed-Pole-TELESKOPIC-AL14-18-22-FACTORY-SECOND-/223139925985?var=&hash=item33f42d0fe1      bit of a warning in the info on it  it says not for regular use I only saw that after I bought it ...lol. having said that I used it everyday for two years never had a problem with it 

 

[Hyzer373]

alright bud , welcome .   the back pack in the link is fine to use but you will soon get fed up of refilling it (holds 16ltr ). the pole it comes with mmmm is fine for now but its heavy and when fully down is still bigger then 5-6 ft so awkward to carry all day and awkard for doing the bottom windows .cleaning with It all day will strain your arms .   what I suggest and ill try put links up in a min is it make your own trolly system ,get some 25ltr barrels .and a better pole .

Thanks for the reply mate. I don’t know about all these backpack systems so I found this one which looked ok, I didn’t even know it would be 5-6ft when down (would maybe struggle to fit in my car)

Making my own system I wouldn’t have a clue, would I then need a pole obviously without the backpack etc

 

[dasslr1]

will get water from taps at home then bring a barrel or two in my boot.

you know you cant use tap water on windows it leave spots

 

[Hyzer373]

you know you cant use tap water on windows it leave spots

I didn’t know this at all

I had that pole in the link when I first started  minus the squeegee bit lol  worst pole iv had   the second pole I got was this in the link https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Window-Cleaning-DIY-Water-Fed-Pole-TELESKOPIC-AL14-18-22-FACTORY-SECOND-/223139925985?var=&hash=item33f42d0fe1      bit of a warning in the info on it  it says not for regular use I only saw that after I bought it ...lol. having said that I used it everyday for two years never had a problem with it 

That pole looks good, all the other stuff on it like the clips and bolts I wouldn’t know what they are for, I have never used a water fed system before

 

[dasslr1]

yes youll have to either buy the pure water or make your own … the clips on the pole are just there for when you extend the pole then you close the clips and the pole stays extended   .   and heres a guy to show you a trolly . on you tube he has a few vid showing you how to do it 

 

[Iron Giant]

As above you need pure water not tap water if there isn't a spotless water supply near you then you will be looking at spending £100's on a Reverse Osmosis system to produce pure water as I pretty sure Birmingham is a hard water area. 

 

[dasslr1]

I collect rain water and use a di vessel and resin  to bring the tds in the water down to 000 ……. lol I bet you didnt think there would be so much to think about loll    itll all seem confusing at first but youll get there dont be put off . in 6 months youll be telling others what you've learn and what not to do lol 

 

[Hyzer373]

Bloody hell there is a lot more to it then I thought yes lol cheers for the video @dasslr1 I have to say that looks really complicated to do I think I would rather just get the complete kit together than try build one

 

[dasslr1]

thats up to you bud    I was shitting it when I built mine years ao   but really its a piece of cake lol  tool box , battery , flow controller , pump, hoses  hose reel and pole .  just put them all together haha I know that easy for me to say now but it is easy .  carry on doing some research youll be ok 

with the gocardless thing    all I do is .. set your self up with gocardless    and I get the info off the customer  name address mob number and email with the email I send them a link to gocardless ...they fill in there details and bank details . they dont need your details and youll never see there details . do the clean and take money out of there account soon as I get home .itll come out there bank 5 days later .

 

[Joshyouare]

Bloody hell there is a lot more to it then I thought yes lol cheers for the video @dasslr1 I have to say that looks really complicated to do I think I would rather just get the complete kit together than try build one

I would say your next step is to buy a TDS meter and research window cleaning for a few days - pure water definitely doesn't come out of taps! ?

 

[Hyzer373]

I would say your next step is to buy a TDS meter and research window cleaning for a few days - pure water definitely doesn't come out of taps! ?

I worked for a window cleaner for 2 years back in like 2007, he just used tap water with soap & white vinegar, ladders with chaimos leather and scrim, he had a decent customer base and they were all happy with his work ?

 

[dasslr1]

ah if you doing squeegee and mop tap water s ok   if your doing WFP  it has to be pure .    with the traditional squeegee mop and ladders your taking the water off .. if your WFP  your leaving the water on so there has to be no tds in the water so it can dry clean  

 

[Tango]

to me and you it may not be worth it. 

but what if their work is all cash and they claim benefits for being "unemployed". 

It'll catch up with them at some point. Trust me, I used to work for the jobcentre / DWP / Benefits Agency / Whatever moons ago. They run all sorts of data matching systems that compare peoples known of money - eg tax paid via employment while claiming JSA and being out of work will flag up as naughty. Various other things eventually surface too.

Moons ago a girl i used to know as a kid (and not really get on with great) was working cash in hand at a turkey plucking place a few months before xmas. I had no idea what she was doing at the time. BFIS (Benefits Fraud Investigation Service) decided to go and do a random spot check of the place. Not only did they find loads of illegal workers there (claiming asylum) they found loads of JSA claimants, sick claimants, income support claimants etc - all of which thought it was easy money. Needless to say the girl i knew was one of them. I had to laugh as she was a cocky one and her mum had caused problems for my family too (and the mum had also been busted by the fraud dept previously lol - and it was a big fraud too forcing her to sell a property).

What annoyed me a while back though was seeing a couple of poles filling up their diesel Audis with red derv while the rest of us have to pay excise. If we went and did that in their country they'd be livid but because it's soft touch britain..

 

[Hyzer373]

ah if you doing squeegee and mop tap water s ok   if your doing WFP  it has to be pure .    with the traditional squeegee mop and ladders your taking the water off .. if your WFP  your leaving the water on so there has to be no tds in the water so it can dry clean  

So I guess this is even more money and hassle, I’d need to find a pure water source nearby? and keep spending and going back there each day? How much are they?

has anyone actually ever used tap water in a wfp? Does it damage the system at all? You say it don’t look clean when dry?

could you not the system will normal water with soap on the windows then use the squeegee blade on the end of the wfp to take water off?  

 

[Tango]

Might as well just use a non water fed pole for that then if you want to do it traditional with a long pole lol.

Water fed is about taking the hassle out of cleaning right?

I bought 6 25L water containers from ebay for just under £30. That's 150L storage. The jury is still out on how long it can be kept, some say a few weeks, i read one person saying they've kept it years so i'm not going to worry too much for a fortnight about mine sitting there while building up business.

For the water itself, my local supplier charges £100 a month for an access card and unlimited water. I couldn't justify that yet so he's said i can PAYG for £10 a time when he's on site. Might work out £mega more per litre than the unlimited version but that's still pence per litre. 

 

[Hyzer373]

Might as well just use a non water fed pole for that then if you want to do it traditional with a long pole lol.

Having to use the pure water has honestly put me off going wfp slightly, I’m considering just getting a long non water fed pole Or could I buy one that is water fed but just use it like a trad pole? 

 

[Joshyouare]

Having to use the pure water has honestly put me off going wfp slightly, I’m considering just getting a long non water fed pole Or could I buy one that is water fed but just use it like a trad pole? 

You're making it harder for yourself by doing all that, your two choices pretty much are:

1) Ladders, Roof Rack. Mop, Squeegee. (traditional method - which you can use tap water for).

2) Water Fed Pole, Backpack, 25l Drums, some way of getting pure water.

Yes, I guess you can buy a brush for the frames and then a traditional pole. I used a brush for the frames of a job when my WFP gear was coming and the results just weren't great - it also takes a lot longer. The Traditional Pole takes a bit of time to master, and if you're not going WFP you want to be up there for first cleans really.

Just going on my experience; try searching for these things on google and youtube, might make it a tad easier to understand:

1) Moerman excelerator fliq

2) DI Vessel

3) Reverse Osmosis System

Option 1 might cost you 200 - 250.

Option 2 might cost you 240  280 if you need a DI Vessel Set up or 300 more if you need an RO. (I believe that's about what it is for an RO)

You really need to get a TDS meter and see what your TDS is first, because for me, the difference between needing an RO and not needing one would be quite big. For the sake of a few quid though - I wouldn't recommend going down the traditional route. Houses that used to take me 45 mins, I can do in 20 minutes now I've switched.