[James Styles]

Hi guys just had a few questions about the brushes on wfps.
How long do you usually keep or use a brush for?
I’ve had mine for over 3 months and some bristles are pulled out or just hanging on lol but it’s still in good nick overall.

I’m looking at ordering a new brush soon so that when the one I have gets more worn down I have a new brush ready, what brush would you guys recommend?
What’s you’re favourite brush to use?

I like the look of the sill brushes as they have decent coverage, but are they also good for use on the glass? Or really only meant for sills, PVC and conservatory roofs etc?
The flocked brushes also look good.

I’d like a brush that has good coverage, can also do sills and frames well and has good longevity. Cheers. 🍻

[SB Cleaning]

I have several brushes for different types of windows...I usually use the ultimate range of brushes from gardeners.

[dazmond]

i only use a few types of brushes these days....

26cm xtreme stiff

26cm ultimate stiff

both these brushes are good because they are very light,esp the xtreme which is great if your cleaning a lot of windows over connys/extensions/pitched roofs(which i am on this weeks work)...

the ultimate has more coverage and is more robust with very little added weight compared to the xtreme and is my normal day to day brush for most work.i will soon be trying out the 35cm ultimate brush with 4 jets for larger jobs too....

brush choice is a personal thing but these are my most used brushes,i do have flocked brushes but use them for car and van cleaning now!

sill brushes are too narrow and heavy for day to day work IMO,I dont even use them for f/s/g/cleans anymore as i find an old xtreme brush much easier,less strain and they clean easier around the gutter brackets at height,etc......i will use sill brushes for conny roof cleaning though but i dont clean many of these either these days......

[dazmond]

ultimate brushes last around 4 months for me....
xtreme brushes 2 or 3 months.....

[Spruce]

ultimate brushes last around 4 months for me....
xtreme brushes 2 or 3 months.....

Dazmond is using hot water which will send his brushes to an early grave.

Someone made the point that the new cill brushes Gardiner's have aren't as good at getting into the corners of the frames due to their rounded edges.
I have an old cill brush that I do like, but I find it a little too heavy for continual use.

I like the Ultimate range and alternate between the yellow medium brush and the Dupont medium soft mix. I prefer the Dupont but its the yellow one on the pole ATM as it has the swivel and rinse bar on it. I'm taking my time and getting the feel of both accessories.
We also have a flocked brush on another pole that either of us can use when the house has leaded windows.

My son prefers a stiff brush.

[James Styles]

I was gonna say 3-4 months is a short time 
Thanks for the replies guys, I will not bother with the cill brushes then, it seems the ultimate brushes are popular I will check them out.
What’s the advantage/disadvantages with picking the soft brushes/medium/stiff?
Can you still be rough & robust with the stiff brushes without scratching the glass etc

[zesty]

Xtreme brushes, nothing else, ever.

[Spruce]

I was gonna say 3-4 months is a short time 
Thanks for the replies guys, I will not bother with the cill brushes then, it seems the ultimate brushes are popular I will check them out.
What’s the advantage/disadvantages with picking the soft brushes/medium/stiff?
Can you still be rough & robust with the stiff brushes without scratching the glass etc

The old hot potato.

None of the brushes sold for window cleaning will scratch glass.

Stiff is recommended for hot water. My son says that his stiff brush removes dirt and baked on bird lime better than my softer brushes do.
If he spots a mark on a window I didn't remove he will blame my soft brush. If I spot a mark on a window he cleaned then I blame his stiff brush. 

But I also have a scraper on the back of my brush for those more 'hard to remove' bird strikes. We also do have a Unger wide blade scraper that fits on the end of an Unger Teleplus pole for those 'welded on' bird strikes.

I honestly prefer the feel of my softer brush on the glass. 

But like most windies will tell you, we have an array of brushes we have bought, used for a couple of cleans and stored them away. I still have a brand new Vikan flocked oval brush which must have been in the cupboard for 13 years.

I still have enough nearly new brushes on the van to last me for the rest of my life. Buying brushes reminds me of the old desktop computer races. Buy a computer and as soon as you get it home a faster, quicker one comes out and you just got to have the latest one.

Here's a good read for you.
https://gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/all-products/water-fed-poles/brushes/brush-suitability-guide.html

[dazmond]

ultimate brushes last around 4 months for me....
xtreme brushes 2 or 3 months.....

Dazmond is using hot water which will send his brushes to an early grave.

Someone made the point that the new cill brushes Gardiner's have aren't as good at getting into the corners of the frames due to their rounded edges.
I have an old cill brush that I do like, but I find it a little too heavy for continual use.

I like the Ultimate range and alternate between the yellow medium brush and the Dupont medium soft mix. I prefer the Dupont but its the yellow one on the pole ATM as it has the swivel and rinse bar on it. I'm taking my time and getting the feel of both accessories.
We also have a flocked brush on another pole that either of us can use when the house has leaded windows.

My son prefers a stiff brush.

im surprised you dont use extreme brushes spruce at your age.....they cut down strain a fair bit esp those awkward windows at angles....

[Smudger]

wow that was a quick decision based on just a few answers

The new sill brushes from gardeners are excellent - the guys say they scrub  better than any of the SL brushes they have used and get into corners really well - yes a little heavier but less time on the glass (swings and roundabouts)

can't tell you how long they will last as its only been a few weeks

SL brushes lasted between 4 to 6 months depending on the operator - we usually turn them around 180 degrees after 3 months to keep the worn bristles at the bottom

going forward its sill brushes all the way on windows  - however they are not good for soffit fascia gutter cleaning work

Darran

[nathankaye]

For guidance, Gardiners have a brush guide on their website

[zesty]

Basically James, for the easiest work, try an xtreme hybrid.

I don’t use any other brushes, doesn’t matter if I’m doing a builders clean, first clean or regular clean, the xtreme is all I use and it’s never struggling.

Personally I don’t think there is much difference between any of the brushes, they all work. I have used sill brushes, supreme, ultimate and super light, never noticed any real difference in scrubbing power.

The biggest difference is weight, and the xtreme brushes are a joy to work with. Give them a go mate.

[Granny]

I only have two brushes a sill brush and the superlite, however I don't know how people work without a swivel you should at least try one!
You have to keep your clamps in good nick to stop the pole sections spinning which is a good thing.
I prefer the long swivel they get over deeper sills if you can't stand back from the window.

[Spruce]

ultimate brushes last around 4 months for me....
xtreme brushes 2 or 3 months.....

Dazmond is using hot water which will send his brushes to an early grave.

Someone made the point that the new cill brushes Gardiner's have aren't as good at getting into the corners of the frames due to their rounded edges.
I have an old cill brush that I do like, but I find it a little too heavy for continual use.

I like the Ultimate range and alternate between the yellow medium brush and the Dupont medium soft mix. I prefer the Dupont but its the yellow one on the pole ATM as it has the swivel and rinse bar on it. I'm taking my time and getting the feel of both accessories.
We also have a flocked brush on another pole that either of us can use when the house has leaded windows.

My son prefers a stiff brush.

im surprised you dont use extreme brushes spruce at your age.....they cut down strain a fair bit esp those awkward windows at angles....

Daz, you make a good point. I'm starting to really feel the weight of these Ultimate brushes these last few days - I've been doing the clean I did today for years and I really struggled getting the brush up to the windows today. I've got an old Extreme stiff brush I should put on and see what the difference is.

Suddenly I've lost all strength in my upper arms. In the old days we would fit a Vikan Oval back on the pole - this quickly gave us a jolt back to reality. But I don't think I could do it now.

I don't know if its the heat or if something has gone wrong. I can hardly lift my arms - its as though I have had a mini stroke. Or maybe its the shifting of muscle I experience every so often - the muscle I build up around my arms slips down to my waste and I have to start building muscle again. 

Sometimes we need a reality check. We saw a teenage today walking along the pavement where we were going to park the van. My son noticed she had 2 patches on each side inner arm. Never seen them before. I went back to the van to get some cleaning paste and saw her walking past the other way. So being noisey, I asked her if she didn't mind me asking what the patches were.  She said she was a stage 2 diabetic. The one 'patch' was monitoring her blood sugar levels and the other was injecting insulin as her body needed it. And I thought I was badly off for a moment.

.

[robbo333]

James

Asking which brush to use, is like being in a nightclub and asking 'which girl do you fancy'?
Or being on Autotrader and saying which car do you like?
You are going to get 10 different answers.
And that is exactly how it is!

You need to decide, what YOU want in a brush and pick the one (or two that suits you).

For me, I have dodgy elbows, quite painful, so I need the lightest brushes possible; the Xtreme

They basically have the stiff, (which I use mostly) and the natural bristle, (which scrubs the glass better, but drags across the glass), this 'dragging', motion, cleans better but takes longer and asserts more effort. Not good for me!

For leaded I use an old Xtreme flocked (which they don't make anymore). It is totally knackered, but moves across (even square lead) like it isn't there. I also have another flocked (never been used), that I found in my garage, that I use for fsg cleaning as it is so light. I put fan jets on that one too.

As an everyday brush, the Ultimate medium (orange and red, I think) is hard to beat and for leaded the new superlite flocked is amazing.

Although I have all the brushes mentioned above, I stick with the Xtremes.

[dazmond]

ultimate brushes last around 4 months for me....
xtreme brushes 2 or 3 months.....

Dazmond is using hot water which will send his brushes to an early grave.

Someone made the point that the new cill brushes Gardiner's have aren't as good at getting into the corners of the frames due to their rounded edges.
I have an old cill brush that I do like, but I find it a little too heavy for continual use.

I like the Ultimate range and alternate between the yellow medium brush and the Dupont medium soft mix. I prefer the Dupont but its the yellow one on the pole ATM as it has the swivel and rinse bar on it. I'm taking my time and getting the feel of both accessories.
We also have a flocked brush on another pole that either of us can use when the house has leaded windows.

My son prefers a stiff brush.

im surprised you dont use extreme brushes spruce at your age.....they cut down strain a fair bit esp those awkward windows at angles....

Daz, you make a good point. I'm starting to really feel the weight of these Ultimate brushes these last few days - I've been doing the clean I did today for years and I really struggled getting the brush up the the windows today. I've got an old Extreme stiff brush I should put on and see what the difference is.

Suddenly I've lost all strength in my upper arms. In the old days we would fit a Vikan Oval back on the pole - this quickly gave us a jolt back to reality. But I don't think I could do it now.

I don't know if its the heat or if something has gone wrong. I can hardly lift my arms - its as though I have had a mini stroke. Or maybe its the shifting of muscle I experience every so often - the muscle I build up around my arms slips down to my waste and I have to start building muscle again. 

Sometimes we need a reality check. We saw a teenage today walking along the pavement where we were going to park the van. My son noticed she had 2 patches on each side inner arm. Never seen them before. I went back to the van to get some cleaning paste and saw her walking past the other way. So being noisey, I asked her if she didn't mind me asking what the patches were.  She said she was a stage 2 diabetic. The one 'patch' was monitoring her blood sugar levels and the other was injecting insulin as her body needed it. And I thought I was badly off for a moment.

.

spruce im only 47 years old and  have  large powerful arms and a strong upper back but even i feel the strain a bit more after 5 hours of extending my pole over connys and extensions(some  parts of my round ill be doing this 20+ times  in a day) if im using a brush heavier than an extreme brush.......its my go to brush for my estate work...makes the day a lot easier...

[Phil J]

James,
I wouldn't recommend using extreme brushes on 1st cleans. Not robust enough, rubbish on spiders nests and ground-in dirt.

[Spotfree]

The extremes are ace, a one of a kind brush.

I have all three and the 14" is still way lighter than the ultimate range and covers glass really weel while still feeling agile. I have 4 pencil jets at 1.8mm in it and makes easy work.

[dazmond]

James,
I wouldn't recommend using extreme brushes on 1st cleans. Not robust enough, rubbish on spiders nests and ground-in dirt.

no problem if you use very hot pure water for cleaning.....i dont generally use them for dirty first cleans though,the ultimate is my brush of choice for the really dirty cleans.....

[James Styles]

James,
I wouldn't recommend using extreme brushes on 1st cleans. Not robust enough, rubbish on spiders nests and ground-in dirt.

That may be an issue for me then as I will be doing many first cleans as I’m still building, cheers for the heads up.

Edit: Just re-Reading through the thread and Zesty mentions that extreme hybrid works well on first cleans and even construction cleans.....

I’m in no rush and will weigh up the options over the next few weeks and will research some more.