[jokay]

Hi can anyone advise me on how to clean my windows.I live on the 3rd floor so the pole extensions dont reach, Some one has told me u can buy a magnetic device. which lets you clean the inside and the outside of the window at the same time. is there such a devise if so where can I purchase one. If not has anyone any other solutions  

[simonb]

Look in yellow pages for 'ladderless cleaning' or 'reach and wash' these systems reach any height

[replacement]

Where abouts are you? as there is alot of pole users that can reach that height farily easy.

Justin

[jokay]

thanks for your reply. in in wigan, i want to be able to clean them myself, i dont want to have a window cleaner

[Philip Hanson]

Those magnetic devices you mentioned simply do not work.

You could buy a pole yourself, but you will need a supply of pure water, and to buy this would probably cost more than a window cleaner would charge. (about 70p per litre, you'll need about 25 litres)

You need water that is less than 10 ppm pure.  (Most tap water is about 200ppm)

-Philip

[WavieDavie]

Some one has told me u can buy a magnetic device. which lets you clean the inside and the outside of the window at the same time.

As Philip says - they don't work, and are even more inefficient on double glazing!

What sort of windows do you have, jokay? Being on the third floor, I would expect them to be designed to be cleaned from the flat itself. Have they been painted shut at some point?

Give us a few more clues and we might be able to help.

Wooden sash windows should allow the bottom part to swing in on hinges, after loosening and removing a batten on the other side, and you can clean both sides from inside. The top should slide down, allowing you to reach over the top and clean the top outside half - then put the window back up and reach out and up to get the bottom outside half. That's assuming you don't just sit on the windowsill and do the whole thing at one go, of course.

Double glazing should allow you to swivel the two halves in - enabling you to clean top & bottom, and inside & out, from inside the flat.

Hope this helps, but I think we'll see a few more pleas for advice from members of the public once the new Working At Height Regulations really start to bite.

[jokay]

Hi the windows are pvc double glazed they are two large center pains and two side opening windows. they open from the side so i cannot swivel them round to clean and the total window width is 11feet so has you can imagin its v hard. its a council property but they dont seem interested, the window cleaner who cleans the lower 2 floors isnt insured to do mine

[WavieDavie]

two large center pains and two side opening windows. they open from the side so i cannot swivel them round to clean

Hmm, a bit of a poser there, jokay.
Try and get a hold of the maintenance dept at the council, or the manufacturers of the units, to ask if there's a catch within the frame which you can trip to enable the side panels to swivel more, allowing you to get your hand out through the hinge-side gap. I'm sure the council would have looked at the possibility of tenants cleaning their own windows from inside. Are there higher flats than yours with the same design windows? How about asking your local counsellor, they've usually got contacts in the right places, and they'd be horrified to be told that windows they had fitted weren't fit for the purpose, as you should be expected to be able to have them cleaned, surely?
Have you asked some neighbours at your height, or higher, how they clean their windows? Does any of them know a friendly fireman? Is there a resident's committee who could recommend a solution - this must have been asked before.

I've searched on Express Cleaning Supplies but can't find any backflips or vice-a-versas there, so check out . . . http://www.windowcleaningwarehouse.co.uk/index.html and click on "dual purpose" on the top blue bar for a device which should help you. You'll probably need to get a short extension pole too, so click on "poles" just to the left of "dual purpose". Then again, you'll probably get away with using a short piece of dowelling, or a cut-down piece of broom handle - because you don't want to bump into the open hinged window just behind your elbow. Make sure the backflip / vice-a-versa is VERY secure on the end of the pole - just in case, you might want to get a piece of cord and tie it to both handle and pole, the name of this device escapes me at present, but it's on the same idea as a kid's lead which fastens on it's wrist with the parent having the other end, but shorter - if you know what I mean!

That's as much as I can advise jokay, so best of luck and all the best. Just think, if you make a success of yours, you could have a good little earner there - how many flats are there?

[jokay]

thanks very much for all your advise. iv tried opening the windows there is a releaser button but this just lets you open the window wider. but i cant fit my arm through the gap, and im only small sop it aint because my arm are fat. iv been intouch with the council so il see what happens. thanks once again