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3mm pencil jets hydrophobic

Spit & polish

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Essex
I was thinking maybe 3mm pencil jets on hydrophobic glass might work (2-4 jets) anyone use this method?

Also do you change brushheads or have a different pole with your hydrophobic brushhead on ready to save you time

Had a house with the back doors running the length of it all in hydrophobic so want something quicker on these than millions of small passes across the glass.

Thanks

 
My daughter and I both use 35cm Xtreme Tapertec brushes with just two 100 degree jets in the outside holes for pretty much all types of glass except the occasional leaded property where we might switch to a flocked brush if the lead is not too good. We have quite a few hydrophobic windows but don't have any real issues with them not coming clean.

We use swivelled brushes and will occasionally rinse with the brush virtical on the window which sometimes provides a better rinse on hydrophobic. 

This is our experience anyway. Hope it may help

 
You will need a much higher flow rate using 3mm jets. They are twice the size of 2mm jets. Whilst they do make rinsing much quicker you will also notice that you will use a lot more water in the scrubbing phase of cleaning the window. This will be exacerbated if you have to scrub longer in one spot to remove a hardened on bird strike, etc.

This was our experience when we used 3mm jets in the days before flow controllers. I don't think there are many windies who use 3mm jets.

 
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My daughter and I both use 35cm Xtreme Tapertec brushes with just two 100 degree jets in the outside holes for pretty much all types of glass except the occasional leaded property where we might switch to a flocked brush if the lead is not too good. We have quite a few hydrophobic windows but don't have any real issues with them not coming clean.

We use swivelled brushes and will occasionally rinse with the brush virtical on the window which sometimes provides a better rinse on hydrophobic. 

This is our experience anyway. Hope it may help
100 degree fan jets for everything as they give a full width rinse and create a nice curtain of water down the glass, I couldn't go back to pencil jets at all 

 
Xline brushes I found to feel like a brick on the end of your pole

xtreme tapertec I use for all jobs windows fsg connys 

If you have plenty of water readily accessible then I would use 3mm pencils pump full power always- unless your working anything over 15mins away from filling station in which case I’ll put 2mm in and ration but it takes a noticeable amount of time longer rinsing. Could well be worth while sticking to 3mm and going back filling up but more costly in fuel and I’d rather not be driving back and forth twice ?

 
I've used 3mm pencils for over a year now.  It just feels like that there is no delay in rinsing, you work flat out and are not held up during the rinsing phase.  

If there is bird muck on the glass, I give it a squirt and then come back to it.  Snail trails and anything like that I just stop the water while I scrub it and then turn it back on [univalve].

 
I’m a big fan of the Xline DuPont brush with integrated rinse bar. I use it on everything. 
as I said elsewhere, it’s got the power and precision of pencil jets with the spread of a fan jet. 

scrubs really well too. 

 
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I've used 3mm pencils for over a year now.  It just feels like that there is no delay in rinsing, you work flat out and are not held up during the rinsing phase.  

If there is bird muck on the glass, I give it a squirt and then come back to it.  Snail trails and anything like that I just stop the water while I scrub it and then turn it back on [univalve].
You make a very good point. If we inspect each window before we start cleaning it then we can treat the bird strikes first. If the glass is bird strike free then we don't have to scrub as much on the glass. If we spent a few seconds planing each window clean then we can save time with the initial washing phase and bigger jets give a faster rinse.

IMO I have always believed that the reason we used more water with bigger jets is that we spent too much time in the washing phase when it's not necessary. For example, a frosted bathroom window only needs one pass of the brush and little rinsing with a high flow.

 
IMO I have always believed that the reason we used more water with bigger jets is that we spent too much time in the washing phase when it's not necessary. For example, a frosted bathroom window only needs one pass of the brush and little rinsing with a high flow.
I have come to a similar conclusion. In that you don't need that much flow when scrubbing/washing but when rinsing, within reason, the more flow the faster the rinse goes.  

I'm considering modifying my backpack so I can remotely switch between low flow (using the speed controller) and high flow using the full 12v to the pump giving max speed. Think I will have a play to see if I can manually try this on a few windows this week. 

Nice to see it's not just me (noob) who sees that less water is needed in washing/scrubbing phase than in rinsing phase.

 
I’m the opposite, I use a very high flow when scrubbing. 
this means I barely have to rinse at all. 
it’s more of a quick check over than a rinse. 
I use the same amount of water as I did before, but I’m loads quicker, at least an extra house a day. ??
 

If your serious about being a pro window cleaner, eventually you’ll need a set up, where the amount of water you use isn’t an issue. If you need it you’ve got it. 
 

This doesn’t necessarily apply when your starting out though, conserving water may important if your buying it in or struggling to carry enough. 

 
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I’m the opposite, I use a very high flow when scrubbing. 
this means I barely have to rinse at all. 
it’s more of a quick check over than a rinse. 
I use the same amount of water as I did before, but I’m loads quicker, at least an extra house a day. ??
 

If your serious about being a pro window cleaner, eventually you’ll need a set up, where the amount of water you use isn’t an issue. If you need it you’ve got it. 
 

This doesn’t necessarily apply when your starting out though, conserving water may important if your buying it in or struggling to carry enough. 
Interesting.

I am only using my car at moment so limited to what water I can carry (about 170lts). When I can no longer carry enough water for the customers I have then I will get a van. Currently I am not using all the water I carry with the small amount of custys I have. I am mainly on repeats now which is helping with water usage but as soon as Covid calms down again I will be seeking out new custys. 

 
Interesting.

I am only using my car at moment so limited to what water I can carry (about 170lts). When I can no longer carry enough water for the customers I have then I will get a van. Currently I am not using all the water I carry with the small amount of custys I have. I am mainly on repeats now which is helping with water usage but as soon as Covid calms down again I will be seeking out new custys. 
I used to use a car and using an in line tap saves a lot of water they do get worn after a while and they about £15 but well worth it in that situation as u can control exact speed u want the water 

 I used to wash on minimal water and rinse on max when skimping on water . I still do the same With gardeners twist valve when water is scarce, wash for prob 2 secs, turn off , scrub window and rinse on full. 
One advantage to using big jets and full flow is you can literally rinse top frame and down half way on singular windows if you’ve scrubbed well 

frosted glass is scrub all around 15 seconds Max no rinse 

 
I accidentally used the 3mm pencil heya without realising when they were all new out. I wondered why my flow seemed slower, whacked my pump flow up to 65, rather than the usual 35-40 I had it on. I did one large £35 house, came back to the van and used about a 1/4 of my 500L tank ???  it was then I worked out I had wrong jets. Not for me lol. 

 
I used to use a car and using an in line tap saves a lot of water they do get worn after a while and they about £15 but well worth it in that situation as u can control exact speed u want the water 

 I used to wash on minimal water and rinse on max when skimping on water . I still do the same With gardeners twist valve when water is scarce, wash for prob 2 secs, turn off , scrub window and rinse on full. 
One advantage to using big jets and full flow is you can literally rinse top frame and down half way on singular windows if you’ve scrubbed well 

frosted glass is scrub all around 15 seconds Max no rinse 
I do have a remote control on the backpack which just hangs round my neck. So it's easy to switch on and off. Great tip about water on then off for scrub as that might help if I get a bit low on water. Mind you so far managed to get all my customers within 1.5 miles of home, so easy to nip home and top up water.

Cheers.

 

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