[clearly pro]

I know I know, whats a Yank doin on a Brit site for w/c ers...right?  It seems that the use of poles on your side of the pond is in high regards. They are used here too but not so much and I am curious why? Not that you guys would know why we don't use em but....you do seem to have a handle on usin poles for residentail work. AND since no one over here seems to really know what to do with poles (keep it clean chaps) I did and found a search for water fed poles and this forum came up, I read many of the threads from days of old ( you all are a hoot) and wanted to jump in. Now, I cant fake the accent, I can't spell like you all do so I am gonna stick out to be sure. Not to mention my very first post is both long winded and fragmented.
I do however clean windows for a living and there is our common ground. I also like to drink beer...albeit it is a week beer over here but it is still beer all the same.

So, shall we chat about poles or should I go jump in a lake?

[pjulk]

I do however clean windows for a living and there is our common ground. I also like to drink beer...

Perfect you have passed the entry test and welcome to the forum

I can't spell like you all do so I am gonna stick out to be sure.

I wouldn't worry about the spelling half can't spell properly on here anyway.


Paul

[Thecleanerservice]

I wouldn't worry about the spelling half can't spell properly on here anyway.


Paul

And the other half can't spell at all!

Pj

[Moderator David@stives]

welcome Claude
if that is your name .
I think the wfp is not generally used in the states is because you have not been pressed with health and safety issues like we have in the uk .
we normally follow you on things ,but this time it is the opposite .
Dont worry it will come in time.

Dave

[Terry_Burrows]

 ;DBig hello from over here to over there

[texas girl]

Clearly;

Welcome to the forum. Nice to see another American.

We may be the only 2 that post on here. I find this forum a lot of fun, informative, and always interesting if you clean windows for a living.

I agree with you about the lack of wfp useage here and when I have time later I will post all the reasons.

Altho Mondays are usually my catch up in office sleep later regroup days, I have to rush out to clean some windows at a new account. They are opening later today and my new worker can't make it over until later.

So I am always my best back up.

The biggest reason we do not use the wfp a lot is the  lack of required laws about ladder useage, etc. over here.  We have a lot more freedom to chose our tools, etc.

I hope it stays that way because all those laws and goverment control not only limits choice but also causes very high liability insurance. Safety comes first always; but I like our ability to chose.

There are several other reasons I will list later. Welcome to this forum. You will like it!

Hugs,

Texas Girl

[windows_chepstow]

Welcome to the forum, Claude.

Don't worry about your spellin' 'n' stuff.  It's what you type that counts, not your spelling and grammar.

Where in the US are you and what's your main type of window-cleaning work and what tools do you use?  Do you use a WFP?

Also, do you think our government is being a little too protective here?  Shouldn't smoking be banned (or more tightly regulated) before the rules governing ladders are tightened?

[matt]

smoking in public places are the next thing to go

look at NY and i belive some area's in NI

[mark dew]

and i belive some area's in NI


at least until the bomb squad has cleared the area...

[thewindowcleaner1]

Welcome...Spelling no problem, I can't
as for WFP I,m shure that you will get the WFP bug over there, then redesign it and show us over here how to market the system.

[clearly pro]

I live in Forida.
I have tried using a pole with di water but there was no water feed tube.  I just used ahose fed through my di filters. As a result, the spray ended up hitting the frame and surrounding area carrying water back onto the glass which ultimately left streaks and spots. So my experince with poles is only with a Unger pole but not water fed.
I have read on forum here in the States that residential window tend to streak with wfps.
I see you all use them on houses as well and am in hopes we can discuss your results and methods.

I tend to use GG3 and GG4 along with a product a company here makes (ABC window supply) called slick. It reduces drag and helps with scrapping and drying.

I do mostly new construction clean-uo but am picking up more commercial accounts and I market heavy in the residentail area.

I also shampoo carpets and pressure/power wash and do screen reair.

I rely on phosphoric acid for hard water spots and cement and the like. I can get into more detail if needed.

My marketing strategy is more about doing windows slow and with a lot of detail than trying to compete with the guys who really fly (they do well enough to keep accounts) . I
am not going for the store fronts but lean torward commercial accounts wherein I am doing ALL of the branches or store of one business.

I think I got all of the questions.

Phil

[rosskesava]

Hi Clearly Pro

I also like to drink beer

As far as I'm concerned that is all that matters. After a few beers who cares about spelling?

Welcome.

As for WFP, it's not that everyone over here uses it - far from it. Around where I live in the South it is still pretty much unusual.

We've recently got ourselves kitted up with a WFP system and a trolley. For some jobs I'm seriously impressed and for others, I'm seriously unimpressed.

On the plus side of WFP, some jobs are now done to a higher standard in a fraction the time and at the same price. Now that has to be a plus.

On the negatige side, those jobs where it does not work out we have lost nothing as we still do them with ladders and a mop and squeegie as we did before.

All in all, it's very worth while looking into not only in terms of what system is best for you, but also about how to best use it and for both those, what better place than this forum?

Cheers

[matt]

where is graham ?? ? ? ? ? ?

Nobody cares how we do it over here    


i am sure his reply would be

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and neither do we, so on your bike

 

[rosskesava]

Hi Matt

Clearly Pro is a new member to the forum and new members matter more than Graham's comments.

Please don't encourage Graham or he'll go over the top to outdo what you posted about what he may say.

Cheers

[matt]

 

i should have added

clearly pro, it was only a joke we have a resident entertainer 

his name is graham

[Chris Cottrell]

we dont have to appologise for Graham he comes with his own gov heath warning anyway




love ya graham

[Philip Hanson]

Hello Clearly Pro and welcome to CIU

Water-fed pole is rapidly gaining accptance here in the UK, partly because of new laws, but also because window cleaners are finding it a safer and faster way to work.

From what I understand, there are some important differences to the way we work in Britain, to the way you work in the USA.

For one thing, window cleaning here, especially for domestic houses, is done usually every month, but sometimes as often as every 2-weeks.  This is a normal arrangement, and many window cleaners here will refuse to do "one-offs" or cleans less regular than every two months.  Here, we don't wait for the customer to contact us, we just go along every month and do clean the windows.

From speaking to a few US based window cleaners, I understand that is generally not how its done over there.  Its more common for the window cleaner to wait for the householder to contact them, which is often only two or three times a year.  This, of course, would affect the dynamics of the work.

Having said that, I have heard that WFP (which originated in the USA by means of Tucker Pole Systems) will soon start to proliferate in the USA and Canada in exactly the same way it is in Europe right now.  The added advantage is that the water in America is generally softer than the UK, and does not require the same level of treatment that most areas of the UK do.

I would guess that we will NOT see the same kinds of stringent safety laws in the USA that we are seeing in Europe, simply because the American way of doing things puts a greater emphasis on personal choice and freedom.  But still, especially for window cleaning companies that perhaps employ a lot of workers, and who want to reduce their accident rate, WFP will definately be the way to go in the next decade.

Its all happening here - for now, I think it will happen there too.  From what I have seen, Americans are generally a very open-minded bunch, and they definately take window cleaning very seriously (more so than us Brits, dare I say).  I'd say its only a matter of time.

-Philip

[clearly pro]

When you all do residential, are you having to deal with window screens? If so, how do you remove them? Here is the US, at least in Florida where the water is very very hard by the way, screens need to be removed from outside the house. Therefore, even if we were to beging using the poles (and I may) I would still need to climb a ladder to remove the screen.

Also, why in the world are your windows getting dirty weekly? Is it your weather? If so, I suppose that may be a decent trade...continuos work for rainy weather.

[Philip Hanson]

Hi Again,

By window screens, you mean of this type:


Window screens are (almost) never used here in Britain.  In all of the time I have window cleaned, I have only come across them once, (it was a house owned by an American family!)

As for the frequency, in my opinion, 2-weekly is too often (though some customers like it that way), but windows here will be noticably dirty after 1 month, and very dirty after 2-3 months.  Remember, we have a wetter climate here.  Many window cleaners also work rain-or-shine.

Many shop fronts are done weekly, though I know of some that are done every day.

For all of these reasons, window cleaners in Britain are in short supply, people are always in need of them.

-Philip

[Ian_Giles]

Yep, welcome to the forum

And as Phillip says, we don't have to deal with screens ofer here...thank god!

Over here windows definitely need cleaning monthly (domestic anyway) and shops in high streets certainly need cleaning weekly or more due to traffic film and smeary finger marks from grubby little urchins who slap there sticky little fingers all over the glass the moment you have cleaned them
Often when you are cleaning the INSIDE of them
Not forgetting the scumbag element of our society who seem to delight in 'hawking up' a 'greenie' and proceed to having 'gobbing' practice (spitting) on the windows, followed up by splatting their takeaway curry/chinese/ chips or kebab over the windows and frames...not forgetting the blood that is often sprayed over the windows from bleeding faces and knuckles
There is also the vomit to contend with, though sometimes they are so drunk they miss the windows and spray it all over the pavement (sidewalk).

Ahh yes, window cleaning in the UK is an interesting job 


Regards,


Ian