[ftp]

Right, you've bought your wfp system and you have told your customers this is the future of windowcleaning, it's all to do with working at height regulations, health and safety and all that bumf.



Then... custy says will you clean out my gutters please? What do you do - get your ladders out and forget all the health and safety you have drilled into your customers and how it's hard to get insurance and how they could be sued if you fall off?
Or do you refuse to clean them?

[seandyer2003]

You buy a gutter vac as its the future of gutter cleaning and complies with wahd and means you can do the job in half the time, charge double and be rich over night, sounds like wfp all over again

[ftp]

err.... that's not the answer to the question.  :



( i have one) 

[Window Washers]

I have insurance to clean gutters off a ladder, I do not turn down gutter work, but at the same time I do not do this everyday, what was you wondering ?

[ftp]

Well exactly as my post - how can you claim ladders are unsafe for cleaning windows when obviously they are safe to empty gutters?

[Blue Sky 2]

Because ladders are not unsafe.

[ftp]

So why is wfp used?

[trevor perry]

when i went wfp i told customers it was safer for us and in my opinion did a better job of frames i never said ladders where banned but said health and safety where making it harder for us to justify using them for window cleaning when new methods where now available so now if they see me using a ladder for access or gutters the question of why im using a ladder doesnt come up.
 maybe some shouldnt of gone round scaremainering saying ladders are banned as obviously your customers see them being used every day by different trades.

[p1w1]

So why is wfp used?

well for me its because it's quicker, safer, easier,  get lots of extra work from it, earn more money using it apart from that no other reason   having said that it's just a tool and nothing more to me i would still use ladders if need be.

paul

[Window Washers]

Well exactly as my post - how can you claim ladders are unsafe for cleaning windows when obviously they are safe to empty gutters?

I do not clean many gutters, if I did I would have a gutter vac something i went to the show for today, because it is safer, we clean a lot of windows therefor wfp is the safer option it cuts down the risk.

[pjulk]

I use WFP and if a customer asks me to clean there gutters i would just use my ladders.

I usually book them in for a saturday though as not to mess my window cleaning schedual up.

Myself i have no problems using ladders.

[elite mike]

I use WFP and if a customer asks me to clean there gutters i would just use my ladders.

I usually book them in for a saturday though as not to mess my window cleaning schedual up.

Myself i have no problems using ladders.

same as

[barry80]

I clean gutters the proper way going up a ladder with a guy footing the bottom, Its the only way to unblock downpipes , you cant do this with a machine because   if its been a long time since they was last cleaned you have to rod them etc and they can be blocked up to 3 feet  downwards ,  it would be tricky with a machine I think.

[Bobs Window Cleaning]

You shouuldn't tell them its harder to get insurance because you would be lying 

What is the point of your post??

[Tosh]

The principle behind WAHD 2005 is that if it's reasonably practical to do 'a task' from the ground, then that's the way it should be done.

That includes most window cleaning jobs; but not all.

Ladders are not banned; but their use should be limited to tasks where there's no other practical option; such as some gutter cleaning jobs (or all for me).

[ftp]

You shouuldn't tell them its harder to get insurance because you would be lying 

What is the point of your post??

The whole point of my post (which seemed to be lost on everybody) was the fact that it seems somewhat hipocritical of us wfp users to use the pole system as a safety measure to avoid ladders. Yet when money is at stake for a gutter clean we will happily scamper up ladders with the old bucket and trowel and risk our lives to shovel out the muck.
Which makes me think the customers must be a little confused over the reasons why we don't clean windows off ladders.

If you see what i mean?

[martinsadie]

i knew what you meant yesterday 

[baldeagle]

I don't tell my customers "that ladders cannot be used".

I say that "The Health and Safety people are now encouraging us to use other methods whenever possible"

That way, I use the pole for almost all of my jobs, and ladders for two very small cottages, and for gutters.

Baldeagle