[Ray Pickering]

Hi there you lovely people.
As a new cleaner i'm struggling with the small top openers.
An average Semi is taking me about 25/30 minutes!
I know i'm probably the slowest cleaner you all know but i'm getting there.
I've seen local cleaners give them a quick wipe with a scrim i've tried this at home but am not satisfied with the results, so i soap them & sqeegee them off then rub them with a dry scrim--so probably i spend half my time on each house cleaning them.
What is the best way to clean them?
All your comments will be appreciated.
Biker Ray. 

[Rob_B]

It is possible to scrim them, but you must have the right dampness to the scrim which only years of practice brings.

i personally like to squeegee them. I use a 6 inch squeegee that fits in most fanlights, and then detail.

Don't worry, you will get faster, when I first started I nearly jacked it in, I thought I would never earn any money. It just comes to you in time.

[Davindo Cleana]

I am fairly new and half an hour is not that bad - unless you are charging too low  - no easy answers, you just find your own ways after absorbing the excellent tips the forum folk give - but take all the time to get it right is my best advice. It's not all about speed

[s.hughes]

I find the best way is to put your wet scrim into the middle of the little window. All you do is dab it, then dry scrim it all over. This way it is hardly wet and the dry scrim will finnish off the job. This dosnt take any time and when your work is regular you will fly round it.
Thing is, 30 mins per house when you have just started sounds good.

Steveyboy

[windows_chepstow]

An average Semi is taking me about 25/30 minutes!

That's not bad.  A decent average is 3 per hour; including the door knocking, collecting cash etc.

Try this method:

FOR SMALL TRANSOMES THAT ARE LESS THAN DOUBLE THE SIZE OF YOUR SQUEEGIE

Wet the window taking care not to touch the top. 
Wipe your squeegie blade dry on a scrim (I often use my shirt) then squeegie, starting at the dry area at the top, just tilting your blade downwards to remove all the water from the window.
Scrim any runs.

FOR LARGER TRANSOME WINDOWS

Wet window taking care not to touch the top.
Now you don't have to wipe your blade dry - with the right hand edge cut upwards, starting from the middle of the transome; squeegie right, then turn and squeegie left.
Scrim any runs.

It's hard to describe without pictures.

[clearview window c]

listen to steveyboy. thats probably the fastest way. and also dont be too fussy.

[pjulk]

If its a small window i scrim them with damp scrim and polish with dry scrim.
If it's a larger window i use my applicator and wet them then squeegie from one end from the top i tilt the blade so it is against the top and bottom and run the squeegie along and straighten up at the other end any missed bit just dry them with scrim when detailing

Paul

[Ray Pickering]

Well!! the comments so far are all good. 
I fancy the 6" blade so far but will try other options--as to being too fussy i'm the same whatever i do (probably my downfall) as for earnings i averaged £10 per hour but it was all down the same street.
I don't expect to be very quick yet but i do want to impress all my customers & do a good job so they will pass me on to other people.
Any more comments appreciated.

[windows_chepstow]

listen to steveyboy. thats probably the fastest way. and also dont be too fussy.

I don't doubt Steveyboy's method is fast; but it sounds like a lot of tools (including scrim) changing hands (like the smaller squeegie method too).

Mine goes like this:

Applicator - wet windows.
Squeegie - remove water.
Scrim - remove any runs from edges.

Adding anything else - such as 'Dab windows with wet scrim, then change to dry scrim' or 'then change to smaller squeegie' just means more fannying about.

Therefore is it really faster?

But I do agree with Clearview in that you shouldn't be overly fussy, but I think when most of us start; we are.  As you pick up more and more work and want you increase your income; your standards will drop (to an acceptable level though).  It's all a learning experience.  Someone once posted here that 'if you're too fussy; you're not making any money'.

[dai]

I too use a 6" blade but don't use a standard applicator.
Get a piece of sponge about 7"by 5" and about 1" thick. Wrap a small micro fibre cloth around it and dip it in your bucket. Sqeeze out excess water and use this on the glass. Better still if your Mrs has a sewing machine or you know someone that has ask them to make up some microfibre pouches for you to put the sponge inside. You then have a sponge filled microfibre pad. I use dishwasher rinse aid along with my washing up liquid, this lets you put the water on in a very thin film. Blade it off sraight away and you are left with very little water on the botton of the frame, not even enough to trickle down on to the pane below if you get it right. The pad doesn't put much water on the frame so there is little if any detailing to be done. Great for insides too, no mess, Works for me. Dai

[rosskesava]

I've done exactly the same thing as Dai except with a sponge and a Chamois.

It really works well.

I wipe the glass over and then squeegie it with a 6" blade and detail around the edges. The good thing about this method is that the cloth used for detailing stays virtually dry.

It's very rare I get a run that goes onto the glass below.

[windows_chepstow]

I've done exactly the same thing as Dai except with a sponge and a Chamois.

.

It's very rare I get a run that goes onto the glass below.

To stop this, if you get runs with water, just squeegie the bottom part of the frame after you've squeegied the glass. 

It only takes a second. 

[s.hughes]

I dont dab the window and dry off for speed. I use a 16inch blade and that is all. I dont like to carry to many tools. Thing is the wet scrim is always in my hand and I dry cloth the small window when I detail so it dosent take any time.
On some windows the small one is quite long and for this I clean it the way I would any other glass, applicater and blade.
I met a w/c the other day who wouldnt cloth at all. He had lots of different size blades and just used the one he needed. I must add that he was really fast and made a good job but the way he carried these things round just wasnt for me. He looked like an action man.

Steveyboy

[Ian_Giles]

I use a variety of methods (well, pre WFP that is) but until you get very adept indeed ignore using a squeegee, it's slower, and over the years I've time and motion studied it often (with a stop watch, no guess work!)
Generally speaking, using a sprayer to very lightly mist and buff dry is several seconds quicker, way quicker if you are a relative newbie.
with a solution of your choice (GG3/4 or unger liquid, ratio of about 100:1) Or buy a sprayer from Tesco, there own brand window cleaning spray is only about 84p.
Lightly mist the fan light (very lightly) and buff clean with your scrim, or preferably microfibre cloth.
Or when you get more skilful you can use a cut down squeegee.
Time wise though that will take you a lot longer than simply mist and buff until you get well experienced.
You can also use a damp scrim to clean and a dry microfibre to buff clean.

Regards.

Ian

[Ray Pickering]

Ian.
Thanks for your comments!
As usual i've got a better idea from all the comments suggested.
I'm a bit quite this week so i will (for about the 20th time clean the wifes windows) --she thinks i'm a superstar-- & try different ideas & see which i can cope with best.
Thanks to everyone for taking time to answer my problems.

Ray.