Strange brown stains on UPVC frames uncovered by cleaning

Hey guys, I hope everyone is having a great day.

It's my first post here (definitely not the last), and I'm kindly asking of your thoughts about an issue we had. 

We recently cleaned a client's UPVC windows internally as part of a deep clean job. The window sills and frames were very dirty covered with grime and mould. The cleaner used a standard window cleaning product on the glass and a multi-purpose cleaner on the UPVC. 

The interesting bit. Once our cleaner started to clean the plastic she noticed weird brown stains appearing from under the dirt and mould. As if those had been disguised somehow with something white-ish and then the cleaning process subsequently removed the disguise. Our operative tried to clean/remove these stains without any success. They did not move at all. The clean revealed initially small spots then some big ones surfaced at which point the cleaner stopped and informed the client. 

The weird bit. Now the client (letting agent) is accusing us of causing damage to the UPVC and demands us to replace the allegedly damaged UPVC. He insists the cleaner used bleach or some other "harsh" cleaning material (he saw an oven cleaning product in the cleaning crate) that caused the damage.

I have had a thorough look through the attached pictures and I don't think bleach or oven cleaner can cause those stains. However I may be wrong.

Could you tell me what you think? Could this have been caused by a cleaning product or does it look like something else?

Your help is highly appreciated!

Cheers,

Nick

To me it looks like it's possibly rust stains from rusty hinges, waters run from an open window and onto the pvc and dried. May be wrong though.

Or if there is a fence nearby overspray from open windows/run off if house been painted.

It looks like some type of staining material, has the outside got wood panels that have been stained

Part Timer said:

It looks like some type of staining material, has the outside got wood panels that have been stained

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No wood panels on the outside. It's red brick.

Clisty1989 said:

To me it looks like it's possibly rust stains from rusty hinges, waters run from an open window and onto the pvc and dried. May be wrong though.

Or if there is a fence nearby overspray from open windows/run off if house been painted.

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I don't think there is a fence nearby.

Does it look to you as a cleaning product caused damage?

I believe the client has tried to scrape it off with a nail and supposedly succeeded. At least that was what he said on the phone when demanded the cleaners came back to the property.

Kind of looks like nicotine stains to me...try a magic sponge and some hot water.
My father smokes heavily in his kitchen and his pvc always ends up looking like this. Maybe a previous tenant or previous owner was a chain smoker.
I am doubting a multi purpose cleaner would cause this, but still I would avoid using multi purpose cleaners to be honest, warm water & a magic sponge is all it really takes to clean pvc. Otherwise if it’s really bad de-greaser and unger rub out.
Certain surfaces are delicate to cleaning chemicals. I did a job one day using various chemicals, hung my jacket on the wooden stair banister at the end of the day, over the next few days bubbles started appearing in the varnish and it looked awful and felt rough on the hands.
Looks like you’re having a mare of a day. Let us know how you get on fella



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Anyclean said:

Does it look to you as a cleaning product caused damage?

I believe the client has tried to scrape it off with a nail and supposedly succeeded. At least that was what he said on the phone when demanded the cleaners came back to the property.

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Well if he's managed to scratch it off then it wasn't marked by a cleaning product as they tend to be acid / alkali based. For your own peace of mind why not get some UPVC and pour your cleaning products on, leave for a few minutes and then rinse off. Make a note of any stains left behind so if you get this type of call again, hopefully not, then you will know if you have or not caused the damage.

I'd suggest contacting them and saying "I do not believe any cleaning products we use are capable of causing the damage your claiming they gave done, however I will inform my insurers and they can send a person out to inspect and make a full assessment, please forward all further correspondence to them regarding this". Then give them your insurance details and report the claim. either they will drop it, or your insurance will tell them to do one. 

It might be time to break out the bronze wool... Maybe some UPVC cleaner and a magic sponge too?

I would have a word with the person who completed the job, why didn't they think to stop and get some advice? If they just kept going because they were on a time limit etc you need to make sure this doesn't happen again. I found a break yesterday, took a pic before I touched the window and then cracked on. Found a broken vent today, stopped and spoke to the customer before I carried on. I'm sure you will be able to sort this out, just worth thinking for the future!

To me I'd say it looks like either nicotine staining or heavy greasy, likely the first. As above confirm the products used are safe for plastics then pass them to the insurance. You won't be working for the customer after this anymore so balls to them [emoji106]

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The only cleaning chemical I know of that can cause orange/brown staining is neat/strong bleach solution

It would have faded back to white within a few days though and wouldn't come off with a fingernail as it would be a proper stain

That looks like something sitting on the surface of the upvc 

Looks to me that the sill and ingoes were wood and someone stained them brown. Later on they painted everything white and even the pvc to cover it up. I would buy pvc cleaner from Nu-stock and go back and remove it. Well worth taking photos of before and after from now on if you land in a small claims court. If on the other hand your chemical cause it, then why is the full window not covered in it? No, someone is just chancing their arm but I wouldn't work for the letting agent again, they should know better.

Thanks for your input guys, really appreciate it. You confirmed what I was already thinking.

It looks like rust to me from the metal hinges that lock the window a magic spung orctge pink stuff will shift that no problim as I had this on my house when I moved in on the out side sill

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If the hinges are like this then defo rust

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Just seen this forum after searching about brown stains on my upvc windows in conservatory.  Mine only does it in hot weather as first thought had leaks but doesn’t do when rains. I’ve put it down to the fact I’ve got roof felt on my conservatory roof and the hot weather causes maybe the glue or something off the felt leaking through to inside of frames ?? 

Update (a bit late but still makes this thread useful to others in the same situation):

Soon after responding to the letting agent last year, they accepted that our cleaner could not have caused those marks on the UPVC and dropped their claim against us.

Thank you all for your input.

Anyclean said:

Update (a bit late but still makes this thread useful to others in the same situation):

Soon after responding to the letting agent last year, they accepted that our cleaner could not have caused those marks on the UPVC and dropped their claim against us.

Thank you all for your input.

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Hope you told them not ring you again ,

I've seen it before where a lazy landlord had painted over the mouldy frames.

Maybe something similar here. The cleaner cleaned off the paint and the stains were underneath?

Its from expanding foam ? I know as we have to exact same stsins and can't get them off for love nor money...

For others in this post. I had my property treated with a bug spray for flies (that they specifically spray on the windows frames - Ripcord) and this has badly stained the white uPVC over time. I cannot seem to remove it.