Welcome to the UK Window Cleaning Forums

Starting or own a window cleaning business? We're a network of window cleaners sharing advice, tips & experience. Rounds for sale & more. Join us today!

All Weathers, Solar Panels And Velux Windows

steele

Active member
Messages
299
Location
aylesbury
A few questions for all you trad windy cleaners.

Whats the worst weather you'll work in? How do you work safely in the rain and wind on ladders? IF you arrive at a customers house and it's raining hard will you wait till it stops then start or pack in for the day.

Can you clean solar panels with a trad pole and squeegee?

How do you get to the difficult to reach velux windows?

Thanks

C

 
1 light drizzle

2 you cant in heavy rain and/or high winds

3 depends on the forecast

5 yes

6 ladder and pole, or clean them from the inside

 
I read that you are best not to clean solar panels trad, this is due to the soap!

The soap will leave marks still and this will mean the solar panel wont work to its full potential.

 
I read that you are best not to clean solar panels trad, this is due to the soap!
The soap will leave marks still and this will mean the solar panel wont work to its full potential.
Correct.
 
I read that you are best not to clean solar panels trad, this is due to the soap!

The soap will leave marks still and this will mean the solar panel wont work to its full potential.
I reckon it's just another case of the wfp guys trying to kid the public that they use pure water for reasons other than, they have no choice :Image15: :Image13:
 
When you say the soap will leave marks, can you not just use water or make sure you finish with a thorough detailing?
No mate. Detergents have been proven to have a detrimental effect on how panels perform over the long-term. Detergent leaves a sticky film on glass which attracts dust. My solar panel cleaning website explains it all.
 
I reckon it's just another case of the wfp guys trying to kid the public that they use pure water for reasons other than, they have no choice :Image15: :Image13:
Uh? That sentence makes no sense...
 
Uh? That sentence makes no sense...
Really ? ok, then I'll break it down for you.
Read many window cleaning websites and they'll talk as though the water fed pole was designed around pure water and not the other way around. In their 'why pure water' section that they copy n paste between each other, they'll claim 'the power of pure water', pure water acts like a sponge', 'pure water attracts dirt, lifting it from your glass', 'soap leaves a sticky film' etc etc and even if there was anything in that, it would be absolute minimal and customers couldn't care a damn. I doubt that one day, someone suddenly thought 'wow wouldn't it be good if we could clean windows with pure water', no, in reality, they probably thought 'wouldn't it be good if we could just stick a brush in a bucket of water and clean windows without a ladder'. It's only when the realisation kicks in that they can't dry the glass after, that pure water was introduced as a substitute or as a workaround.

That's the real reason for pure water and has nothing to do with it's so called 'cleaning power' which was fabricated to soften the blow when the customer ask's 'what...just water...no soap or anything?'.That is my point, many talk as though they prefer pure water but in reality, they have no choice with the wfp style of window cleaning. It's quicker, easier and safer but, it ain't better.

And now we see the 'pure water' science being used in other area's and I say you're just giving us another example of the pretense that is 'pure water'. Those solar cells are held beneath a sheet of glass and it's important for that glass to be clean but come on, clean is clean when we're exposing glass to the elements of our mucky outdoor land. You're obviously good at your job as it's your speciality but, of course you can trad these panels....for a start, who says we have to use soap in our buckets ?

Mart.

 
Really ? ok, then I'll break it down for you.

Read many window cleaning websites and they'll talk as though the water fed pole was designed around pure water and not the other way around. In their 'why pure water' section that they copy n paste between each other, they'll claim 'the power of pure water', pure water acts like a sponge', 'pure water attracts dirt, lifting it from your glass', 'soap leaves a sticky film' etc etc and even if there was anything in that, it would be absolute minimal and customers couldn't care a damn. I doubt that one day, someone suddenly thought 'wow wouldn't it be good if we could clean windows with pure water', no, in reality, they probably thought 'wouldn't it be good if we could just stick a brush in a bucket of water and clean windows without a ladder'. It's only when the realisation kicks in that they can't dry the glass after, that pure water was introduced as a substitute or as a workaround.

That's the real reason for pure water and has nothing to do with it's so called 'cleaning power' which was fabricated to soften the blow when the customer ask's 'what...just water...no soap or anything?'.That is my point, many talk as though they prefer pure water but in reality, they have no choice with the wfp style of window cleaning. It's quicker, easier and safer but, it ain't better.

And now we see the 'pure water' science being used in other area's and I say you're just giving us another example of the pretense that is 'pure water'. Those solar cells are held beneath a sheet of glass and it's important for that glass to be clean but come on, clean is clean when we're exposing glass to the elements of our mucky outdoor land. You're obviously good at your job as it's your speciality but, of course you can trad these panels....for a start, who says we have to use soap in our buckets ?

Mart.
Mart, I dont know you but that is probably the most sensible thin g I have read on here,Good on you

Regards steve

 
That's an interesting post Mart.

I have been window cleaning for 17 years and did 8 years from ladders. I bought my WFP system in the very early days, using tucker poles imported from the USA. I was a HUGE sceptic of WFP, but once I saw what it could do, I was converted. Because it was such a new thing, I did study the chemical properties of water on a scientific level. It's natural tendency to absorb dirt is immense. That's why it was used in hospitals during operations long before it was for window cleaning.

No one thought about cleaning windows without a ladder, but it was the discovery of pure waters natural ability to absorb dirt that took it into many different fields, one of which is window cleaning. A newer one is solar panel cleaning. It is not 'a pretence' but scientifically proven, that pure water cleans surfaces and also keeps surfaces cleaner, longer.

We will be doing research with professors and researchers from www.cser.org.uk and Glyndwr university in order to ascertain the microscopic scientific benefits of solar panel cleaning with pure water. It is already proven scientifically that pure water gives better results with solar panels. Why? It is more financially-driven than window cleaning. People clean their windows because they don't want to look at dirt. People clean solar panels in order to generate electricity and income. If you want to MAXIMISE income, not focus on cleaning, you use pure water, not traditional window cleaning methods for solar panel cleaning.

This is without discussing why some of the chemicals used for window cleaning are disagreeable with solar panels.

Windows are aesthetically-driven, solar is finance-driven. The two industries are not really comparable.

 
Hi Steve, I'm quite interested in wfp systems for something to try in the future but can you tell me when you say it absorbs water, how does it absorb dirt and where does the dirt go?

 
Hi. Ultra pure water is not water in its natural state. When we purify it, we are putting it into an unnatural state. Ultra pure water has the natural tendency to absorb, attract, take in pollutants, in order to attain and get back its chemical equilibrium. Therefore, in its quest to attain equilibrium, it takes in whatever pollutants it comes into contact with. On windows, it is traffic film etc. when the windows are rinsed, the dirty water is washed away, leaving only ultra pure on the glass. If there are still contaminants in the water on the glass, the windows dry spotty. Rinsing is important then for window cleaning because you need ultra pure water left on the glass, then it will dry spotless.

I hope that answers your question. :)

 
Mart, I dont know you but that is probably the most sensible thin g I have read on here,

Good on you

Regards steve
Thanks Steve....don't forget to hit that rep button then
xImage13.png.pagespeed.ic.J8CNSnfRDV.png
Mart.

 
That's an interesting post Mart.

I have been window cleaning for 17 years and did 8 years from ladders. I bought my WFP system in the very early days, using tucker poles imported from the USA. I was a HUGE sceptic of WFP, but once I saw what it could do, I was converted. Because it was such a new thing, I did study the chemical properties of water on a scientific level. It's natural tendency to absorb dirt is immense. That's why it was used in hospitals during operations long before it was for window cleaning.

No one thought about cleaning windows without a ladder, but it was the discovery of pure waters natural ability to absorb dirt that took it into many different fields, one of which is window cleaning. A newer one is solar panel cleaning. It is not 'a pretence' but scientifically proven, that pure water cleans surfaces and also keeps surfaces cleaner, longer.

We will be doing research with professors and researchers from www.cser.org.uk and Glyndwr university in order to ascertain the microscopic scientific benefits of solar panel cleaning with pure water. It is already proven scientifically that pure water gives better results with solar panels. Why? It is more financially-driven than window cleaning. People clean their windows because they don't want to look at dirt. People clean solar panels in order to generate electricity and income. If you want to MAXIMISE income, not focus on cleaning, you use pure water, not traditional window cleaning methods for solar panel cleaning.

This is without discussing why some of the chemicals used for window cleaning are disagreeable with solar panels.

Windows are aesthetically-driven, solar is finance-driven. The two industries are not really comparable.
Sorry Steve, I still see that as scientific mumbo jumbo that is only relevant for NASA.

"No one thought about cleaning windows without a ladder, but it was the discovery of pure waters natural ability to absorb dirt that took it into many different fields, one of which is window cleaning."

How do you know this ?

---------------

"It is not 'a pretence' but scientifically proven, that pure water cleans surfaces and also keeps surfaces cleaner, longer."

I will argue all day long that a wet surface will become dirtier quicker than a dry surface. Just picture it yourself, dust particles/pollen etc moving around the glass on a busy street, landing on the dry glass and then being blown away again...yet if the glass is wet and this brings me to my next point. If pure water is so great at absorbing dirt, then at what point does it stop absorbing dirt....once it's dry ? Surely with windows being left and taking upto an hour to dry, the pure water is still attracting dirt, encouraging it to bond to it....and then it dries and of course, the dirt becomes dried on. My theory is, the moment you stop rinsing the glass with pure water, the moment the glass starts getting dirty again and at a much faster rate than that of a squeaky clean and dry finish from a freshly squeegee'd pane of glass.

Read the instructions on the majority of applications and you will see the words 'ensure surface is clean and dry'....infact, I can't think of anything at all where you would be advised to 'ensure surface is clean and wet'. I don't know much about the medical profession myself but, surgically clean to me would usually mean 'with Alcohol as it evaporates almost instantly. I doubt they wash their tools in pure water and leave them to dry amongst the many airbourne germs found at an hospital.

Again, even if pure water does clean better than a squeegee, I still believe it would be minimal...microscopic as you say. So how much would you gain from these micro's even with Solar panels ? A miliwatt per day ? I somehow think that the financial gain would be instanly cancelled out into a minus equasion giving the difference in price the wfp guys tend to throw into the maths :Image14:

I would just like to add though Steve that, when it comes to solar panel cleaning, I think a wfp would look alot more professional than a bloke kneeling on a roof using a squeegee :Image9:

Mart.

 
I dont want to start a row Mart.

But I thought the same as you! Did you know (I think) gg4 sell a product for window cleaning brings water temp down cleans better then fairy(apparently) can also be used to clean solor panels so when I saw this thought same as you!

I started to use wfp and when you start using it you understand how it cleans better then soap.

In medical use not sure they use it to clean tools they use what looks like a microwave but could be gamma waves? Anyway I think steve means pure water to clean wounds? To wash dirt out where alcohol is used to kill germs.

For you and others(as am new to wfp) am gonna do a test.

As I live at parents n they already have a window cleaner(not me lol) wait till window cleaner been and on then conservstory onr window clean by trad and window cleaned by wfp see which stays cleaner for longer.

 
Most if not all sp's have self cleaning glass but they still get dirty. Go figure

Steve why are there numerous soap based products for cleaning solar panel glass if it was that bad to use on them do you think?

There are even some that claim to increase output by the coating it leaves behind after cleaning

Karcher have even developed Karcher i-solar a so say professional solar panel washing system too using refined karcher soap, di water, hot pressure washer, telescopic poles with 2 spinning brush heads. :Image16:



Now If that don't clean a solar panel properly then nothing will. :Image13:

 
Back
Top