Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Dave Willis on January 11, 2014, 03:44:01 pm
-
Brilliant sunshine very low in the sky. My results were shocking :o We've had some dreadful weather mind and I've been playing about with different brushes but in direct sunlight my windows were hopeless. Brush lines running through dirt. Worst I've ever seen. What's yours like?
-
Havn't done my own windows but during these last few weeks it's been easy to see which shop windows are cleaned with good old Fairy and the like.
Just looked at my own windows - they're minging.
-
I've worked all week with mono brushes but the results must be poor if I'm honest. God knows what it's like by the coast.
-
yep , done mine today :o i used the dt flocked original one
come up a treat, unlike the insides ::)roll i was using a squeegee with a duff rubber in it :'( just a slight nick in it which i didnt notice , so will have to do them again, bugger
-
I'm thinking a flocked brush might be the only solution for a few weeks.
-
not on a saturday.
-
Cleaned mine yesterday, first time in 10 weeks.
Came up perfect, i use a dual trim extreme
-
try adding a bit of washing up liquid on brush ;)
great results
-
I'm thinking a flocked brush might be the only solution for a few weeks.
I've just bought this one for that reason. It's the gardiners dual trim flocked. Much better scrubbing power. It is heavier than extreme brushes though. Worthwhile having one in your armoury for dirty windows though. Maintenance cleans in normal conditions the extremes are great. Just don't think they are good enough for storm battered dirty windows.
(http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s650/OnlyUseMeWFP/b294f9dcf8ccece61f1694d9780586fe_zpsc6bbc5f8.jpg)
(http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s650/OnlyUseMeWFP/12fdc3101ae99653b7ae6dce7164d71f_zps1bc17979.jpg)
-
Just checked them again (dull day) and they look absolutely perfect. Makes me wonder just how much dirt we leave behind. I've always thought they were very clean but it doesn't seem to be the case at all.
-
I have switched to a higher flow rate and using sill brush for everything. I noticed on my first window these little bits of black grit were not shifting, so been extra careful all week. Random checks on glass i have cleaned and others. All A O K :D
-
I'm thinking a flocked brush might be the only solution for a few weeks.
I've just bought this one for that reason. It's the gardiners dual trim flocked. Much better scrubbing power. It is heavier than extreme brushes though. Worthwhile having one in your armoury for dirty windows though. Maintenance cleans in normal conditions the extremes are great. Just don't think they are good enough for storm battered dirty windows.
(http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s650/OnlyUseMeWFP/b294f9dcf8ccece61f1694d9780586fe_zpsc6bbc5f8.jpg)
(http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s650/OnlyUseMeWFP/12fdc3101ae99653b7ae6dce7164d71f_zps1bc17979.jpg)
That's the only brush we use. Don't rate the extremes. They're not up to the job. Who's done an outside job with spider poope on the glass and then gone to lean the windows on the insides. Extremes don't touch spider poope at all. They feel nice to work, glide over the glass but they're not man enough.
Dual trim flocked for us thankyou very much. Can't be beaten.
-
I'm thinking of going back to the black flocked.
Although they don't glide as nice, in a way you feel the glass has had a better scrub, if that makes any sense?
Mr B
-
My window cleaner (one of my subbies) cleaned all of our house windows this week and despite the low sun they came up perfectly. He was using a Dual-Trim Medium Mixed (mono) brush and the results were good.
Whilst they were dirty we had not had the type of storms down here that other places had experienced. I know that he does have a flocked brush if needed.
Personally I find for regular maintenance cleans an Xtreme is fine, but anything heavily soiled will naturally need something with more aggression. This is why there is such a choice that can be swapped onto the end of the pole.
We do have a new product called the Super-Scraper™ coming out soon which when coupled with something as lightweight as an Xtreme brush will allow even these brushes to cope with anything baked on quickly and easily.
-
Brilliant sunshine very low in the sky. My results were shocking :o We've had some dreadful weather mind and I've been playing about with different brushes but in direct sunlight my windows were hopeless. Brush lines running through dirt. Worst I've ever seen. What's yours like?
To be honest, what brush you use shouldn't make any difference on the final result for someone of your experience Dave. You have mentioned this about your own windows in the past a few times too. Now, it's my guess that what you are seeing are permanent marks on the glass surface- only visible to the naked eye under close inspection & from certain angles, usually not from looking straight on. The only way to tell would be for you to trad the glass then look at it again from the same angles. Other than this, I can only assume you are cleaning the top frames & it's just contamination from that- the glass itself, if you do not clean the top frame should be perfect regardless of what brush you use. :)
I have many customers windows which can look terrible, even after a perfect clean under "certain angles" and this is solely down to the glass surface itself. :)
-
Black Tecbuk for me , grinded the edges away so it's light enough .
Very very good scrubbing power , and that's what it's all about , not necessary the lighter the better .
Scrubbing power for me
Black Tecbuk
& medium/stiff gardiners CILL brush
-
Brilliant sunshine very low in the sky. My results were shocking :o We've had some dreadful weather mind and I've been playing about with different brushes but in direct sunlight my windows were hopeless. Brush lines running through dirt. Worst I've ever seen. What's yours like?
To be honest, what brush you use shouldn't make any difference on the final result for someone of your experience Dave. You have mentioned this about your own windows in the past a few times too. Now, it's my guess that what you are seeing are permanent marks on the glass surface- only visible to the naked eye under close inspection & from certain angles, usually not from looking straight on. The only way to tell would be for you to trad the glass then look at it again from the same angles. Other than this, I can only assume you are cleaning the top frames & it's just contamination from that- the glass itself, if you do not clean the top frame should be perfect regardless of what brush you use. :)
I have many customers windows which can look terrible, even after a perfect clean under "certain angles" and this is solely down to the glass surface itself. :)
Today i can't see a mark on them. Yesterday in direct sun they looked like I'd done a first clean with the water off. I've not seen anything like it before. They had a really good scrub and rinse - I think any brush would struggle with it.
The customers house I did before wasn't as bad but looked to have rain spots that hadn't come off. I could see brush marks running through the film. My own house showed thousands of brush marks running vertically through a whiteish film getting worse at the bottom as you would expect. It makes me wonder if we always leave a microscopic layer of dirt behind without ever noticing under normal lighting conditions. I have loads of different brushes I could try but the 'window' when the lighting remained constant would be so small I wouldn't be able to pin it down to a particular brush.
I cleaned some really filthy glass over the Christmas period with an extremely sparse brush and they looked perfect from the outside.
-
I cleaned my own windows the other day. Results were perfect (trad).
I am, however, just a few miles from the Atlantic, and afte the high winds we experienced here recently, many of my customers' windows have been minging.
This week I have found it just about the hardest going ever to get them clean. I even had a call back from one customer, and it took two more cleans to get them right.
The salt seems to stick like glue, and I have found that using a damp cloth to wipe the glass before washing, plus using hot water, has solved this problem.
John
-
The only other thing it could be is the hydrophobic coating on the glass. I have some like this on my round, VERY hydrophobic, it always looks like they are greasy, the brush leaves lines etc. However, these are just lines of clean water (although it does look like it's still greasy) it does dry clear. Seems worse the dirtier the glass is to begin with.
It appears as though you're just smearing grease around the glass.
-
I cleaned my own windows the other day. Results were perfect (trad).
I am, however, just a few miles from the Atlantic, and afte the high winds we experienced here recently, many of my customers' windows have been minging.
This week I have found it just about the hardest going ever to get them clean. I even had a call back from one customer, and it took two more cleans to get them right.
The salt seems to stick like glue, and I have found that using a damp cloth to wipe the glass before washing, plus using hot water, has solved this problem.
John
Salt is used as a thickening agent in shampoos, other cosmetic products and washing up liquids and it works by combining with other ingredients to increase the viscosity of the finished product. It's not unusual for a shampoo to contain as much as 5% salt for this purpose and bearing in mind the viscosity of Fairy Liquid, it probably contains at least a similar amount.
Hi I've worked near the "Seaside" for a good while - not so glorious when you're cleaning windows traditional.
Worst thing is detergent for the above reason.
The salt spray is horrible.
Sopping wet applicator - next to nothing soap wise.
-
I cleaned my own windows the other day. Results were perfect (trad).
I am, however, just a few miles from the Atlantic, and afte the high winds we experienced here recently, many of my customers' windows have been minging.
This week I have found it just about the hardest going ever to get them clean. I even had a call back from one customer, and it took two more cleans to get them right.
The salt seems to stick like glue, and I have found that using a damp cloth to wipe the glass before washing, plus using hot water, has solved this problem.
John
Salt is used as a thickening agent in shampoos, other cosmetic products and washing up liquids and it works by combining with other ingredients to increase the viscosity of the finished product. It's not unusual for a shampoo to contain as much as 5% salt for this purpose and bearing in mind the viscosity of Fairy Liquid, it probably contains at least a similar amount.
Hi I've worked near the "Seaside" for a good while - not so glorious when you're cleaning windows traditional.
Worst thing is detergent for the above reason.
The salt spray is horrible.
Sopping wet applicator - next to nothing soap wise.
I appreciate the tip. :)
John