Cleaning in the rain

Hi everyone,

My OH and I used to be manual cleaners up until a couple of months ago.  Now invested in the hot water system.

My question, OH never cleaned in the rain for manual cleans and we also had an employee.  The reasons we invested in this reach and wash was
a) get him off ladders as our employee left and we no longer wanted to employ so wanted him on ground level on his own for safety
b) having reach and wash you potentially do a lot more cleans, (we have been told work of two people) - is that right ? and lastly
c) he could clean in the rain.

Would be interested in thoughts to (b) and (c) please. 
And cleaning in the rain is that just light rain?  We still have a lot of days where this bloomin rain is affecting him cleaning ducking for cover until it clears.  Be interested to know what conditions you all clean in and how it affects the cleans.

Many thanks

My general rule of thumb is if the rain is heavy and there is a wind strong enough to make it hit the windows then I tend not to bother. If it isn't hitting the windows then I will wash in heavy rain. I wash in any wind conditions, within reason, if it is light rain / drizzle. 

It is quicker but I doubt twice as fast, some of the ex trad guys will probably tell you more on this subject.

Thanks Part Timer for commenting.

OH been using the system now since part way through May and going around all our cleans 1st time with system has taken a while so he is hoping it will start to get quicker now.

Do you gear up in the heavy rain? He has two waterproof coats but they get drenched right through in no time when he attempted heavy rain cleaning.

Thanks

All coats have different water proof rating. If you plan to clean in the rain for any length of time you need 100% water proof that's normally gortex stuff

I just got myslef a light weight gortex coat because you can get very hot cleaning in the rain.

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fandabby said:

Thanks Part Timer for commenting.

OH been using the system now since part way through May and going around all our cleans 1st time with system has taken a while so he is hoping it will start to get quicker now.

Do you gear up in the heavy rain? He has two waterproof coats but they get drenched right through in no time when he attempted heavy rain cleaning.

Thanks

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No, as invariably the water gets through or you sweat profusely and get wet anyway. As I said in a previous post, my skin is waterproof enough. 

Thanks Lawrence, have you tried out your coat, which store did you get it from?

 

Doing WFP for the first time round if you are doing a full and thorough clean of all frames, glass, sills and doors then it will take 2-3 times longer.

After a first clean and once WFP has been fully mastered then you might be third quicker or so than trad on the vast majority of regular cleans sometimes almost twice as fast but that depends on the house's.

As for waterproof coats if they aren't cleaned properly and reproofed then they will become useless, Also from new they will only last a few downpours before letting water in.

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heavy rain with wind dont bother unless you want to be going back re-cleaning or apologising

Light rain/drizzle/not hitting glass go for it

True iron you do need to clean them with the recommend soap and reproofer after cleaning however by last cost was fine till I ripped it never let water in.

I have a berghaus gore-tex I used it in the rain we had over the last 2 weeks and I very happy.
When working in rain I tend to wear water proof trousers as well. Then just shorts and t shirt under all my wet weather gear to keep cool.

But their are times when even I don't clean in the rain heavy rain and high winds.

If it's heavy rain all day some residential customers are not so keen to see you on those days but others really trust the water fed pole and are happy for you to carry on so depending on the round can effect if I go for it.

However my commercials don't seem to care as long are they jobs are done once a week.

I do offer a wet weather guarantee when the rain stops and the windows are dry if you not happy I will come back and clean the glass again for free.

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Part Timer said:

My general rule of thumb is if the rain is heavy and there is a wind strong enough to make it hit the windows then I tend not to bother. If it isn't hitting the windows then I will wash in heavy rain. I wash in any wind conditions, within reason, if it is light rain / drizzle. 

It is quicker but I doubt twice as fast, some of the ex trad guys will probably tell you more on this subject.

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I'm exactly the same as part time where rain is concerned.. I've still got quite a bit of trad work, I don't know why, but using the squeegee seems almost meditative for me. As for time difference from trad to pole, for me the pole is 50% quicker.

I prefer cleaning in some rain, as the windows are already wet you need far less water and can rinse quicker.

I find wind to be worse than rain as it moves a lot of salt and grime on to the windows. Inland climate is vastly different I reckon. 

For commercial and monthly customers I apply the philosophy of "it'll probably rain tomorrow anyway" and stick to my schedule.  For bi-monthly or longer intervals I might take a day off. 

As long as the rain isn't sideways I persist until I've had enough. Being trad before I'd run home as soon as the first spot hit the window but using pure water it doesn't seem to be a problem. If it's pouring down though I give it 20min or so to clear up or I go home. No point getting soaked through and ill for the sake of a day at work. Just go out on Saturday to catch up. 

C Rose Cleaning Services said:

As long as the rain isn't sideways I persist until I've had enough. Being trad before I'd run home as soon as the first spot hit the window but using pure water it doesn't seem to be a problem. If it's pouring down though I give it 20min or so to clear up or I go home. No point getting soaked through and ill for the sake of a day at work. Just go out on Saturday to catch up. 

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Being ill from being wet or cold is a fallacy

You need bacteria or viruses to get ill and it has been proved that temperature or weather conditions make no difference to getting ill or recovery times if ill which is why i will always go to work ill rather than sit in bed wasting my life away

When i was trad i would work in rain also.. i have only ever had around 5 days a year off due to weather maximum since 1991

Part Timer said:

My general rule of thumb is if the rain is heavy and there is a wind strong enough to make it hit the windows then I tend not to bother. If it isn't hitting the windows then I will wash in heavy rain. I wash in any wind conditions, within reason, if it is light rain / drizzle. 
It is quicker but I doubt twice as fast, some of the ex trad guys will probably tell you more on this subject.

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Sorry for jumping in on the thread, but also interested in this topic.

What do customers say when you turn up and it's heavily raining? Do you ever get turned away or have you explained you can still clean without problems in the rain- and how do you go about explaining?

Many thanks!


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RyanJfifer said:

Sorry for jumping in on the thread, but also interested in this topic.

What do customers say when you turn up and it's heavily raining? Do you ever get turned away or have you explained you can still clean without problems in the rain- and how do you go about explaining?

Many thanks!


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  I have never been turned away at the gate due to heavy rain, the customer knows what the end result will be, theyfeel sorry for me because I have got 2work in the rain all day . I have been going around the same customers for years some 20plus so if cleaning  in the rain was that bad surely they would of stopped me by now

RyanJfifer said:

Sorry for jumping in on the thread, but also interested in this topic.

What do customers say when you turn up and it's heavily raining? Do you ever get turned away or have you explained you can still clean without problems in the rain- and how do you go about explaining?

Many thanks!


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I have the odd customer who texts back saying "as long as it isn't raining!" or something similar which annoys me, but other than that, no, since swapping to WFP I just tell them the end result will be the same once the rain eases off and if they aren't happy to call and I'll come back.  I always went home cleaning trad as I could never get the edges dry without making more of a mess with the rain spots.

I don't clean in the rain purely because I hate getting wet!