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Start Up and What to Buy

Markrom

New member
Messages
4
Location
northampton
Hi

I'm looking to start up a small round, I have a few family and friends who want me to start cleaning their windows etc. I really need some advise on what to buy to get me going. I don't have anything at the moment.

any help would be appreciated. 

Thanks Mark

 
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What a time to start! You’ll not be able to canvas anyone so it’ll probably be slow going unless you’re in a sweet spot with little competition. I’d suggest you purchase an all in one trad kit from window cleaning warehouse and see how you get on. 
 

If you have more money to throw at it you could purchase a pole, di and backpack but as you’re not going to be able to go around with another window cleaner first to see if you can see yourself doing the job long term I think it would be wise to limit your investment. 
 

If you look through the forum you’ll find loads of advice on everything you need. 

 
As above as mentioned...

Or take the time to check out the forum in-depth and learn what you can and you will see your question has been asked a lot with a lot of different answers, you got nothing but time at the moment.

 
Thank you for the info I’ve just been over and had a look at WCW and they have some interesting stuff. I feel this is a good time for me as I have time to really research and get my leaflets ready for printing. My biggest concern was purifying the water as I don’t really have room for an extra tank to store water. I did find a company called Spotless Water but still awaiting for one to be put in my area. 
 

I will go through the forum in depth. 
thank you for those who took the time to reply. 

 
Not a great time to start, however I have had lots of enquiries lately so it is worth a shot. I personally have knocked canvassing on the head for now, as well as leaflets/business cards, but you could gain some custom through FB selling pages and residents pages. 
 

I would suggest a back pack or trolley to begin with for a small round. That way if it isn’t for you then you can sell it easier than a van mount. You can look at a van mount later if you expand. I bought all my kit from pure freedom initially, although looking back I would fork out and get a gardiners  SLX from the start. Depending on your TDS from your tap (get a TDS tester) you may need an RO machine. Then a DI vessel and resin. Backpack/trolley, pole, and some barrels to store your water in and take in your van/car. Also a water butt or IBS tank to store water in at home.

Sorry, just read the bit about not having space for a water tank. Spotless water would be a good idea to begin with as that way if you don’t like window cleaning, you will have less gear to get rid off ie RO and DI.

 
I was looking at the SLX but when I went to buy one it was all the add ins I have to choose that completely confused me. I think I might need to call them to go through it with me. 

 
If you haven’t got room to store the water then an RO wont be much good as you wont have anywhere to put the water between making it and using it. Also, that one goes up to 150gpd which isn’t enough IMO. I believe you will need a 300gpd to begin with. Is there a spotless water near you?

 
As far as add ons go, I go for a sill brush and standard pencil jets. Others have their preferences but that’s just me. Maybe speak to gardiners and see what they say.

 
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My biggest concern was purifying the water as I don’t really have room for an extra tank to store water. I did find a company called Spotless Water but still awaiting for one to be put in my area. 
That is still your biggest concern if i'm honest. Spotless have a large map on their website showing "coming soon" on almost every town. Many have been waiting years. My town was lucky enough to gain a spotless water filling point last year. They've already removed it again - and apparently (according to the company that was hosting it in their parking area) it was doing well financially not even being charged rent for the land it was on. In other words, excluding the water costs, the unit was there free of any other charge. They still took it away and it hasn't been replaced. They initially said they'd already found somewhere else to put it in our town and it would take a couple of months to sort legal issues. That never happened.

You might have another local independent pure water supplier in your area. If not you're going to have to make it yourself and use barrels or something. Obviously if you got a house and garage you're in a better position but if you live in a flat it's a lot trickier.

Finding pure water really is your primary concern at this point - that or you do traditional cleaning. Trad cleaners are still popular, you can still get telescopic poles for trad work too - or use a ladder.

If you do decide you want to make it, i've read a few members here say they've used ebay pure units with success so you can do it but keep in mind you need to connect it somehow so you'll either need a garden tap or a tap adapter in your home (or get really drastic and do some real plumbing lol).

SLX is the better pole. I bough the cheaper CLX (i was desparate and it met my budget) and got to be honest, i've regretted it. It's fine for 1st floor windows but anything higher is a challenge as its too flexible. I also found gardiners options confusing and ended up ringing them for assistance - they were very helpful. Once you've got your basic pole and accessories and see how it all goes together you'll find it makes more sense and then using the gardiners site makes more sense.

 
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