Troublesome windows !!

[Ocahan01]

After nearly a year using wfp I’m really enjoying it and while I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered it I’m definitely confident I’m doing a good job . 
after the first few months of a couple of minor complaints and what was a steep learning curve I’ve grown in confidence and I’m happy I made the switch after 20plus years cleaning trad. 
there is though one building that confuses me . A local dentists that I’ve done around 6 times using wfp. Two times I’ve done it the windows at the front have dried with awful white streaks . 
it’s confusing as the two times it’s happened it’s been months apart . This has resulted in me having to do the front again straight away after Inspection. 
 

anyone who has any ideas why this may be happening I’d appreciate any feedback or ideas you might have . 
ive rinsed well and carefully cleaned the vents . 

 

[Martyn]

What are the frames made of ? Could be something leaching out of the frames if they are painted wood or white aluminium.

 

[Ocahan01]

What are the frames made of ? Could be something leaching out of the frames if they are painted wood or white aluminium.

White pvc, another reason why this particular building confuses me ?‍

 

[Davy G]

White pvc, another reason why this particular building confuses me ?‍

White PVC. can leach too (milky frames) though it's not that common. Especially on some older frames and especially if they face the sun. I lost sleep over that problem in my early days till an acquaintance told me how to check for it. Wet a finger and draw it down the frame with good pressure. If it is the case you should see a white residue on your finger. If so, wash scrub and rinse the whole window very thoroughly then move on to another one. Give it a few minutes to drain down then go back and rinse the glass alone from an inch or two below any horizontal frames.

This may not be the issue but it's probably worth checking.

I just has another thought... It might be soap residue being drawn out from the seals around the glass by the purefied water if they were previously washed traditionally. Soap being used as a lubricant for the rubber blade.

Good luck.

 

[Deleted member 7446]

After nearly a year using wfp I’m really enjoying it and while I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered it I’m definitely confident I’m doing a good job . 
after the first few months of a couple of minor complaints and what was a steep learning curve I’ve grown in confidence and I’m happy I made the switch after 20plus years cleaning trad. 
there is though one building that confuses me . A local dentists that I’ve done around 6 times using wfp. Two times I’ve done it the windows at the front have dried with awful white streaks . 
it’s confusing as the two times it’s happened it’s been months apart . This has resulted in me having to do the front again straight away after Inspection. 
 

anyone who has any ideas why this may be happening I’d appreciate any feedback or ideas you might have . 
ive rinsed well and carefully cleaned the vents . 

Some older 1st gen frames do have metallic fixings and pane retaining clips that suffer from corrosion and leach a milky white residue. Also aluminum tape used to seal the edges of the bond paines breaks down with time 

 

[spruce]

White PVC. can leach too (milky frames) though it's not that common. Especially on some older frames and especially if they face the sun. I lost sleep over that problem in my early days till an acquaintance told me how to check for it. Wet a finger and draw it down the frame with good pressure. If it is the case you should see a white residue on your finger. If so, wash scrub and rinse the whole window very thoroughly then move on to another one. Give it a few minutes to drain down then go back and rinse the glass alone from an inch or two below any horizontal frames.

This may not be the issue but it's probably worth checking.

I just has another thought... It might be soap residue being drawn out from the seals around the glass by the purefied water if they were previously washed traditionally. Soap being used as a lubricant for the rubber blade.

Good luck.

Our lounge window is the worst for white spots from the top frame @Ocahan01. It's a south facing window. If I rub my finger across the top frame, a white powder comes off on my fingertip. It's done that for the past 15 years.

We have another customer with one window that's also bad. I start with scrubbing the top frame first and then wash and rinse the window and the frame. Then I do the rest of the house. I then come back to that window, wipe the brush along the bottom of the top frame with flow off to remove any water droplets and then wash and rinse the glass keeping away from the top frame. I can only get that rinse definition with pencil jets. It works for that window.

Using a brush with fan jets doesn't help the problem.

 

[Davy G]

I only ever use fan jets. The method I described works fine. ?

 

[Inked]

Are you sure it's not just water marks that are only showing up when the window dries?

Also what's your rinse routine. After cleaning everything try holding the brush away from the window and holding it steady over just the top of the glass (not the frame) before working your way down the glass.

 

[Ocahan01]

What do you mean by water marks showing after it’s dried ? 
this is exactly what I want to know .. why is this happening . These marks are quite white and look like a window that has been washed and not rinsed at all. Could be left over soap residue but I’ve done the building probably 6 or 7 times and would think it should be removed by now . 
I have a very thorough rinsing routine and as I’ve mentioned this problem is unique to this building . I’m getting perfect results every time with my other regular customers . 

 

[Inked]

What do you mean by water marks showing after it’s dried ? 
this is exactly what I want to know .. why is this happening . These marks are quite white and look like a window that has been washed and not rinsed at all. Could be left over soap residue but I’ve done the building probably 6 or 7 times and would think it should be removed by now . 
I have a very thorough rinsing routine and as I’ve mentioned this problem is unique to this building . I’m getting perfect results every time with my other regular customers . 

What I should have said when I said water marks is hard water marks.

Hard water stains can disappear when wet but come straight back as soon as the window has dried.

As for the rinse ( this is hard to explain without actually showing what I mean), I don't mean just giving it a good rinse. What I mean is that sometimes the sills or dirt from the top frame can leak out and run down the window. By keeping the water rinsing just the top of the glass for a few seconds can make sure that whatever is leaking out gets rinsed before you rinse the rest of the window.

 

[Ocahan01]

Yeah I understand what you mean about the rinse , what you described is how I do it . it’s not hard water staining I’ve been a window cleaner for 20plus years so I do know them stains. 
it’s a mystery but I’m sure there’s a solution !!

 

[Inked]

Yeah I understand what you mean about the rinse , what you described is how I do it . it’s not hard water staining I’ve been a window cleaner for 20plus years so I do know them stains. 
it’s a mystery but I’m sure there’s a solution !!

Just trying to throw out some ideas 

 

[Tuffers]

After nearly a year using wfp I’m really enjoying it and while I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered it I’m definitely confident I’m doing a good job . 
after the first few months of a couple of minor complaints and what was a steep learning curve I’ve grown in confidence and I’m happy I made the switch after 20plus years cleaning trad. 
there is though one building that confuses me . A local dentists that I’ve done around 6 times using wfp. Two times I’ve done it the windows at the front have dried with awful white streaks . 
it’s confusing as the two times it’s happened it’s been months apart . This has resulted in me having to do the front again straight away after Inspection. 
 

anyone who has any ideas why this may be happening I’d appreciate any feedback or ideas you might have . 
ive rinsed well and carefully cleaned the vents . 

Vents. This could be the problem. Try leaving the vents next time and see what happens. You can get all sorts of problems with them, even soaking the inside of the property.

 

[spruce]

Has there been any cement work down above the window?  We had an issue with this when a property had some repointing done and it rained before the cement had completely cured. Again as @Inked reported, the windows looked clean when wet but when dry they were awful. 

 

[Ocahan01]

It is possible that there was cement work done as the windows were replaced a few years ago during renovation work . Thanks to everyone for their ideas and replies. Its all very helpful and hopefully through time I can sort the problem. 

 

[Chris34]

Is there any lead flashing near the problem windows?

 

[Ocahan01]

No there’s no lead near the windows. 

 

[scottish cleaning service]

anyone who has any ideas why this may be happening I’d appreciate any feedback or ideas you might have . 
ive rinsed well and carefully cleaned the vents . 

Something is leeching from above, could be vents or something with a small flat surface like the top of a vent. The moment you leave the pure begins to move down and takes the dirt with it.

Above the window I would give a good scrub and long rinse and then clean the rest of windows. Then go back and take a closer look then clean the window. In the end it all comes down to gravity.