Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Pete_Riley on May 25, 2004, 10:46:32 pm
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Hi all,as most new window cleaners I started by buying all the gear we supposedly need including washer and squeegie and boab.I have been doing it for about 4 months now and couldn't get anywhere near the speed of our local cleaner.He simply uses 2 scrims,1 wet and 1 dry.Scrims the window with damp one then details it with dry one.I thought "surely he doesn't do a good job".However he let me inspect his cleans and they are spotless.The point of all this is that I tried it about an hour ago on my windows and I not only did them in half the time they seemed cleaner than with squeegie method.are there any guys out there who use only scrims and what do you think is the best method.Thanks
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i would say that Squeegie will nearly allways beat a scrim
its a knack, but its fast, espeically with little or no detailing
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I use both methods.
It depends on the job really, I often find I am quicker using my scrim on certain windows like small or awkward areas, Its a case of getting to know each particular job and what works best.
Neil
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Try using scrim in full sun or on patio doors and you will soon appreciate the difference.
I even use a squeegee even on georgian windows - I have a 6" applicator and 6" squeegee
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I am the same as Simon (or was, I have a WFP now) I have a variety of different sized squeegee's and a small applicator.
A damp scrim and dry scrim can work really well on the right type of work, but the bigger the pane of glass the harder it gets.
On larger panes the squeegee will always beat the other method.
On some georgian windows I even use just a sprayer, mist the glass and squeegee off with appropriate sized squeegee. In my sprayer I always use a solution of Car Plan windscreen washer fluid (10:1 mix) It's cheap, £2.50 for 5L and it does a great job with the squeegee or lightly misting and buffing with a scrim.
Experiment, try lots of different things, be adaptable, I've been going 20 years and I'm always trying different ways to tweak and improve, make things easier, cheaper, more efficient and so on.
One other point re-squeegee V scrim; It takes several months of constant daily use before you get to be really profficient with a squeegee.
When you are really starting to get there you will only need a maximum of 3 or 4 scrims a day, and one of those will be your wet one, used for mopping up & wiping down sills and so on.
Ian
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When I first went from scrims to squeegy I bought a kit, cost me £40, it had the works ( even a Pole). I tried the squeegy out on my own windows..............."Load a C**P" I thought and slung it across the yard. Then I remembered this cost me £40.......and £40 in 1990 was a lot. So I persivered and discovered I could use it by just going striaght across a couple of times and detailing with the scrim.
It was Brian Dolby who showed me how to turn the blade when I went to see him to get some more rubber adn scrim.
I went to the Fed show this year for the first time and watch Terry Burrows and the F1 Guys techneque so now I keep havin a go. Dogearing is a good idea as it stops lines and gets right into the edge and if you don't go right to the edge then you don't have to detail. Mind you I don't use squeegy on leaded or georgians, just a clean danp scrim and you can polish of most dirt with one scrim.
David
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i use a squeegie if the windows are really dirty but if they reasomably clean then i will scrim them
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Lets not forget the old shammy in all of this. Being able to use a good shammy to its full potential is a work of art.
Squeegies shift the liquid off the glass but I always dteail the corners etc with a shammy.
There is another aspect to all this which is professionalism. I think the customer expects to see you flying around with the squeegee and flicking out shammys etc. Its part of the mystique of being a window cleaner.
If you just wipe them over with a cloth she is liable to think you are not doing a good job, even if the windows are gleaming.
You have to play to the audience.
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I stopped using shammy leathers over 18 years ago, no milage when a scrim does it better, particilarly with detailing. I know of few customers who even know what a shammy is for unless it is in conjuction with washing their cars.
Shammy's are best used damp, and you have to get the dye out of them first, scrim is more versatile.
I used to do plate glass windows with a shammy, and you are right, it is an art form and takes a great deal of skill to do a top job with one.
Ian
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I use a bit of both really. I use the t-bar and sleeve to wet georgians, then polish off with a scrim, on larger areas I use a squeegy,then a rag to go round the edges and cills, finishing off with dry scrim for a lovely shine. I guess it all depends on the job in front of me. Next to doing a good job, speed is the most important thing. I like the day's when I'm 'on a roll'.
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I use scrim on leaded one damp one dry.
And scrim also on georgian windows it takes to long on geogian windows mucking around with a 6" squeegie.
Big panes of glass squeegie everytime
The way i look at it if my 12" squeegie is to big for the window i scrim them for me its so much quicker.
But each to his own what suits one person may not suit the next
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I use scrim on leaded one damp one dry.
And scrim also on georgian windows it takes to long on geogian windows mucking around with a 6" squeegie.
Big panes of glass squeegie everytime
The way i look at it if my 12" squeegie is to big for the window i scrim them for me its so much quicker.
But each to his own what suits one person may not suit the next
Totally agree with this post...
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Alright guys, Tam here, ;) I never seen a mention of Micro-fibre in this discussion. :) Myself and my guys that work for me would not go past it. Try it, and you will never use another scrim in your life. ;D You will save a fortune, as the M/fibre lasts for ever, and it does not take long to get used to using it. :) Tam. ;) ;) ;)
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Goto agree there Tam mirco Fibre is 100% better than scrim, my scrim is used for sill wipping now. Just wish i tried mirco fibre sooner really.
Justin
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Justin which micro wipe are you using?unger,ettore,pulex?Also do you use one to wipe then another to buff?What about inside cleaning on lead glass?how often do you cahnge it and how long does one last during the day?
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I use Window Cleaning Warehouse own brand Micro Fibre Cloth. My work is 99.9% wfp and i tend to use micro fibre on a few windows wfp cant get ie about flat roofs, i also use them for inside cleans and find them excellent. I am not sure how long one would last as like i say i am wfp.
Might be worth buying one and then compare with the scrim you use for £4.50 its worth a try, and i belive you will be impressed with it.
Justin
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When I first went from scrims to squeegy I bought a kit, cost me £40, it had the works ( even a Pole). I tried the squeegy out on my own windows..............."Load a C**P" I thought and slung it across the yard. Then I remembered this cost me £40.......and £40 in 1990 was a lot. So I persivered and discovered I could use it by just going striaght across a couple of times and detailing with the scrim.
It was Brian Dolby who showed me how to turn the blade when I went to see him to get some more rubber adn scrim.
I went to the Fed show this year for the first time and watch Terry Burrows and the F1 Guys techneque so now I keep havin a go. Dogearing is a good idea as it stops lines and gets right into the edge and if you don't go right to the edge then you don't have to detail. Mind you I don't use squeegy on leaded or georgians, just a clean danp scrim and you can polish of most dirt with one scrim.
David
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Hi David ,
Have just logged on tonight. Having been a window cleaner for 20 years i know what the lines are that you mention but have never heard of dogearing, can you explain?
Kevin Dixon
Surrey but soon to be Norwich.
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Hello Kevin, and welcome to the forum.
The subject of dog earing came up a little while back, you can read the thread here:
http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Equipment;action=display;num=1080716884;start=0
I must admit until then I had never heard of it either.
-Philip