[paul marshall]

this will be my first winter an now the kids have gone back im starting to dread it , is it really that bad in the cold and wind , and what about taking days off cos of weather , i just worked through the rain all summer , but i cant just work through the high winds and icey days , also im often out till six o clock , but for ten weeks or so it will be dark by four o clock , i know most will say just get on with it and i realise its just another challenge but i wish it was feburay the 13 th cos then i would have done a full year , and only then will i feel as if ive seen and done it all , as far the seasons go , does anyone actually just maybe take six weeks off after xmas , i dont fancy going out for half days here an there that will just mess the whole four weekly cycle up more , anyway i better go now i just finished early for the weekend cos i need a few days away from the buisness , and guess what ,here i am on clean it bloody up arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[A & J Owen Window Cleaning]

Even in the really bad winter 2 years ago we only had about 6/7 days off in total. Only 2 last winter.
Personally, I prefer working when it's cold to working in the sun.
Not nearly as bad as you think it's going to be, or at least that's what I found 

[Blue Frog Systems]

Dont worry about it. You cant change the weather, so we just get on with it and do what you can. It doesnt get bad and stay like that for 3 months
Your worrying too much... Man up and deal what comes your way !

[robby1]

Give up mate , it'll  only get worse , those dark early icy  mornings ,  

[Ian Lancaster]

I'm at the "other end" - retired after about 45 years (and 45 winters).  In all that time I've only lost the odd couple of days here and there owing to weather.  The exceptions being the winters of 86-87 and 90-91 when I lost 4 weeks the first time and 3 weeks the second.

A strange thing about this job: weather records can be absolutely dire (the worst rain/hail/ice etc for a hundred years), but when people make references to "the terrible winter we had last year" or "all that dreadful rain through the summer" you think to yourself "Ok, it wasn't the best weather ever, but I managed to work through most of it so it can't have been that bad."

Weather might have held me up now and again, but annual turnover year on year kept rising, so things can't  have been that bad

[Steve Sed]

It's horremdous. Get a normal job as it is impossible to get warm dry clothes, boots or gloves.

[robertphil]

stop  bellyaching in September . i love winter generally

[Spruce]

We were extremely badly hit last winter but one in the North East. We hardly turned a wheel from the end on November through to the beginning of Jan. Then just as the weather men told us is was going to turn bad again, it didn't. We then had the best window cleaning 4 months to the end of April and were virtually out everyday.

Were we worried in Dec? Yes ~ but we made up for it the following 4 months. Did we get many Christmas tips in Dec? No, but we made up for it the following 4 months.

You can't change things and the weather men can't forcast long term. Last winter wasn't that bad but according to the smart money we were heading into the next iceage. Oh, they also predicted that we were going to have an Indian summer ~ no we didn't. That's part of self employment. If you did a pole, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of us had indoor jobs but were 'forced' into this business by redundancy etc. So we get on with it, as most of us don't have a choice.

Those that can will be working longer hours in summer to store up for the proverbial rainy day during winter. But that takes time and you can only start to do it when you have a full round. It took us a couple of years to get to that point.

[Spruce]

stop  bellyaching in September . i love winter generally

I agree with you. Overall, we don't have the daylight hours as in summer but the days are usually better for window cleaning.

I bought a bag of salt at the beginning of last winter and only used it a couple of times.

I also find that in the summer I only get about 6 hours in on the glass at the best of times, so winter is about the same - I work a bit better in the cold as well.

[magic moments]

Expecting loads to cancel to be honest,even I probably wouldn't be too fussed in the winter with windows,but hope in wrong

[A & J Owen Window Cleaning]

Expecting loads to cancel to be honest,even I probably wouldn't be too fussed in the winter with windows,but hope in wrong

Most women want their windows clean for Christmas - December can be a very busy month! The horror of the mother in law turning up and finding they have dirty windows 
We have always found August is worse for 'not this time'.

[SB Cleaning]

I much prefer working in the colder weather

[4S Cleaning]

Reading the posts in this thread has given me more confidence in starting up in January as the weather was a bit of a concern to me, but it seems it's ok with most of you, that'll do me 

[DG Cleaning]

November & December were a bit iffy, I was on ladders it was very greasy underfoot, January onwards nice sunny and dry. Cold doesn't bother me I still wore shorts till mid December. Can't say wind was an issue either. I'm wfp this winter so it ought to be easier not to mention safer. Not worried about this Winter its never that cold in the UK anyway.

[spudd]

Them Cold days def sorts the men from the boys 

[colin purewater]

Winters a dodle Paul, I lost one customer due  thè weather
And picked up loads of new work! And even picked up a new
Custy when I was cleaning when it was snowing!!
I kid you not mate

"Keep calm and carry on"  

[stuart mc]

November & December were a bit iffy, I was on ladders it was very greasy underfoot, January onwards nice sunny and dry. Cold doesn't bother me I still wore shorts till mid December. Can't say wind was an issue either. I'm wfp this winter so it ought to be easier not to mention safer. Not worried about this Winter its never that cold in the UK anyway.

  last winter was fine but the two before that near put me out of business, three feet of snow and temps not getting above zero for 6 weeks uk is bigger than you think and by fec k it was cold up here in scotland

trying to clean windows with a 400 litre ice cube wasn't fun and going trad wasn't much better, but I made it and know how to cope now

[DG Cleaning]

UK's tiny Stuart you can drive top to bottom in a day. We just don't set our stall out for winter

[Mo Al]

I think its going to be a dry buy cold winter...
Wettest summer in 100years something has to give!!

[Nathanael Jones]

Winters can be tough IF you're not properly prepared - - get yourself ready in advance & you'll be fine.

1. Decent work gear, insulated boots,warm hat, good gloves (Youngstown gloves are brilliant) will make a massive difference. If you're warm & comfortable you'll keep working -- if you feel cold/damp & miserable then you're going to go home & loose more money than you would have spent on the gear to keep you warm!

2. protect your system - frost & ice kills RO's, smashes filter housings, breaks pumps etc etc so its ESSENTIAL to stop it all from freezing. Insulate your van if possible, and sort out some kind of heating. Do the same for your static setup. I got thermostatic plugs off ebay & two 500W aquarium heaters so my static system automatically starts heating when the tem drops below a set level.

3. De-icing salt is something that is always handy to keep in the van - lots of it!

4. H&S first - never leave water on busy footpaths where its likely to freeze. If a customer or member of the public falls it could be the end of your business! Be flexible & trad doorways/entrances - I re-arranged my work 2 years back to do a few bungalows on one of the coldest days & tradded everything because of this issue. Some houses are fine - just use your common sense.

5. Know when to quit - it might not be -25c out & hurricane wind blowing,.. but if the roads aren't safe to drive on, is it really worth the risk. Just be sensible about it!

6. Bring a hot thermos with you & stop whenever you need to.

7. Keep your customers updated if there is a major problem - post regular updates on your business FB page & website.


There's loads of ppl here with other helpful tips,.. I'm sure they'll share,...