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first clean today... took absolutely ages

BradHenderson

New member
Messages
6
Location
East Devon
Did my first clean for my first customer today. Wasn'tasnt even a massive house but took just over 3 hours! As a complete rookie I know I'll eventually get quicker but man i didn't think i'd take that long. I'm using a backpack and barrels and was refilling constantly so that added to the time a bit. I'm really happy with how the windows came out and the customer was real happy too. 

 
Yup, first cleans will always take a lot longer than normal. Finding this out with a new round I just purchased, turns out the guy never did the frames and sills, its taking about twice as long to get around!

 
Yup, first cleans will always take a lot longer than normal. Finding this out with a new round I just purchased, turns out the guy never did the frames and sills, its taking about twice as long to get around!
The most recent work I bought was like this, the frames where an absolute disgrace ! 

 
Did my first clean for my first customer today. Wasn'tasnt even a massive house but took just over 3 hours! As a complete rookie I know I'll eventually get quicker but man i didn't think i'd take that long. I'm using a backpack and barrels and was refilling constantly so that added to the time a bit. I'm really happy with how the windows came out and the customer was real happy too. 
Should of used the outside tap if there was one. Scrub with tap water then finish the glass with pure. 

 
Did my first clean for my first customer today. Wasn'tasnt even a massive house but took just over 3 hours! As a complete rookie I know I'll eventually get quicker but man i didn't think i'd take that long. I'm using a backpack and barrels and was refilling constantly so that added to the time a bit. I'm really happy with how the windows came out and the customer was real happy too. 
It's an experience thing.

I could do a first clean on a 3 bed semi with 1 backpack full easily with a spotless finish.

I use a van mounted system now but used to use a backpack.

Once up to speed you should be able to do a 3 bed semi in 15 minutes as a first clean easily.

Just keep at it and it will get easier 

 
Did my first clean for my first customer today. Wasn'tasnt even a massive house but took just over 3 hours! As a complete rookie I know I'll eventually get quicker but man i didn't think i'd take that long. I'm using a backpack and barrels and was refilling constantly so that added to the time a bit. I'm really happy with how the windows came out and the customer was real happy too. 
Main thing is, the customer is happy.  The first clean is your first chance to gain the customers trust and give a good impression.  I take at least an hour on first cleans, usually it's about 1.5 hours but I charge double the normal rate.  If it's a big house it can take 2 hours depending how bad they are.  I clean them twice, first with a degreaser and then with the pure.  

You will get faster but what I find is that if I don't focus on what I'm doing then the time quickly clocks up.  Allowing a bit of dwell time helps, quickly go over one set of windows then move onto the next, then go back to the first and give it a thorough scrub.

I turn the flow rate right down when I'm scrubbing, I actually turn it off, scrub in the degreaser and then rinse as normal, this saves a significant amount of water so it also saves time as you're not refilling every 10 minutes.

 
That’s a mental amount of time for a first clean. If the windows are that bad in future you should definitely look at using a chemical to help you like no nonsense degreaser, ubik etc. It will save you loads of time, effort and water. 

 

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