[Johnny B]

Ive not read all of the above posts, so i may be repeating.

But well done mate for cracking on!
Also trad polling is really hard to begin with, but once youve mastered it, it is quite beneficial.
Whats your choice of weapons on the end?

But your right in noticing a change in speed.  Your just a couple of steps away from realising how good wfp could be now.

I use Unger 'S' squeegees (I have 10", 12",14" and 18") . The mop is a 14" Unger which has ends that unscrew to make just over half the size if required.

The pole I have is an Ettore which extends to 12',  but I need another longerone  (up to 30') for my highest work. I'm looking to choose between an Unger optiloc system or maybe a Phantom.

I realize that none of this is of any interest to everyone on here! What you say about being one step away from wfp though ... you never know! 😊

John

[Johnny B]

Are you having a laugh? Trad poling all upstairs residential windows? It's like listening to Dazmond 10 years or more ago!

well i am sure Johnny would want a lift and then you could learn somthing at the same time 

Such as?...

Jonny, bad luck with your van, but I'm sure it's insured as are your tools? Yes payouts possibly take a while & you'll probably take a slight hit.  Main thing is you & your daughter are ok.  I just don't think trad poling upstairs windows is the way to go personally. Just invest in wfp.

The van was insured full comprehensive, but was of little value and the insurers have already told me that if the fire was caused by a mechanical or electrical fault, they won't cover it. What else could it have been, I didn't set fire to it? The tools as far as I know were not covered. I totally agree though, that the only thing that mattered was that my daughter and I were safe. Everything else is replaceable.

Thanks for your views on my method Simon. I genuinely respect them.

John

WTF is the point of insurance then ? does it only cover spontaneous combustion ??

I have been asking myself the same question. If I had torched it myself I might have had more chance of getting paid out!

John

[Johnny B]

hard luck johnny.......we ve all had vans that have failed us and have had to be written off(usually at a bad time too)...good news is you and your daughter are fine...

as for the trad poling upper windows,i used to for certain awkward upper windows that couldnt be reached with a ladder but i couldnt clean the frames properly and its slow compared to WFP....

ill give you a few months and you ll be WFP.....ill guarantee it!

a backpack,25ft pole,foldaway trolley and a bungee strap,20m of pole hose,350L tank,submersible pump and a DI vessel and some resin and you ll be able to clean all your upper windows with WFP and trad the ground floors if you still want to keep your hand in with the trad work,you could have your daughter do this while your cleaning the uppers with wfp.....itll be a start....

Thanks Daz, you might have something there. 😉

John

[Dry Clean]

hard luck johnny.......we ve all had vans that have failed us and have had to be written off(usually at a bad time too)...good news is you and your daughter are fine...

as for the trad poling upper windows,i used to for certain awkward upper windows that couldnt be reached with a ladder but i couldnt clean the frames properly and its slow compared to WFP....

ill give you a few months and you ll be WFP.....ill guarantee it!

a backpack,25ft pole,foldaway trolley and a bungee strap,20m of pole hose,350L tank,submersible pump and a DI vessel and some resin and you ll be able to clean all your upper windows with WFP and trad the ground floors if you still want to keep your hand in with the trad work,you could have your daughter do this while your cleaning the uppers with wfp.....itll be a start....

Thanks Daz, you might have something there. 😉

John

It is good advice Johnny but before spending anything  I would get aTDS meter and measure your tap tds, if its high it will cost you a small fortune in resin.

[dazmond]

hard luck johnny.......we ve all had vans that have failed us and have had to be written off(usually at a bad time too)...good news is you and your daughter are fine...

as for the trad poling upper windows,i used to for certain awkward upper windows that couldnt be reached with a ladder but i couldnt clean the frames properly and its slow compared to WFP....

ill give you a few months and you ll be WFP.....ill guarantee it!

a backpack,25ft pole,foldaway trolley and a bungee strap,20m of pole hose,350L tank,submersible pump and a DI vessel and some resin and you ll be able to clean all your upper windows with WFP and trad the ground floors if you still want to keep your hand in with the trad work,you could have your daughter do this while your cleaning the uppers with wfp.....itll be a start....

Thanks Daz, you might have something there. 😉

John

even wagga has switched to wfp........and he was probably the king of using trad poles to clean upper windows a few years ago.......i think if you do a search on youtube youll find them(if you ve not seen them already mate),they might give you a few hints and tips to get the best finish possible using them......

[Johnny B]

Thanks to everyone who responded to this thread. I really appreciate all your replies, encouragement, feedback and good advice.

Very best wishes to you all, you're all great guys.

John

[KS Cleaning]

Sorry to hear about your van and the insurance issue.
As others have said this is a perfect opportunity for you to swap over to WFP.  Are you frightened what your customers might think? I could almost guarantee WFP will do a better job than trying to do upstairs windows with a trad pole. Or are you more worried about the equipment and cost?
The most daunting part will be producing your water, do you have facilities to store an IBC tank? If not you could always get a van mount system.
If you don’t want to use hose reels and pumps there is a simple solution, get a tap fitted to your tank and  fill a  backpack or trolley using gravity, I have a 1 1/2” outlet, 1 1/2” tap and hose and it fills a backpack in under 10 seconds.
The biggest plus is you will have a lot more free time, you can’t put a price on that! Once you are up to speed you will be completing your work in a fraction of the time that it takes to do it traditional.
If budget is an issue due to time of year and your insurance troubles, get yourself a personal loan, pay it off over as short a term as possible and the interest will be minimal.
Remember there are a lot of members on here who will happily  guide you along the way if you do decide to take the leap of faith.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[dazmond]

if johnnys tap tds is below 100 then he will just be able to DI his water which would be ideal...far less  hassle and itll take him 20-30 mins a day,no need for an IBC tank,RO,etc......

[KS Cleaning]

if johnnys tap tds is below 100 then he will just be able to DI his water which would be ideal...far less  hassle and itll take him 20-30 mins a day,no need for an IBC tank,RO,etc......

IBC tanks do have their advantages if you have the facilities for one. The other day I was wondering why it was taking so long to fill my IBC tank, my auto shut off hadn’t kicked in, flooded my garage 😖 could have been worse, it could have been my van😢

[Mr B shine]

The van was insured full comprehensive, but was of little value and the insurers have already told me that if the fire was caused by a mechanical or electrical fault, they won't cover it. What else could it have been, I didn't set fire to it? The tools as far as I know were not covered. I totally agree though, that the only thing that mattered was that my daughter and I were safe.


It really sucks about the insurance.  I'm glad your ok though which is good.
 Km moving from trad to WFP at the moment and understand your reservations  but I think it's the best way forward.

[Johnny B]

UPDATE:

I have spoken with the insurance company valuer, and it's good news. As the van was totally consumed by the fire, the engineer's report concluded that as it was a total loss, they decided it unnecessary not to investigate the actual cause of the fire any further,  so they will be paying me out what they estimate it was worth, less my excess of course.

Their valuation was close to mine (slightly more actually) , so I am happy with the outcome.

From the ashes ...
John