water fed pole equipment

[Suhrly]

Sexist lol, Old timer does have a point ?

'Old Timer' ?

Careful @Den @Part Timer is a very sensitive soul ?

 

[Part Timer]

'Old Timer' ?

Careful @Den @Part Timer is a very sensitive soul ?

I am old ? but @Denain't far behind ?

 

[steve garwood]

Sexist pigs!

Reminds me, yesterday morning my wife was cooking my breakfast when I heard a sudden thump. I run into the kitchen to find my wife collapsed on the floor unconscious, I didn’t know what to do and was about to panic.

Then I remembered, Wetherspoons do an all day breakfast for £4.99 ??

 

[spruce]

I don't want to sound rude or sexist, I'm probably being both, but to hump backpacks and 25 litre drums in and out of a car is very hard work. Put on top of this the walking and pushing a pole up and down all day might be a bit much. Unless you can get a system where you can transfer the water out of drums in to the backpack then a tank is the only feasible option in my sexist opinion.

I find lifting a 25 liter container full of water heavy. I do on rare ocassions use the backpack for the odd window but even with the handle is not easy for me to carry these days. There is no way I would expect a lady to do it even if that does sound sexist which I don't mean it to be.

When you start to consider using a car then lifting water containers is going to be part of it. If @erain has children then she needs a car. If she doesn't then she might consider selling the car and buying a van. 

But before I started on my own I would try to find a trustworthly fellow wfp windie and ask if I could tag along with him for a few days for work experience. Going in wfp is a big investment and one needs to be fully committed to doing it.

Window cleaning wfp isn't like the old days when we purchased a set of ladders, an applicator and squeegee and some scrims for £300 and then went in search for business, cleaning as we knocked on doors.

I'm also going to tread a route that not many would have the guts to bring up for obvious reasons. Bathroom breaks are much more difficult for women than men. I can dive into the back of the van and pee into a bottle which I have to do numerous times a day as I have prostate issues. I couldn't work out of a car or small estate for this very reason. The other issue is that the local council is hell bent on closing facilities. There was an outcry from the public so they now close a lot of them in winter to save money. Its in winter when I need them the most.

 

[Beccy]

I will agree with you guys to some extent about the weight of the barrels.... After I followed the Jimmyboots tutorial and made my trolley, I ran WFP from the back of a Fiat Panda for a good few months. It was really hard work. I could do it, but it wasn't at all enjoyable. It served its purpose though and helped my build my round until buying a trailer and getting a tow bar was achievable.

Spruce also makes a good point about bathroom breaks. Our council has just closed all the public loos in our town. For me it's not too much of an issue as the town is small so if I'm in town I can pop home within 3 or 4 minutes if needed. If I'm out of town then it's the Highlands so very rural and sparse population so there's always an opportunity for a wild pee ? I suppose one benefit for a girl in this position is that I feel most customers would happily let me use their bathroom, which might not be so much the case for guys.

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[Nudel]

Saying you can't lift barrels in and out of a car because you're a woman is just nonsense. When I started out cleaning windows many moons ago I was just a scrawny nerd with zero upper body strength. I couldn't carry two buckets of water 100 meters without a break.

As you do the work you will build the muscles needed. If you want a boost join a gym and lift some weights.

My wife had no issues lifting barrels or doing wfp work when we worked out of our car.

Not saying lifting 25l barrels all day is a good solution compared to a van system, but it will work just fine if that's what's needed to put food on the table.

 

[steve garwood]

Saying you can't lift barrels in and out of a car because you're a woman is just nonsense. When I started out cleaning windows many moons ago I was just a scrawny nerd with zero upper body strength. I couldn't carry two buckets of water 100 meters without a break.

As you do the work you will build the muscles needed. If you want a boost join a gym and lift some weights.

My wife had no issues lifting barrels or doing wfp work when we worked out of our car.

Not saying lifting 25l barrels all day is a good solution compared to a van system, but it will work just fine if that's what's needed to put food on the table.

No one said it a woman couldn’t lift the barrels. What was said was, most of the time a man is stronger than a woman (fact), so most women would find it tougher than most men.

Nothing sexist about that.

 

[Nudel]

No one said it a woman couldn’t lift the barrels. What was said was, most of the time a man is stronger than a woman (fact), so most women would find it tougher than most men.

Nothing sexist about that.

You are right, of course. Sorry, i might have been carried away a little and read more between the lines. Just doesn't want someone to come on here and get discouraged.

It's a pretty tough job what we're doing, for both men and women.

 

[Skxawng]

While the average woman may find it more difficult than the average man to lug 25l barrels around, not many of either sex find it easy.

It's a risk to pulling your back also. (I worked out of a car for a couple of years with barrels and did my back in once, also punched myself in the face picking up an empty one expecting it to be full! ? )

A better way is to have the empty barrels in the boot and pump the pure water into them directly in the car. Then use a small transfer pump to fill your backpack/trolley. No lifting needed ?

 

[spruce]

You are right, of course. Sorry, i might have been carried away a little and read more between the lines. Just doesn't want someone to come on here and get discouraged.

It's a pretty tough job what we're doing, for both men and women.

I don't believe anyone on here would purposely try to discourage anyone from joining the window cleaner ranks. But we also need to explain to newcomers the cons as well as the pros. We have all been there and done it. Many of us have experienced all sorts of hurdles that we didn't expect to have. 

One of the local windies had his van written off by a Polish driver who suddenly forgot which side of the road he was supposed to drive on. He worked out of the family car whilst the insurance company finally tracked the driver's employer down and he accepted responsibility for the damage his employee had caused. That took over 3 months. Even although this windie had a thick plastic sheet down in the car, it stank of damp with condensation issues everywhere. Had I worked out of my car, it would never have given this a thought.  

I do agree that this is a tough job even with not having to climb ladders.

 

[erain]

Thanks all, all this advice!

What a great forums this is. I am getting a much better idea of what is and isn't possible from you all.

Beccy, ATM I am still self employed as a contract cleaner and cleaning windows is part of the job, apart from higher up windows. I just use warm water and glass spray, But have never used the modern technics before.

 

[Suhrly]

When I first transitioned over to WFP from Trad, I remember trying it out for the very first time on my own windows. I used my Gardiner SLX22 with an Ultimate brush so quite a light setup. After cleaning my own windows all around, I honestly questioned myself if I could actually do this all day long. It certainly flashed through my mind I had made a terrible mistake. I definitely had a wobble. I'm 12 stone and I'm not skrawny, but I'm also no body builder either, just average. After doing WFP now for 8 months it is somewhat easier as your body and muscles adapt and grow stronger. However after a full days work, I STILL feel like I've had a good session in the gym. Trad cleaning works your legs up and down that ladder, but WFP certainly gives your upper body a good workout each day! It ain't easy that's for sure! But there's only one way to find out..best of luck @erain whatever you decide to do. Plenty of help on here should you need it.