[Richy L]

Do you think it will be worth my while changing to water fed window cleaning for residential properties. The average price for a house on my round is only about £7.00p, and I am only really cleaning 3 bedroom houses. I can usually clean about 4 houses an hour on my own, so if I do invest in the reach and wash system, do you think I will be able to increase my income?
I'm 21 years old, so climbing ladders isn't hard for me to do.
Can anyone give me some advice please.
Thanks

Richy

[MNWC]

Richy,
I took the leap about 2 weeks ago wish i had done it 2 years ago. Mind you i have about 50% commercial work
I built myself a trolly system wich can be used from car if needed cost about £500 in all

I cleaned a factory with it friday usually takes 1 1/2 days so back sat morning but finished the job @ 2.30pm fri

another 3 days like that and it would have almost paid for itself

And not a ladder in sight 

[Richy L]

Wow that sounds really good. But I dont have any work like that. I can see the benifit if the job has one window next to another one, but like i mentioned, the windows i clean are mostly on small houses. so i was just worried it may even slow me down.

[windows_chepstow]

The average price for a house on my round is only about £7.00p, and I am only really cleaning 3 bedroom houses. I can usually clean about 4 houses an hour on my own, so if I do invest in the reach and wash system, do you think I will be able to increase my income?

Richy

Richy,

We used to have a member here called UBA1 and he claimed he could clean five standard semis in an hour using ladders.

Many didn't believe him as that works out at 12 minutes per house and given that an average house has 9 to 12 windows, that works out as under a minute a window.

I personally thought he was stretching the truth a 'little'; and even if he could; maintaining that pace hour after hour would almost be superhuman.

But he changed over to WFP.

Some properties are really quick to clean with a WFP; some are about the same; none that I can think of on my round are slower.

Not only that, with a WFP you can go for bigger and higher jobs and charge more per hour because you've less competition who'd be able to do the job.

This morning I was paid £98.00 for one-hour-fourty-five minutes work.  I could never have done this property using ladders (three-storey/large Georgian-windowed conservatory including roof).

On top of that I did another five standard houses and finished work by 1.30pm.  I really didn't start till 9.45 (after a Tesco's breakfast).  So I earned a decent amount for part-time work today.

My advice is to get a Shurflo backpack and see how you get on with it.

If you think you can earn more using ladders; then keep the Shurflo as another tool in your box.

[Richy L]

So about this Shurflo backback... would I have to build the system myself? or buy one ready to go? and where would be the best place to buy one ...  and not too expensive. Would I be able to clean upstairs with it too? or will I still need a ladder?

[windows_chepstow]

You should be to kit yourself out with a Shurflo backpack and all the paraphanalia that goes with it for around £500.00.

It'll clean windows easily three stories high; probably higher; but I haven't tried.

It's highly portable; goes anywhere; perfect for the residential round.

Look at the top of this page and do a search on 'backpack' and/or 'Shurflo backpack'.

A guy local to me has purchased the following:

Andrew McCanns Freedom Trolley (£1000) then found it too heavy.

Shurflo backpack, but got sick of filling it up (he does tops and bottoms WFP).

A van-mounted system (finds parking difficult in some areas).

He's an ex-engineer and made himself an extremely professional DIY trolley system that could hold 90 litres and 30 meters of hose (it looked so good I thought it was an off-the-shelf system).

Today I saw him using the backpack and smiled as I passed him in my car (waving and beeping my horn).

You can't go far wrong with a Shurflo backpack if your work is mainly residential.

[jeff evans]

Hi Leeksons

Thats top advice from Tosh ( if your unsure ), the shurflo backpack
comes complete with battery & pump.
The only other items you would require are the following:

An  R-O system to produce your water
A pole & brush to deliver the water
Some 25ltr containers to transport your water
A holding tank to store your water.

Hope this helps

Cheers jeff.

[Sir Squeaky]

Richy, I'd stick with what you're doing for now, and see how it works out.
At the moment us hands-on window cleaners are getting a better reputations and a lot of work thrown our way, which as time goes on we'll be able to charge more and more for....

Wfp won't necessarily be any quicker than you are if you're generally doing simple houses, it's only on georgians it's faster.

I'm sure you'll ignore this anyway, just giving another side of the story...
Trouble is there's a lot of peer-pressure for wfp around here.
If you're not sure don't let them push you about.

Cheers, Rog. (wait for the anti-squeegee fireworks )

[Moderator David@stives]

Roger

the guy is considering wfp , have you asked him the reasons for wanting to change.

It could be down to safety , and if it is what right do you have to advise him to stay as you are.

The guy is 21 years old and has a life time of cleaning in front of him and is at a vulnerable age as regards to taking risks up a ladder

Could you live with it on your conscience if he fell and you advised him to carry on cleaning off the ladder.

If you have never used wfp then you do not know what you are on about.

The only reason i changed was purely from a safety point of view, I have a wife and 3 children to support and i did not want to risk the ladder for one minute more.

I have been cleaning trad for 8 years so i no the difference between both methods and i can not see much difference worth talking about, only the safety angle.

[Sir Squeaky]

Roger

the guy is considering wfp , have you asked him the reasons for wanting to change.

It could be down to safety , and if it is what right do you have to advise him to stay as you are.

The guy is 21 years old and has a life time of cleaning in front of him and is at a vulnerable age as regards to taking risks up a ladder

Could you live with it on your conscience if he fell and you advised him to carry on cleaning off the ladder.

If you have never used wfp then you do not know what you are on about.

The only reason i changed was purely from a safety point of view, I have a wife and 3 children to support and i did not want to risk the ladder for one minute more.

I have been cleaning trad for 8 years so i no the difference between both methods and i can not see much difference worth talking about, only the safety angle.

As you said earlier...yaaaaawwwwwnnnnnn.

Apparently 8 out of 10 w/c'ers fall off.

Told you Richy, biased as usual. :

[Moderator David@stives]

Squeeky

You are getting really silly now.

How can you advise someone to stay on a ladder when they may want to change for safety reasons.

How about a reasoned answer and not just another silly jibe

[Richy L]

These are all good points, thankyou. Do you find the wfp clean well? or do they leave marks on them. I've just heard that they can sometimes they do.

[Moderator David@stives]

wfp cleans perfectly well indeed i have over 400 happy customers and not lost one by changing over. If you have any doubts go on a bwca wfp course or give your location and a member of this forum will let tag along for the day and show you the ropes.

If you need a link for the bwca let me know

Dave

[Sir Squeaky]

How about a reasoned answer and not just another silly jibe

You're obviously one of the people who doesn't read posts which don't rave about wfp Dave.
If you fancy reading it you'll find it was reasoned and not a silly jibe.
What would be the point of silly jibes with you lot about?

If he wants to change on safety reasons fine, go for it.
But he didn't state that, so I gave him the other side of the coin.

Can't see why people jump down my throat for that.
You make out like I said "Don't bother, it's crap"

[D.Salkeld_Ltd]

Richy,

Why are you interested in WFP?  Be honest with yourself!

Ask yourself that.  You DO NOT NEED WFP.

"WFP is good but it's not God gift" (Quote from Terry Burrows, champion Squeegee man!)

And Ignore the squables!!

David

[Moderator David@stives]

I asked my self why  ??/ 

Answer ..I had at least 20 jobs a month i hated every month because they were high in fact they were only about 24' but they made me scared like nothing you could imagine.

Also i had at least 20 jobs where the ground was slippy, slate floor and every time i was up the ladder i wondered would i descend in the correct manner or would i be taking the short cut.

Thirdly after 8 years with a slight fall every year and god knows how many near misses.

That is the reason i went out and got myself wfp.

Now i go out to work knowing i will never be taking them risks again.


That is the one and only reason for me ..and that is plenty good enough.

Dave

[simbo]

Trad done well is the dogs as far as window cleaning goes, we all know that but as said slippy tiles, overly high work are not worth killing yourself for so ok use ladder if you have any uncertanty but if you do use another toll ie wfp and go home in one piece. I personally hate leaving any window uncleaned so if ladder won't do wfp will
job done
cheers simb0

[neil100]

I have been w/cleaning for 26yrs and I can give you some unbiased advice. I started w/cleaning in 1980 when I was 21 yrs old. When  I started I did not know how to put up a ladder, I started with Leather and scrim.

Times have changed  and you now do have a choice for the first time in cleaning windows to a very high standard from the safety of the ground. If you want to stay Trad no problem, It does have an advantage in lower running costs and you will never get anything more simpler then comeing home, putting your ladders and bucket in the garage and washing some scrims out.

But their is an element of risk with ladders and haveing spent most of my working life going up and down them its great that you can go wfp and carry on w/cleaning.

The older you get the harder it is to change, But one of my freinds is a w/cleaner Hes only 18yrs old and has w/cleaned from leaving school. He helped his dad w/cleaning at first doing it trad. His dad has been w/cleaning since 1979. When he turned 17 he wanted to do windows with wfp but his dad would not change his ways so he started building up his own domestic round. If he works a full day he gets between £300 to £400 wfp. He works 2 days a week and averages £700 a week. If he was doing it Trad he has told me he would have to work 4 days a week. His system cost £700 which is one weeks work but he has halfed his working days over a year and time is more important then money to him. He never ever uses a ladder his round is 100% wfp. He loves the fact that he will never ever FALL OF A LADDER.

I started wfp at the start of this year and wished I had done it years ago. My son works with me, He's 17 yrs old and  loves wfp compared to Trad. My round is Domestic and my earnings have taken a jump upwards. I have invested a lot of money in the system but I know I will make an extra £40,000.00 over the next 10 years more then if I had stayed Trad while remaining an hell of a lot safer.

Unfourtanetly Squeaky Has nailed his colours to the mast of Trad W/cleaning and cannot give an HONEST appraisal of either system Has he's not w/cleaned with wfp. If wfp was rubbish as Squeaky claims you would find w/cleaners returning in their droves to Trad w/cleaning. You would be lucky to find one w/cleaner in the country who has switched back from wfp. I do not know of anyone switching back to Trad and there in tells you The truth of how good wfp is.

Nel.

[Sir Squeaky]

If wfp was rubbish as Squeaky claims you would find w/cleaners returning in their droves to Trad w/cleaning.

Nel, I never once said wfp was "rubbish", of course it's not, that's just people exaggerating what I've said.
All I said was from the results I've seen it doesn't give as a result.
I don't need to try it when it's all around me.
Why should I be able to do it any better?

[ian m]

Should I change to water fed pole?


Yes. It could save your life.


Ian