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my first clean

gwindows

Member
Messages
143
Location
scotland
hi did my first clean with wfp which i got on friday , and was not to impressed with some of my shop windows and also my own house . a few of the shops were spotted all over and my own front top window had a kind ow streak about a foot wide, had to do it a few more times . still have the rest of my windows to do a first clean .any tips would be very much appreciated . thanks

 
The streaks would be coming from the vents.

when cleaning windows do not let the brush or water touch the vent

 
If you tell us you technique, wether you cleaned the frames, how long you scrubbed the glass, how much rinsing ect, the. We can give you some pointers.

 
All a learning curve every house is diffrent on first cleans check check and check again sometimes the seals have gone hold water then drip out a hour after clean leaving streaks.

cant stress enough the rinsing as well.

Good luck.

Geoff

 
I would suggest you reclean your house windows now and see if there is a difference. First cleans only become easier when you've been doing it a while.

First time out with WFP for me was on a new round we had just purchased. I found I had to do them once and move on and do a few more houses and then redo them again once the windows had dried. Most were fine after the second clean with the occassional window needing further attention.

Starting WFP is a major learning curve even if you have been cleaning windows trad for years. It takes time to develop those muscles and learn to control your brush at the end of a long pole.

You will need resolve to stick with it as you will ask yourelf many times why you have made the change, but once you've done the windows and left a satisfactory result the first time, the second clean will be easier and you will get quicker.

Some slowly introduced WFP over a period of time which helped with the monthly finances, but as our round was mainly dormers, we had to do them all wfp from the start.

We also learnt to do the top opening quarter windows first and only after they had dried did we do the large pane of glass underneath. That prevented that streek that runs down from the top openers.

 
If you tell us you technique, wether you cleaned the frames, how long you scrubbed the glass, how much rinsing ect, the. We can give you some pointers.
did the frames first then along the top a few times and down the sides then the whole window twice back and forth then rinsed only once . did the front windows of my house again and after third time they were ok .on some of the bottoms of the windows the water was still sitting maybe 2 inches up , do i have to give it a good scrubbing to ?

 
This was what i used to do with first cleans.

Some will say avoid vents like the plague and that this is overkill, but for me i preferred to keep on top of them and ensure everything was cleaned well. Once you get them to a decent clean level they are not to much trouble as long as they are done well.

For me i found it really frustrating and quite often found it disheartening to find after my hard work i still had some spotting etc. So i figured byt doing it this way i would ensure that were perfect and i would not get that feeling of defeat and ultimately i didn't dread first cleans!

Over time this long winded method below really was not that time consuming and eventually i adapted it but it takes time.

So for first cleans:

  • Starting at the top if you have windows above. Go from top all the way around house, then bottoms.
  • I would give the whole frame a real good scrub, this includes vents, sides, top, bottom and sill. Also a quick once over on the window.
  • Then give it all a really good rinse
  • Then cut the water flow (kink hose) shake water off brush and run it a couple of times over the top of frame and vents to get rid of that excess water which will sit there ready to drip on your windows!
  • Do the same for the rest of the frames.
  • I would then go back to the beginning and do just the windows.

So say i start on top windows, i do the above then do all around bottoms. By the time i have done this the worst of the water has gone from the top frames and i can do the windows only. By the time i have gone around the top windows only the bottoms should be ready to do and the water dripping from the top should have stopped.

It sounds really long winded i know but when i started out this seemed to ensure windows were clean every time for me on first cleans.

As time goes on you get faster and adapt. After a while i did not need to do frames first all around then windows as i slowly got used to it. What works and what does not. etc One thing i always found useful though was the cutting water, shaking water of brush then running it along top of frame to remove that water sitting on top. I did this all the time not just on first cleans.

Hope that is useful.

 
Because usually they are a lot dirtier than windows you have cleaned before.

I used to do most windows monthly and really at this period it is just maintaining them, i.e keeping on top of them, they are never that dirty when you do them once a month so you will get quicker and window will be much easier to clean.

I would say after 2-3 cleans it is pretty plain sailing after that and just keeping up the maintenance of them.

This is just my opinion and the way i did it. Others will have over time adopted their own methods they are comfortable with and work for them just as you will.

When you first start it is frustrating at times but it does get much easier and the frustration will turn into enjoyment.

On another note. Pricing is also a challenge when starting out, or so i found anyway. If their is one bit of advice i would give re this it is do not under price just to get the job. I did this a couple of times but never again.

2 hours cleaning all windows and gutters "yes sure mrs" £15! Learnt after that

 
sound advice guys

recently when cleaning mainly windows with plastic frames, last week done this house new plastic windows only been in one year

thought to myself hayho these frames will be fine went to collect totally sick leaking from the frames

doing similar to gav give them gd clean then go back brush on glass rinse just below the frame

dry brush before rinsing excess water of frames

think i will do this on all plastic frames its a pain but hopfully they will be sound

 
View attachment 2425

Thanks for all the good tips.

This is the type of window that I'm struggling with since going wfp 3 weeks ago. I get spotting on the top of the big window in the middle just below the channel between the top two small windows.

Do you thik this is because of not rinsing enough or maybe because of not scrubbing the top frames enough? Does anyone else find this a problem?

I do find it frustrating when I notice spotting after spending a lot longer cleaning them but hopefully this is due mainly to lack of experience and them being first cleans.

I find I get more spotting on hydrophobic glass. Another problem is that you don't really know if they have spotted until they have dried, by which time you have left the area.

I hate to think that my customers would be left with spotted windows which doesn't help when trying to sell the new method of cleaning to them.

How do you check if spotting is taking place?

 
View attachment 4165
Thanks for all the good tips.

This is the type of window that I'm struggling with since going wfp 3 weeks ago. I get spotting on the top of the big window in the middle just below the channel between the top two small windows.

Do you thik this is because of not rinsing enough or maybe because of not scrubbing the top frames enough? Does anyone else find this a problem?

I do find it frustrating when I notice spotting after spending a lot longer cleaning them but hopefully this is due mainly to lack of experience and them being first cleans.

I find I get more spotting on hydrophobic glass. Another problem is that you don't really know if they have spotted until they have dried, by which time you have left the area.

I hate to think that my customers would be left with spotted windows which doesn't help when trying to sell the new method of cleaning to them.

How do you check if spotting is taking place?
http://windowcleaningforums.co.uk/threads/in-your-experience.10812/

 
View attachment 4165
Thanks for all the good tips.

This is the type of window that I'm struggling with since going wfp 3 weeks ago. I get spotting on the top of the big window in the middle just below the channel between the top two small windows.

Do you thik this is because of not rinsing enough or maybe because of not scrubbing the top frames enough? Does anyone else find this a problem?

I do find it frustrating when I notice spotting after spending a lot longer cleaning them but hopefully this is due mainly to lack of experience and them being first cleans.

I find I get more spotting on hydrophobic glass. Another problem is that you don't really know if they have spotted until they have dried, by which time you have left the area.

I hate to think that my customers would be left with spotted windows which doesn't help when trying to sell the new method of cleaning to them.

How do you check if spotting is taking place?

You aren't the only one having problems with these type of windows. We have been doing some customers windows for 8 years and still have the problem you describe with the same windows.

One of the local guys dumped all his customers with these type of windows, so that's your first choice.

The problem is most evident on older windows with leaking seals. Your washing and rinsing water gets into the frame the window sits in and slowly bleeds dirty water down the glass in the center. We don't have a problem with new windows of this design.

The solution we have is to do the top windows first and leave them to dry. Once dry I return and do the bottom panels. I have a customer who lives behind us and her windows are really bad. The first house is hers although it isn't geographically the first house I would do that day. I do all her top windows on both levels including the Transom bar. Pack up the van and do the rest of the customers in the street and surrounding area. I return to hers on the way home in the afternoon and do the bottom windows only, keeping away from that Transom bar that I did earlier.

Water dripping from the top windows won't normally effect the downstairs upper windows. I get on with her conservatory while the tops drip off and then do the large pain on the bottom windows, again keeping way from that Transom bar.

We employ a similar method on other customers houses we have on the round that have the same problem.

I do know of one customer who told us not to worry. It was her choice to have that design window and she can put up with the streek down the center. Others may accept that and leave, but I still ensure the bottom window is right before a ticket goes in the door.

How do you tell if spotting is going to happen?

Next time you do one of these windows go back after a few minutes and look carefully at the water runs. If you find a whole lot of water spots running in a 'straight' line you can suspect that these will dry into spots although not always. Of you see a 'run' of water down the middle of the glass, then this will be suspect as well. Don't touch them, but just leave them to dry. Then inspect the results before you clean them. Are the spots where the water spots were before they dried? Random water spots on a window usually dry fine.

 
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Thanks for the reply tuffers and spruce. Would it not be easier and quicker doing that house trad spruce?[/
I find you get problems with 'fake' Victorian sash windows, the upvc ones with the opening window above the lower one. Nightmare if you open the window and leave it on the latch, slightly open.
 
Thanks for the reply tuffers and spruce. Would it not be easier and quicker doing that house trad spruce?
probably would be easier, quicker and less costly. However, my safety is paramount and this was the reason we stopped climbing ladders to clean windows.

Actually, it would be easier to stop doing the customer's windows as previous cleaners have done. She was one of those who accepted that those streeks down the centre of the window was the price she had to pay. I find to my downfall, that my standards are higher than those of some of my customers, but as my standards are what my reputation is based on, I choose mine.

There is also a history here. We were the second cleaners in the area to go WFP 9 years ago and alot of customer's didn't like the windows left wet. We stood our ground inspite of a minority of customers objecting. So on principle, I couldn't go back to trad.

Another reason is that the windows above the conservatory wouldn't get done unless I could master an applicator and squeege from an Unger pole, something I don't seem to be able to get right at the moment. Its also more difficult for an old dog to learn new tricks - even if the reward is a tasty morsel /emoticons/smile.png

 
Scrim it.....the problem of spotting on that frame in your pic is very more than likely that the large pane has what I call a "memory run"

What i mean by that is when it rains the two openers form a gutter if you will, so the water runs down the pane, usually on my work anyway the water has come off the brickwork 1st which adds to the mark. whereas it drips off the openers and doesn't touch the pane till it either splashes off the sill or the wind blows it onto the pane randomly.

So even if you scrub that pane to death it will still keep beading up on that memory run.

Look at a similar window from inside or ground level before cleaning it and you will see the trail/mark, its usually about 3-4mm wide and 5-7 inches long, scrubbing it will remove the dirt accumulated on it but when you rinse, immediately you'll see it beading on the same run mark.

Its made worse if when cleaning/rinsing the openers, you get water in the "gutter" inbetween the openers, so either turn the water off or swoop below it as you go between the openers, also do the openers 1st, leave them for u few minutes then suck the excess water off the seals and frame then do the bottom pane as normal, but always be aware/paranoid that you WILL have rerinse the memory run area

P.s.

Just been reading a post by you regarding stained water marks, this is what i'm on about above

 
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