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Windows keep smearing help urgently please

jordan

Member
Messages
71
Ive been window cleaning for only 4 weeks now and have 40 customers which is great problem is every day so far ive done a good job but yesterday the sun came out and i had lot's of customers ringing me saying there windows are so smeary.I went and had a look and it's kind of left a dirty film behind ! i don't know what i'm doing wrong i use morning fresh washing up liquid 4 sprays into a bucket of warm water and i spray the liquid onto the applicator maybe im using too much but it doesn't look like it. I've been using my applicator for 4 weeks and i havent been rinsing it out every house so sometimes its just drying with the liquid on after then use it the next day but surely this wouldn't matter as the squeegee does the job of taking everything off i have a Unger squeegee with new rubber.My neighbour said you should only clean windows with hot water but i don't believe that.Im changing my water after every house but because there all first cleans im cleaning the frames/glass then the waters getting dirty fast im using the traditional method with ladder as i dont have enough money yet for wfp.Ive got customers all this week and probably most of my other customers are not happy so can someone give me SOME GOOD ADVISE PLEASEEEEE!!!

 
Proper Fairy liquid, i use cold water, no fairy on the applicator and a 3 sec squirt into the bucket. as u say you are doing frames and sills as well which are dirty so changing water every house is a good thing. Might be a good idea to do the window glass twice to make sure especially on a first clean and if they are minging.

 
Leave off putting the morning fresh straight onto the applicator. Sounds like too much soap on the glass and you're not blading the excess soap off.

Try it on your own house this morning and see how you get on @jordan.

 
A combination of too much soap and working in direct sunlight. I don't know why some wc's put soap directly onto their applicator, it's mad. Some swear by it but, that's because they're mad /emoticons/smile.png

I fill my bucket half full with hot water before I leave the house and then I rarely and I mean very rarely change water after that. I throw my applicator into the bucket as this stops it from splashing in my car and I don't add any soap until I reach the first customer and then it's a couple of squirts of fairy to add to the soap that's already come off my applicator during transit.

It's rare but there's only been a couple of occasions when I've reached the first window and thought 'I need abit more soap' and have added another squirt. It's better to be under than over, keep that in mind. You'll soon tell when you don't have enough as your glide will be too grippy. You shouldn't be adding anymore soap after that, it'll last you the day/bucket fill.

I suspect that your main problem is the sun, we have to work that little bit harder in direct sun to ensure we do a good job. Water onto a hot surface instantly starts to dry. Now you may think you're squeeging before it dries but often, the slime process has already started. The thing is, the water on the hot surface starts reacting with the dirt/soap etc, absorbing it and turning that water into a gravy or slime....it's simply 'cooking'. So by the time you start squeeging, you really need more water to rinse everything away thoroughly.

Keep your appicator wet, but less soap is better in direct sun. Let's say you're cleaning an average window made up of two opener's each side, a middle pane and a small opener at the top. Normally I would soap each pane, squeegee and then detail. However in direct sun, I will soap the two openers first and then squeege them. Then I'll tackle the small opener and middle pane. This ensures that I'm working with water rather than slime. It's a little bit slower but quicker in the long run as I'm fighting smears otherwise. And always position your head to the side on the final wipe so you can see the very surface of the glass to check for smears.

Stop depending on soap, it's added just to give you slip and help abit with the birdmuck. In cold conditions I will normally soak my applicator before I start the first window and then the moisture in my bucket on belt will normally be enough for the whole house. In the sun, I soak my applicator once for the front and again for the rear(give or take a dip). I use the monsoon cover by the way which is the green/white striped.

First time cleaning will require more bucket dips especially in direct sun as not only is there more grime to remove but, because you're taking longer, the water again is thickening and turning to slime while it sits on the glass.

Hope this helps...

Mart.

 
ditto tuffers great post as always Mart1001:)

last couple of weeks have been a bit of a pain with very warm air and the sun strength meaning you just have to do smaller areas of glass at a time ...as you look at the glass and soap you can see if you are too late as the pattern changes and you just gotta wet again...the worst was with the detailing ...the edges were drying before i could get them zapped with my super dry scrim so i had to switch to damp scrim....roll on winter....:rofl: joking of course ...but in the winter i can applicate a full bay ...and casually wander over to blade it off...the downside is the cill cloth ends up too wet too quick..

if people moan...just say i will do it again at no charge and they will soon be happy...but soap balance is very critical and something we all have to watch...any way dont get down...bounce back and have another go....

some days are just a pile of :turd: but others make it all worth while...now if i can just get my garden like tuffers...:whistle:

 
id think its your squeegee technique . before you leave a window you must look back at it At An Angle to see if its perfect . if it is not,tidy up any missed bits with a clean scrimcloth

also i wouldnt expect that unger squeegee rubber to last more than a couple of days in your situation. change it often

 
If a window smears you can see that straight away - so don't go without checking your work

 
Thanks everyone especially Mart1001 maybe i should have done a bit more research before i started /emoticons/smile.png

 
@jordan, what technique are you using when blading ie fanning or straight pulls? Can you go and practice on your glass now. Try and do an inside window facing the sun, you'll soon see if you've done it right.
 
My to pennies worth! I stopped using fairy as I had this problem all the time T the beginning. I tried ecover liquid and never looked back. Not sure what's in fairy but I always found it left a residue.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 
well i fan it depends how big it is but i'm not great at fanning yet i guess practise makes perfect i did it with direct sunlight and looks good from an angle.I have narrowed it down to either the applicator was never rinsed and held the dirt so i'm using a new monsoon sleeve or i'm using too much soap Thanks mate

 
Also i'm getting customers asking me to do guttering and fascia's what equipment do i need for them i guess just a big ladder,Bucket hook,gloves guttering. fascias-i have an extendable Unger pole that reaches 6 metre's and i have got a brush attachment or is it better to use a applicator for fascias ?

 
hi jordan

try ecover & flash

squirt of ecover two caps off flash gd rubber, in the sun you have to work fast one window at a time keep checking your work

i,m sure the ecover & flash will help you get the resuilts your after

 
ahh...a sudden thought.....your new and the jobs maybe new....have they not been cleaned since the great slime storm ...

i was doing two new ones today and they had the slime storm damage on them and .....they are very dodgy to clean....at the time this storm struck i had just cleaned...my house...and three neighbours on a tuesday...the storm struck wednesday...i had to clean them all again thursday! it was like six months dirt in one go...

i went through about three different blades as i kept leaving marks...and i was going mad but thanks to this great forum other members had mentioned the same problem so i knew i wasnt alone...

its just a thought but it was a pain to clean off....

 
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