[lucymulligan]

hi am doing my first days window cleaning on sat (weather permiting) i know ive done every thing to make my ladder safe  (matt and stand off)
has anyone got any tips for nerves P.s do you think i will get less work being a female ?

[Mike_G]

I dont know if you will get any more or less work being female but good luck to you starting up in January. As for tips, have you cleaned windows before? I assume you are using applicator and squeegee and not wfp.

[lucymulligan]

yeah using ladder etc ... good at cleaning windows ( i am a woman )
been practicing doing downstairs by standing in one spot ... just got to get my confidence on the ladder .... just found out there is a window cleaner in the village so it could be squeegees at dawn ( but i am goig to stick to the army living quarters that i live on ...
as for tips  do you remember the first time you ever went up a ladder ...
whats the best way to keep your hands warm ?

[Mike_G]

No, I cant even guess. Are you using an alloy or wooden ladder? Alloy ones will be cold for quite a while the wooden ones dont get as cold overnight in the frost etc, try to leave your ladder in the sun as quickly as possible if you can this will help clear the frost and warm the metal a bit. Be very careful this time of year with green pavements etc the ladder will be extremely slippy on this. And dont overstretch although it might seem like a pain to get down the ladder and move it just to do a tiny piece that you couldn't reach, it is not worth it and accidents can happen.  My advice to you on how to clean windows would be use a small squeegee it might take a little longer to do but you will find it easier than a large one (hope that doesn't sound rude) and you may not need to spend as much time detailing.

[a-r window cleanin]

We started this time last year and have never looked back.
Just take your time and you will get better and faster. Don't rush.
Always price high, if you quote too high and don't get the job don't worry as you never had it in the first place. The last thing you want is a round where you work like mad for not much cash!!

[niceandclean]

hi am doing my first days window cleaning on sat (weather permiting) i know ive done every thing to make my ladder safe  (matt and stand off)
has anyone got any tips for nerves P.s do you think i will get less work being a female ?

I have a girl canvassing team working for me at the moment, and the customers are always asking them if they will be cleaning the windows. Customers have said to me they dont expect a woman to be knocking for window cleaning work, i have found that they have got me higher priced work, they seem to get away with pricing a little higher than i would. Im not being sexist, but i think being a woman and telling your customers that you will be cleaning the windows, they will love it, i reckon you will do extremely well. But you must obviously, once you have the customers do a good job as to keep them as customers!!
Good luck.

[Jake]

Lucy

Agree with comments so far, also, do not rest ladder on cills, even to get that bit higher, buy a ladder stay that can rest just under, gives you more height, safely.

Make sure ladder is not too steep, go up and down ladder slowly( sod who might be watching) holding on with both hands. Think carefully, especially coming down off top section to the further away, lower section.

Be safe and good luck..............Jake

[lucymulligan]

thanks for all your post guys...on my ladder it says DO NOT STAND ON TOP FOUR RUNGS but on ladder saftey web site it says top three .... any comments would be recieved gratefully
i have a 3 part extension alloy ladder..... i have brought a ladder max (added bonus of easy acces to equip) am going to charge £6 for 2 beds and 8 for 3 beds...anything else i will make up as i go ...... got loads of advice off of here ,its great   im only doing part time till summer then i can build up my customer base ..i got this statistic from somewhere that says 1000 people a month go to hospital after an accident on a ladder ...how many of these are WC. (my mum is probably 500 of those ha ha she is accident prone  , she fell out the loft the other week )

[C Senor]

If you're going to squeegee the tops, get a Bucket on a belt. It will keep your hands free for climbing.

 

[Mike_G]

I use a 3 piece ladder as well, on most houses I only need to use 2 parts. Can you split your ladder into pieces? My ladder can be split down but whilst it is lighter and easier to carry if your ladder can be split dont bother as it will be more secure as 3 parts just because of the extra weight, hope this make sense. Also if you do need to use the third part make sure you lock the top part as it can work itself free when dropping the middle part and it might smack you on the head and I am talking from experience!

[tatman]

you certainly wont get any less work being female. My wife used to work with me and customers really took to it. Its great to see women window cleaners

[KarlJones]

whats the best way to keep your hands warm ?

because I am skint I am wearing thin thermal gloves with marigolds over the top tommorow morning.  Not sure how this will work. My first day out

I am sure a fair amount of those accidents are from window cleaners due to how many of us use ladders.  But I would think the most dangerous person on a ladder is not a window cleaner but someone who has not the slightest idea about angles and rungs.  A householder with a ladder is a dangerous thing.

My Dad is as tight as they come, he thinks my BOAB is a waste of money ?!?  yet he goes up ladders (he was 64 last week) and cleans his gutter out resting a knackered old ladder on the guttering.  He will fall once I reckon.  His attitude is "I am not scared of heights!".   I think he is representative of most ladder accidents.

[seanmcshane]

if you havent been up a ladder yet to practice, be prepared for a pretty demoralising first day!
You will be nervous at height.
You will not like taking your hands off the ladder.
You will be experimenting with correct ladder pitching and will get it wrong so may times.
Then you have to clean the window!

Dont assess your first week on potential earning power because you will take AGES to do your first couple of houses.
After your first house today, you probably would never believe me if I told you that you will be comfortably be doing 3 of them in an hour in 3 months or so.

I broke windows, stood in or knocked over buckets of water, actually prayed sometimes at top of not very high ladders on windy days, could not believe the pain in my hands on frosty mornings and was thrilled to earn £50 per day.
I stuck with it and 3 years later it is my full time occupation.
Occasionally, it gets extremely boring and cold and I have days of low motivation but so does anyone in almost any job.
It`s probably the best thing I have done work wise.

[lucymulligan]

thanks for everyones advice i feel like im in some elite society ( dont mess with me im a window cleaner) the dog earing technique , what do you use to bend the channel ? i really hope this takes off for me ...i can handle the winters if the rest of the year im out on those sunny mornings lapping up the sun ,chatting to everyone ..working into the evening ...........yeah im there allready ....hopefully by the time my youngest goes to nursery in july i will have a bit of speed and a fair few customers .... have ordered stuff from scrim city ....YOU KNOW THE WINDOWS IN BATHROOMS THAT YOU CANT SEE OUT OFF DO YOU DO THOSE ? OR DO THEM EVERY OTHER VISIT ? its just all the ones in this street are above a porch .

[seanmcshane]

use an extending pole for them with squeegee/mop attached.
Or of course, WFP would be ideal but maybe wait and see how your round progresses.
DONT miss out windows.

[Mike_G]

I would not bother with an extending pole, if you cant reach of the ladder explain to the customer before you take on the work that you wont be able to do the ones above the porch (unless it is sturdy enough to stand on) for obvious reasons, if it is only the bathroom I am sure they will be ok. (tell them you have not included it in the price) get used to doing ladder work before you start carrying poles up it.

[seanmcshane]

I meant use it from the ground, not from a ladder

[lucymulligan]

was all hyped up last week to start this week and all we`ve had is wind and rain and now going to have snow ..
anyway will be up there asap ...... got a poker night on tuesday have to bet little

[Mike_G]

Sorry Sean, had visions of Lucy hanging on to her ladder whilst trying to pole the bathroom window.  Wouldn't bother from ground floor either though I cant imagine it would clean up to well from ground floor and above a porch.

[seanmcshane]

No, I agree it wouldn`t be too good a finish but I think the customers will expect all windows to be cleaned. One of the biggest moans I hear about previous window cleaners was missing windows.