Welcome to the UK Window Cleaning Forums

Starting or own a window cleaning business? We're a network of window cleaners sharing advice, tips & experience. Rounds for sale & more. Join us today!

First Cleans wfp system

Stedon

New member
Messages
23
Location
Manchester
Hi can you explain the first clean , obviously it will take longer depending on how dirty the windows are but what I want to know is would you actually get the ladder out and manually scrub the frames on first clean or would pole sort it with more scrubbing

thanks

 
I try not to get the ladder out, with time, patience, chemical of your choice most first cleans come out fine with the pole.

The last first clean I did was horrendous though, and something had been splashed on a window & wall around, don’t know what it was but left a big grey mark. Although my brush & chemical ‘faded’ the stain it didn’t get rid of it.

I texted her that night and explained I did everything I could, but if she wants me to concentrate again on just that stain on that one window, I’ll need to bring my long ladder, and another chemical (I was thinking I get rub out) for a small

charge. I was gonna suggest a fiver or something. But she said no don’t worry they look great etc. I was relived she that that tbh.

 
I did 19 first cleans yesterday on a small care home. Ladder and my 6" Unger scraper on all of them bar the toilet windows. I do that with all my first cleans to get them up to my standard and after that they are a breeze.

 
It’s quite nice, if you’re not rushed, to get up close and personal with a window. Get the ladders off and give it a thorough clean. You’ll be grateful for years to come. 

 
If the top frames are just very dirty then a few scrubs with the brush with your water on a higher flow then standard will clean them. If they are old and faded then whilst you will remove the dirt they won't be white. To get them back to the original condition is a restore job and this should be priced at considerably more than a clean

 
Yeah, agree with what the others have said. If you’re going to provide pvc restoration as a first clean you need to charge well. It can often put people off, so sometimes it’s best to be straight with your clients and ask them what they’re after. 75% of people just want to simply be able to see out of their windows and not have soot all over their frames so just a standard wfp job with a bit of degreaser will do it.
Only about 1/4 or less of people value having the restoration work done.
We did the gutters for a man recently, he asked while we were there if we could do the front windows. They were quite sooty, every pane was blown, pvc had turned grey/yellow.
I said if you want a proper job done of it then it’s gonna be 50-60 ish, if you want a standard pure water wfp clean £10.
He opted for the latter, perfectly understandable, with the panes blown anyway why would you go to the effort with the pvc ?‍♂️
If you do your best to work with their budget without putting yourself at a loss then you can trade at both ends of the market [emoji106]


Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 
We seemed to quickly and unnecessarily enter the realms of window restoration with this conversation? All seems a little deep for standard first cleans.

I clean all the frames, right up into the corners etc etc and then I clean the glass. Works well and I charge an extra few quid for the privilege. 

 
There would be no other reason to get the ladders out unless you want to apply a chemical and get the frames white, a restore in any other words. 
I read it as a standard first clean mate, I assumed the ladders question was just down to a lack of experience or understanding of WFP. No offence to OP of course.

 
Sometimes we second guess what advice some people require. 
Aye! I remember turning up at a guys house and cleaning for 2 hours for £20 because he wanted the grey frames to be white again. I put a post on here and got a lot of help. I think I would have found the advice above confusing back then. PVC restoration jobs are few and far between compared to the standard turn up clean and leave jobs.

 
Thanks yes what I meant was even with wfp system on a first clean would you get up on ladder to inspect and give the sills a manually rub

but from what I here is there should be no need the pole should do it but also preference if you wanted to just so you know it’s all clean ?

 
Thanks yes what I meant was even with wfp system on a first clean would you get up on ladder to inspect and give the sills a manually rub

but from what I here is there should be no need the pole should do it but also preference if you wanted to just so you know it’s all clean ?
Not needed for your normal clean mate. Most brushes have angle adapters so the brush can be angled to face the flat of the sill. They do some good sill brushes that get right up in the corners and crevices too. Personally its not even all that often I use chemicals. I have a few properties near the local wetlands centre which for some reason attracts a lot of flies so they need it every time but it isn't necessarily needed for everyone. I found I was spending too much time worrying about cleaning the chemical off the window so as not to leave it spotty.

 
Starting out i would definitely get up there & check, it’s easy to be complacent. Putting faith in what you can’t see is risky. I’ve seen sills on a few occasions that were so algae riddled (thick green & black coating of it) that even the de-greaser on a 10 minute soak and continuous scrubbing hasn’t resolved it. I’ve had to go in to houses on occasions and open the window to manually scrub the sill if there is no ladder access. Few and far between but it does happen.
On that job the house was under long term DIY renovation so no cream carpets to worry about, and the loft i needed to get to it was just the floorboards and unfurnished.
Be wary of loft velux windows also. Some people expect these cleaned.
You can rarely reach these from the ground with a pole, which means getting inside the loft to open up and do manually. You dont have to do this of course, you could simply say “i dont offer this sorry”
Not trying to overcomplicate matters but never under estimate a customers expectations. That’s where i went wrong in my first year. They can be reaaally particular.
If in doubt, about anything, ask the customer. The more time consuming their requirements, the more you charge. Quoting blind over the phone is a no no and i wouldnt work for people until you’ve met them and discussed it all through.
Maintenance cleaning is a whole different subject but the first clean is the impression maker and the money maker so you do need to be on the ball with these.







Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 
Not needed for your normal clean mate. Most brushes have angle adapters so the brush can be angled to face the flat of the sill. They do some good sill brushes that get right up in the corners and crevices too. Personally its not even all that often I use chemicals. I have a few properties near the local wetlands centre which for some reason attracts a lot of flies so they need it every time but it isn't necessarily needed for everyone. I found I was spending too much time worrying about cleaning the chemical off the window so as not to leave it spotty.
Gardiner super scraper if you havnt got one yet I have them all on my poles fly poo piece of cake. 

 
I sometimes think that its easy to over think first cleans. We give the whole window, frame and sill a thorough wash and rinse. We then move onto the next window. When we have finished top and bottom we go back and check the results. A second wash if necessary usually just focuses on the glass and another pass across the sill.

We knock on the door for the money and then tell the customer we will return later and check to make sure everything is OK. If there are issues when we return, then we sort those out.

With experience we know where the issues are going to be. If I see deteriorated window seals are staining the frames then I tell the customer that we aren't going to get that off. If we get the ladders off and clean the black off it will return in a few days. I've only ever had one person tell me to leave the job and he will find a cleaner that will clean the frames up as new. I just thanked him politely for his enquiry. He would eventually learn that the solution of the problem was in his hands, not the window cleaners.

 
Starting out i would definitely get up there & check, it’s easy to be complacent. Putting faith in what you can’t see is risky. I’ve seen sills on a few occasions that were so algae riddled (thick green & black coating of it) that even the de-greaser on a 10 minute soak and continuous scrubbing hasn’t resolved it. I’ve had to go in to houses on occasions and open the window to manually scrub the sill if there is no ladder access. Few and far between but it does happen.
On that job the house was under long term DIY renovation so no cream carpets to worry about, and the loft i needed to get to it was just the floorboards and unfurnished.
Be wary of loft velux windows also. Some people expect these cleaned.
You can rarely reach these from the ground with a pole, which means getting inside the loft to open up and do manually. You dont have to do this of course, you could simply say “i dont offer this sorry”
Not trying to overcomplicate matters but never under estimate a customers expectations. That’s where i went wrong in my first year. They can be reaaally particular.
If in doubt, about anything, ask the customer. The more time consuming their requirements, the more you charge. Quoting blind over the phone is a no no and i wouldnt work for people until you’ve met them and discussed it all through.
Maintenance cleaning is a whole different subject but the first clean is the impression maker and the money maker so you do need to be on the ball with these.







Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app


You can usually tell when you are going to have issues with algae and green slim in the sill gaps on upper windows and as can see bits coming off the edge of the sill with the rinse water. I scrub and rinse that sill as best I can. If I still see those bits in the rinse water I will wrap a towel around the bush head with the water off and wipe the stuff off that way.

There are some windows we spend more time on flushing the sill gap out of dirt than actually cleaning the window.

Someone suggested these are a good idea to carry around for lower windows

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-maintenance/bike-cleaning/muc-off-claw-brush

 
Gardiner super scraper if you havnt got one yet I have them all on my poles fly poo piece of cake. 
Got one mate, I usually use it without the abrasive pad to get small marks off top windows but it wouldn’t do anything to these houses. The problems are on the frames of the ground floor mainly. Thousands of little black dots every single time. I’ve never seen the like anywhere else! I just fire some degreaser on with a pump sprayer at the mo. There’s one customer who has them on wooden frames so I just told her there’s no chance they’re coming off. They’re even bad on the 4 week customers.


Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app
 
First cleans I'm now using the Gardiner ultimate flocked brush.

I get the frames and glass wet, spray some ubik on them, scrub and then rinse patiently until there are no more bubbles.

Once I've done a few top windows,  I go back to the first window and start a second rinse of the glass only.

If they're really bad, you should ask for an initial clean price. 

Doesn't take too much longer,  but if you get the first clean right, you'll be sure to be doing a second one.

 
Back
Top