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Water is Essential for Cleaning Windows, Right? Wrong..

Tuffers

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I'll get to the water part later in the thread, but you must read this part first.

I was due to be cleaning regular customer's houses that are opposite each other today. As I was approaching the two houses I could see a big lorry with roof trusses on the back parked over the drive of one of the houses and a crane off loading it. Not to worry I thought I'll clean the house where the drive was unblocked and hopefully when I'm finished the lorry will have gone. Finished first house and the lorry still had a load of trusses still on the trailer. I asked the granger man if he thought the lorry driver might move so I could park on the drive of my customer. 'I doubt it mate, his load isn't tied down.' Hmm, where shall I park? Cars parked all the way up the road! I know, I'll ask next door but one if I can park my van on his drive and then I can reel my hose up the street passed the lorry and clean. A bit of a ballache but I'd still be able to clean the house. I knock the door of next door but one (who isn't a customer) and ask if I could leave my van on his drive. 'No problem' he says. I thank him and off I go with hose and pole up the road. I clean the house and get back to my van and find two scruffy individuals cleaning the the windows. I'd seen these two years ago and not seen them for ages. I bet they thought the bloke had got a proper window cleaner in when they saw my van ?. I know how these pair of cowboys clean windows so I said 'I'm going to watch you as I'm interested to see how you clean windows.' 

Now for the best bit, they had one pair of ladders between them, well two of you can clean a house with one set of ladders right? The one without ladders was also cleaning the tops. How was he cleaning the tops you might ask? He had a pole with a squeegee on it. Ooh he's one of these blokes who can clean like Wagga? No, on the squeegee there was a microfibre cloth! He extended the pole and just moved the microfibre up and down a few times and that was it. No sills or frames were cleaned. The bloke on the ladder was wearing a belt. No tools on the belt just a vape in some sort of pouch ?. He was also using just a microfibre cloth. Fat individual asked if I'd got a microfibre cloth as they're brilliant, err yes I have a few I replied. No water was used, no bucket in sight, no tools were used, just a microfibre cloth each to move the dirt around the glass! 

How do these idiots get away with this sort sort of thing? Obviously they're not idiots as they were done by the time I'd reeled in. Probably only charged a fiver but surely customers want a decent job doing?

 
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I'll get to the water part later in the thread, but you must read this part first.

I was due to be cleaning regular customer's houses that are opposite each other today. As I was approaching the two houses I could see a big lorry with roof trusses on the back parked over the drive of one of the houses and a crane off loading it. Not to worry I thought I'll clean the house where the drive was unblocked and hopefully when I'm finished the lorry will have gone. Finished first house and the lorry still had a load of trusses still on the trailer. I asked the granger man if he thought the lorry driver might move so I could park on the drive of my customer. 'I doubt it mate, his load isn't tied down.' Hmm, where shall I park? Cars parked all the way up the road! I know, I'll ask next door but one if I can park my van on his drive and then I can reel my hose up the street passed the lorry and clean. A bit of a ballache but I'd still be able to clean the house. I knock the door of next door but one (who isn't a customer) and ask if I could leave my van on his drive. 'No problem' he says. I thank him and off I go with hose and pole up the road. I clean the house and get back to my van and find two scruffy individuals cleaning the the windows. I'd seen these two years ago and not seen them for ages. I bet they thought the bloke had got a proper window cleaner in when they saw my van ?. I know how these pair of cowboys clean windows so I said 'I'm going to watch you as I'm interested to see how you clean windows.' 

Now for the best bit, they had one pair of ladders between them, well two of you can clean a house with one set of ladders right? The one without ladders was also cleaning the tops. How was he cleaning the tops you might ask? He had a pole with a squeegee on it. Ooh he's one of these blokes who can clean like Wagga? No, on the squeegee there was a microfibre cloth! He extended the pole and just moved the microfibre up and down a few times and that was it. No sills or frames were cleaned. The bloke on the ladder was wearing a belt. No tools on the belt just a vape in some sort of pouch ?. He was also using just a microfibre cloth. Fat individual asked if I'd got a microfibre cloth as they're brilliant, err yes I have a few I replied. No water was used, no bucket in sight,  no tools were used, just a microfibre cloth each to move the dirt around the glass! 

How do these idiots get away with this sort sort of thing? Obviously they're not idiots as they were done by the time I'd reeled in. Probably only charged a fiver but surely customers want a decent job doing?




Totaly agree with you how do they get away with it they must be smeary and when the low sun catches it it will look horrendous cowboys !!!!! 

 
I'll get to the water part later in the thread, but you must read this part first.

I was due to be cleaning regular customer's houses that are opposite each other today. As I was approaching the two houses I could see a big lorry with roof trusses on the back parked over the drive of one of the houses and a crane off loading it. Not to worry I thought I'll clean the house where the drive was unblocked and hopefully when I'm finished the lorry will have gone. Finished first house and the lorry still had a load of trusses still on the trailer. I asked the granger man if he thought the lorry driver might move so I could park on the drive of my customer. 'I doubt it mate, his load isn't tied down.' Hmm, where shall I park? Cars parked all the way up the road! I know, I'll ask next door but one if I can park my van on his drive and then I can reel my hose up the street passed the lorry and clean. A bit of a ballache but I'd still be able to clean the house. I knock the door of next door but one (who isn't a customer) and ask if I could leave my van on his drive. 'No problem' he says. I thank him and off I go with hose and pole up the road. I clean the house and get back to my van and find two scruffy individuals cleaning the the windows. I'd seen these two years ago and not seen them for ages. I bet they thought the bloke had got a proper window cleaner in when they saw my van ?. I know how these pair of cowboys clean windows so I said 'I'm going to watch you as I'm interested to see how you clean windows.' 

Now for the best bit, they had one pair of ladders between them, well two of you can clean a house with one set of ladders right? The one without ladders was also cleaning the tops. How was he cleaning the tops you might ask? He had a pole with a squeegee on it. Ooh he's one of these blokes who can clean like Wagga? No, on the squeegee there was a microfibre cloth! He extended the pole and just moved the microfibre up and down a few times and that was it. No sills or frames were cleaned. The bloke on the ladder was wearing a belt. No tools on the belt just a vape in some sort of pouch ?. He was also using just a microfibre cloth. Fat individual asked if I'd got a microfibre cloth as they're brilliant, err yes I have a few I replied. No water was used, no bucket in sight, no tools were used, just a microfibre cloth each to move the dirt around the glass! 

How do these idiots get away with this sort sort of thing? Obviously they're not idiots as they were done by the time I'd reeled in. Probably only charged a fiver but surely customers want a decent job doing?
How @Part Timer cleans windows is his business you nosey sod @Tuffers ?

 
I've only just started window cleaning, but I've spent my whole working life (22 years) cleaning offices and more recently inside peoples houses.  I have come to the conclusion that most people either can't tell the difference between something that's been cleaned and something that isn't, it's sad but it's true.  

 
I've only just started window cleaning, but I've spent my whole working life (22 years) cleaning offices and more recently inside peoples houses.  I have come to the conclusion that most people either can't tell the difference between something that's been cleaned and something that isn't, it's sad but it's true.  
We all do houses where the internal windows are absolutely filthy, why do these people bother. Not that I'm complaining that they do. 

 
We all do houses where the internal windows are absolutely filthy, why do these people bother. Not that I'm complaining that they do. 


I did one the other day, owner openly admitted they'd not been done in or out for years and not to worry, they wouldn't look any better once i was finished. I thought she was kidding! She honestly wasn't - I was done, they still looked awful. She's booked me as a regular every month - my others want every 6 weeks. Can't complain!

How do these idiots get away with this sort sort of thing? Obviously they're not idiots as they were done by the time I'd reeled in. Probably only charged a fiver but surely customers want a decent job doing?


You said it yourself lol, they're not idiots! In fact, i'd give them a medal for ingenuity... with the exception of still using a ladder, that's just stupid when you could use a 2nd pole instead lol

On a serious note though, if it works for them, it works and if the customer is happy..

 
I've only just started window cleaning, but I've spent my whole working life (22 years) cleaning offices and more recently inside peoples houses.  I have come to the conclusion that most people either can't tell the difference between something that's been cleaned and something that isn't, it's sad but it's true.  
After the first clean you're probably right. I had a call back this evening from a woman who could see ever so slight remains of bird poo on her window (First clean) when the water hit the window the mark disappeared until it started to dry. She also had one line of 3 spots left on a front window (Again upstairs) I'm sure plenty of others have the same issues but don't bother to look. 

 
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