[Luke Johnson]

Heres a picture I've got of window cleaners using a wfp in 1960. So as you can see this is a very old idea, just show this to old cranks who think this is new fangled technology. We are doing nothing new so don't feel so worried about making the switch over, it's just with new technology that this technique has become a better solution over ladders.



here are early adaptable goosenecks from mr long arm



here is an early trade show in the 1970's, notice the the signs behind the men



I hope you enjoy my research, Luke

[Luke Johnson]

Please post any remarks or similar pictures you may have, I think it would be good to build up a kind of industry history for ourselves, we should be proud of being window cleaners and have some sort of heritage!!

[Luke Johnson]

here is the full article

[Luke Johnson]

Come on people have you not got anything to say about this, if you don't post this topic will just slip down and down.... its getting loads of hits but no posts!!

[AuRavelling79]

Were they using de-ionised water back then?

[Luke Johnson]

Well it says this in the article "The Tucker Pole was initially unsuccesful this side of the Atlantic. Water marks and stains resulted and this was unacceptable. Unfortunately, in Irealnd and in the UK, water quality problems are varied and complex and the window cleaning industry failed to appreciate the importance of linking  pole washing with water purity"

[Stevie G]

spoke to someone in the usa a while back and i think youll find its 50 years old
this year.

[Luke Johnson]

yes, it started out in 1955, and moved into commercial use in 1960s

[Luke Johnson]

it says in the article that customers could see the benefits of wfp over ladders back then..........what is wrong with the mentality in this country, people are so cynical and slow to grasp new concepts and ideas. I don't like myself for saying this but the Americans have a very good "get up and do it mentality" even if they do get alot of other stuff wrong. Luke

[tacky]

the only good thing to come from usa is ROCK N ROLL .SEND THE REST OF JUNK BACK

[Luke Johnson]

I disagree, Rock and roll came from this country and we still have the best quality of music, but can we keep to topic!!!

[Luke Johnson]

here is the document

[Luke Johnson]

here is the mr long arm website, it has details on their history and the invention of the telescopic pole

http://www.mrlongarm.com/history.html

[tacky]

but luke are topic s better than mars bars .   sorry luke on my second can .good night all .looks like good weather tomorrow .well in wales any way

[Luke Johnson]

here is some more details on the history of Tucker taken from a blog

"Tucker Manufacturing Co., Inc. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa USA celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the launch of the TuckerŪ High Level Window Washer in 2007. This year celebrates in many ways the 50th year of use of water fed pole for the window cleaning industry in the USA.

The Tucker High Level Window Washer developed from the original Tucker Car & House Washer from the mid 1950's. Today, the Tucker High Level Window Washer is more commonly referred to as the Tucker Pole.



In the early years, the in-house professionals were the early users of the Tucker Pole. Institutional customers, such as educational and medical facilities; hotel/motel, financial and commercial organizations were among the early users of the product. As the professional window cleaning contractor or building maintenance contractor organizations have developed, the Tucker Pole began to be used by those professionals.


The addition of "spot free" water rinse to the Tucker Pole in the 1980s has really opened the door for all, especially professional window cleaners, who maybe got started with only a squeegee and other tools in hand.


It's fitting that we open this blog, with an announcement celebrating the 50th year of the water fed pole in the marketplace. Our founder, Irv Tucker, developed a fine quality product that Tucker, its employees and customers, over the years have been able to build on and utilize.


The diversity of products and tools in the window cleaning industry continues to expand. We are proud of the origins and developments the Tucker High Level Window Washer has had on the window cleaning industry.


The Tucker Pole today is shipped to over 25 different countries, many delivered by one our vendors, FedEx. The development of water fed pole cleaning equipment has been a part of the culture at Tucker Manufacturing Co., Inc. for over 50 years now. The benefits of "spot free" water rinse has added greatly the marketability, overcoming the challenges of areas where "hard water" created a problem in rinse.



The slogan "we go to great lengths" with the Tucker High Level Window Washer remains very true today. The Model 83 has a maximum reach of 83 feet or 25 meters

[Luke Johnson]

Here is another interesting article regarding the history of Tucker and how they developed the system

Tucker Manufacturing Co., Inc. has been in business since 1945 and is located in Cedar Rapids, IA USA. We our proud of our history and owe appreciation to the many customers and end users during our past 55+ years of business.

We introduced a home and car washer in the mid 1950's. In 1957, we responded to the needs of a neighboring Big Ten university for window cleaning. They had various three and four story campus buildings that needed to be reached for exterior window cleaning. We responded to them with the introduction of the TuckerŪ High Level Window Washer.

Through the years, since 1957, Tucker has introduced a variety of changes to the materials that make up today's TuckerŪ Pole System. Some significant changes have been the hose and brush material, along with the option of single and our unique dual hose. The original clamping system was replaced with the worm screw clamp of today, which is an important safety feature.

Often changes through the years have been subtle, but we believe the current construction separates TuckerŪ from the various water fed poles that have been introduced off and on since the 1960's. With our style of clamp, for example, a model 45 can be reduced down into 7 other pole sizes. On the other hand, that model 15 can be added to become that model 45.

In the 1980's, window cleaners in Southern California began to incorporate DI water rinse with the Tucker Pole, due to the availability of DI tanks in the area. Tucker began to sell water treatment options in the 1990's, since the water conditioning industry has not uniformly responded to the needs of the cleaning and hygiene community, especially for ''spot free'' water rinse in window cleaning operations.
Further, in 1990, Tucker Manufacturing Co., Inc. was awarded the Governor's E Award from the State of Iowa, recognizing Tucker for their export efforts. In 1998, the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce awarded Tucker a Bravo Award.

Today, the TuckerŪ Pole System continues to be a safe and cost effective option for exterior window cleaning and other exterior maintenance needs. Further, we are the lightest water fed pole! We look forward to the opportunity to match your needs with the various TuckerŪ setups available.

[Luke Johnson]

If anybody has any similar material or pictures please post them, Luke

[windolene]

Hi,

My vast vintage window cleaning  items start early 1900,s. You can keep your modern snippets   

Kevin WINDOLENE.

[Pittmonkey]

Hi Windowlene

I've been looking for an old photo of a window cleaner

e.g old sepia victorian photo of window cleaner with tin bucket and old wooden ladder any ideas where to get one

Wayne

[windolene]

Hi,

you have mail.

Kevin WINDOLENE.