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Water fed pole commercial vs residential

horatiocarter

Member
Messages
61
Location
Birmingham
I am looking into starting a round. I am looking into if to start doing traditional vs commercial? I am also wondering about what van to get I’ve been advised to get a 700L tank and van...can anyone advise?

 
Not sure of the question really, but if you mean commercial or domestic ( houses people live in), then if your just starting out get both. 
just take what’s on offer within reason and refine your work one way or another when your better established. 

 
I am looking into starting a round. I am looking into if to start doing traditional vs commercial? I am also wondering about what van to get I’ve been advised to get a 700L tank and van...can anyone advise?
Most of us 'cut our teeth' developing a residential round. In the early days we cleaned windows traditionally (trad) with an applicator and squeegee, most using a ladder to reach first story windows.

Nowadays, most of us use wfp (water fed pole) to clean windows from the ground without the use of a ladder.

Looking back I would never have considered doing large commercial jobs without prior window cleaning experience.

The appeal at one time was that there was more money in commercial window cleaning but it was also a cut throat business. Most of us lost commercial work to large cleaning companies who offered all aspects of cleaning as a service. So we lost work such as Asda, and other stores which were done at local level previously. Sainsburys employed their own window cleaning staff so we lost those as well.

With commercial there was always the problem getting paid; we would be forever chasing payments.

We lost the school we cleaned for many years this past year and we have also lost the gym we used to clean. We have 3 commercial jobs left.

Over the years our most loyal customer base has been residential. I recall a chap who worked in the motor trade as a sales manager. He worked long hours so gave it up to window clean in the financial crash of 2008. He later decided to sack off all his residential work as he felt he could make more money cleaning commercial. His business failed due to none paying commercial customers and he went back to the motor trade. Now he is doing websites for business wanting to have an internet presence.

If you are looking for a van to carry a 700 litre tank it should have a payload of between 1200kgs and 1500kgs. In old terms a 2800gvm to 3500gvm.

 
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I would say start with domestic and forget commercial unless it’s house sized stuff you cannot run before you can walk and this applies to window cleaning as well , once you are 100% ok and can clean a window with confidence it will be clean then start looking at commercial stuff , trad has its place but again wfp will be the best option to be able to work safer do jobs that cannot be done trad , and earn considerable more . 

 
Hi that makes sense to use wfp as it is safer. Can any one recommend what wfp systems to use? Is iconic the way to go?
Ionics stuff is good but expensive. Maybe try looking for a second hand system , depending on your water TDS you will probably need an RO filtration set up , 

 
Where do you go to get the measure for the water hardness? I’m assuming amazon will sell it?
Don't look at Amazon till you know what you are looking at, there is no technical support and a lot of the stuff advertised is complete cr&p. Plus there are a lot of fake TDS meters out there from non reputable companies!!!

Look at Gardiners for wfp, daqua for water filters, ro etc. Either for TDS meters - to measure how 'hard' your water is. You will also need to know your tap water pressure as that has an impact on how you filter water.

Use the search bar at the top of this site as there is a huge of wealth of great info here. One tip, before you buy any kit post on here what you are thinking of buying and ask if it's any good etc.

 
Where do you go to get the measure for the water hardness? I’m assuming amazon will sell it?
You need to buy a good quality TDS meter from someone like Gardiners or daqua don’t buy cheap ones from eBay as mist are cheap inaccurate copies , a good one will cost £15-20 

 
I am looking into starting a round. I am looking into if to start doing traditional vs commercial? I am also wondering about what van to get I’ve been advised to get a 700L tank and van...can anyone advise?
I can recommend the cleaning warehouse in Willenhall for installing your system for you. They did a cracking job on me and my friends vans and its only round the corner from where you live

 
Also you need to consider if you are going to filter the water yourself in which case you need to invest in RO filters and DI systems or buy it already filtered which is what I did. It depends on where your nearest pure water filling station is located.

 
Also you need to consider if you are going to filter the water yourself in which case you need to invest in RO filters and DI systems or buy it already filtered which is what I did. It depends on where your nearest pure water filling station is located.
What’s the cost in buying the water from a station like that?

 
Guys with regards to purchasing a van I am thinking of getting a transit but am not sure if I should be looking at another type?

What kind of mileage is ok for a van per year? Sorry novice here...

Tank wise I’m of the understanding a 700L will allow for around 25 houses a day? 

can I ask anyone who employs a mate to come with them is it casual (cash) or official? Is there a rate you should roughly pay an hour? Appreciate there is a lot here but more than I thought when I started this thread!

 
Guys with regards to purchasing a van I am thinking of getting a transit but am not sure if I should be looking at another type?

What kind of mileage is ok for a van per year? Sorry novice here...

Tank wise I’m of the understanding a 700L will allow for around 25 houses a day? 

can I ask anyone who employs a mate to come with them is it casual (cash) or official? Is there a rate you should roughly pay an hour? Appreciate there is a lot here but more than I thought when I started this thread!
What ever van you decide on make sure it has enough load capacity. i.e. 700lts of water is 700kg + tank + tank frame + battery + reels + pumps + 2 people + fuel. So you probably need close to 1000kg load capacity maybe a bit more if you want to expand into pressure washing etc.

As for extra help - be very careful. If you employ then you need to do it legally i.e. PAYE, nat insurance, holiday pay etc. If you want to contract a self employed person then that comes with rules too otherwise HRMC will look at it as employment!! Paying 'cash' is never a good thing as you will be breaking the law!!!! Never mind not having insurance for the person or the customers whose property they work on etc.

 
Guys with regards to purchasing a van I am thinking of getting a transit but am not sure if I should be looking at another type?

What kind of mileage is ok for a van per year? Sorry novice here...

Tank wise I’m of the understanding a 700L will allow for around 25 houses a day? 

can I ask anyone who employs a mate to come with them is it casual (cash) or official? Is there a rate you should roughly pay an hour? Appreciate there is a lot here but more than I thought when I started this thread!
Do you think you ought to do a little research? Firstly you could do to watch a few videos on YouTube as regards window cleaning. Before you rush in, work out if you have the get up and go to do it, can you get the customers? Have you tried? Could you work in very low temperatures like this week? Have you got any idea about been self employed? If you can answer these questions positively then move forward. When you go self employed you must register with HMRC. You need to get your business up and running long before employing, no cash in hand it’s illegal. As regards a van you need to choose that, only you knows your budget. Give it some thought and research it will really help you. Could you work with someone to see how you Go. Over the years you see many window cleaners come and go. I can assure you it’s hard work, be prepared to work hard. 

 
Do you think you ought to do a little research? Firstly you could do to watch a few videos on YouTube as regards window cleaning. Before you rush in, work out if you have the get up and go to do it, can you get the customers? Have you tried? Could you work in very low temperatures like this week? Have you got any idea about been self employed? If you can answer these questions positively then move forward. When you go self employed you must register with HMRC. You need to get your business up and running long before employing, no cash in hand it’s illegal. As regards a van you need to choose that, only you knows your budget. Give it some thought and research it will really help you. Could you work with someone to see how you Go. Over the years you see many window cleaners come and go. I can assure you it’s hard work, be prepared to work hard. 
Thank you for the truthful response it is much appreciated! I am looking to see if I can go out with someone short term to see if it is for me... and I am researching but wondered if asking views on here is helpful also and it has been amazingly so.

thanks to everyone who has given me there time thus far.

 
Thank you for the truthful response it is much appreciated! I am looking to see if I can go out with someone short term to see if it is for me... and I am researching but wondered if asking views on here is helpful also and it has been amazingly so.

thanks to everyone who has given me there time thus far.
That's a great idea. Not sure how far away you are fella but you're welcome to tag along with me for a day or two if you like. I did the same and it helped me out big time.

 
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