[Jack Judd]

Hi everyone, I have been in the business now for 10 years and done my fair share of builders cleans.  Cement, stickers and paint off etc.  Have always used hot water and razor blades.

Have a big old made new house with massive windows that are in a state.  Getting fearful in my old age and weary of blades.  Any tips for builders cleans and avoiding sratches at all costs.

Cheers Jack

[Simon Trapani]

Yeh. Just avoid!

[motod]

Tell them you dont use blades, clean only. Anything left - builders to sort... Then you can offer discounted clean again on handover day perhaps?

[Splash & dash]

We don’t do builders cleans just not worth the hassle, to busy with regular  work to worry about stuff like that .

[Richard iSparkle]

we dont do them either. not worth the hassle and plenty of better work out there instead

[NWH]

I’ve had this twice in the last 18 months with extensions on houses I already do I’d never take a builders clean on if I didn’t clean it already,I said on both occasions you will have to get the builder back to get all the cement and labels off.
The worse thing you can do as a window cleaner is pull up on the drive 2-3 weeks from builders completing the work and them see you,they’ll make no effort to get stuff off the glass I always tell the customer make sure you have a word and say I’m not going to attempt to scratch them for the builder to say it wasn’t him.

[Jack Judd]

thanks.  I do try avoid although difficult when customer moves to a new house and takes you with them.  No other advice on removing cement without a blade?  Someone must be doing builders clean occasionally otherwise there would be a lot cement and stickers on windows.

[NWH]

If it’s small bits of cement the easiest and safest way to do it Jack is with bronze wool it comes off with a few scrubs,put a small amount of fairy on the wettish pad and rub.
Large bits of cement that look like they’ve been chucked on the glass like a joke I’d ask for the builder to return to do them.

[NWH]

Bronze wool is superb at celotape marks also pull off the bulk of the tape and use the pad to remove the glue part of the tape,marvellous stuff that bronze wool it removes things you’d think it can’t.

[Bungle]

I was greeted by this last week  . I always text her the night before. She never texts back. She could’ve texted back saying the patio doors are a mess etc. I’m buggered if I’m cleaning that load of crap off from shoddy builders for £10 per clean so I just washed over like I normally do. Anything that didn’t come off stayed on. This is the after picture.

[SB Cleaning]

I was greeted by this last week  . I always text her the night before. She never texts back. She could’ve texted back saying the patio doors are a mess etc. I’m buggered if I’m cleaning that load of crap off from shoddy builders for £10 per clean so I just washed over like I normally do. Anything that didn’t come off stayed on. This is the after picture.

Is that cement?

[NWH]

That mix of cement will wash straight off with hot water that’s like a 5-1 mix,the darker the cement the harder it sets if that was dark in colour you wouldn’t be far off asking him for new doors.

[Bungle]

I was greeted by this last week  . I always text her the night before. She never texts back. She could’ve texted back saying the patio doors are a mess etc. I’m buggered if I’m cleaning that load of crap off from shoddy builders for £10 per clean so I just washed over like I normally do. Anything that didn’t come off stayed on. This is the after picture.

Is that cement?

Yes, they’ve put a concrete floor in ready for a canny by the looks of it.

[Simon Trapani]

That mix of cement will wash straight off with hot water that’s like a 5-1 mix,the darker the cement the harder it sets if that was dark in colour you wouldn’t be far off asking him for new doors.

Nathan lives on!

[Jonny 87]

I would HAPPILY do builders cleans......... but the problem is that no one ever wants to pay the going rate.

They can get a young apprentice for £5 an hour to walk around with a bucket of soapy water and a razor blade scratching the glass to bits.

For me to do a proper builders clean with zero scratches this is my process......

1- rinse window with hot pure water.
2- spray a degreaser onto window and frame
3- give a very light wfp clean
4- spray a tar and glue remover onto stickers
5- spray cement remover onto cement
6- use bronze wool on any stickers
7- finally use a Brand new razor on anything else that won’t come off. Being careful not to use a back and forth motion, and cleaning the blade after every stroke.

Yet when you give people a price they look at you like you’ve just given them a death sentence. I never do them nowadays unless it’s a customer who’s had an extension fitted etc.

[NWH]

Why on earth would anyone take that on unless it was an existing job I would just frighten the customer into thinking they’ll be ruined,you need to get the builder back I’m afraid madam I don’t want to scratch them.