Is there an easy way to get rid of mineral deposits off glass? And how do you price the additional labor?
I use regular lysol toilet bowl cleaner and if needed a razor blade. Works for me.
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I use Lime Away. Discovered how well it worked a long time ago after using other specialty products for mineral removal that were ineffective. They make it in a spray foam bottle now. Here is my method:
1- Do an initial clean of the glass - squeegee dry ( nothing fancy just get the surface dirt off ).
2- Spray on a liberal amount of Lime Away.
3- Use 0000 Steel Wool - dip wool in your soap ( I also apply a dab of soap to wool ).
4- Cover the surface with the steel wool in a steady circular motion ( You will feel the wool dragging less as you move along ).
5- When it feels smooth then squeegee the Lime Away off ( Don’t apply more soap - just squeegee off ). Visual inspect - if there are areas that need more scrubbing w/ wool then repeat Step 3.
6- Now do a final wash and squeegee x 2 but make sure you have wiped all Lime Away from squeegee rubber.
NOTE : Use latex gloves and do not contaminate clean water with steel wool pad with Lime Away- it will leave glass with streak marks. If I am doing many windows I run a separate small bucket to dip steel wool in. If you are doing many window you will need a good supply of Steel Wool as the L.A. will shrink and corrode the wool. For really tough stains do several in advance and let L.A. Stand time on glass of about 2 minutes. I charge an additional $5.00 per window on Residential jobs.
Hopefully you can test this out.
Both Lime Away and Lysol Toilet bowl cleaner have hydrochloric acid (9.5%) as part of the formula. This acid is effective in helping to remove hard water staining.
Pretty sure neither is labeled or approved for glass.
You can do whatever you want. If you etch the glass, I don’t have to pay for it or have the embarrassment with the client. If I had an employee pull that, I’d fire them on the spot.
I’ll stick to products that are approved for glass. I don’t care if it costs me a few bucks more to buy something that is made for us.
Window cleaners seem to be the cheapest bunch of people on the earth. I am a professional, and I will conduct myself as one. The client is paying those expenses in the end anyway.
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On the Lime Away bottle it says It is safe for glass. I’ve never used it but coincidentally I was at Home Depot this morning and was checking it out as well as some other products.
Not sure about the Lysol toilet bowl cleaner.
Well that’s not entirely correct.
Lime away is from what I could find out is not hydrochloric acid but phosphoric acid which is 100% safe to use on glass, where as hydrochloric acid will etch the glass even if the naked eye can not see it visible, unless under the right lighting.
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Hoosier -
I don’t use Lime-A-Way because its cheaper or I am unprofessional. I use it because it was the most effective solution I could find even compared to " Approved " products. I would not risk liability or chance damaging a window unless I knew through experience and history that, if applied, as I instructed in my post, there will be no ill effects. Nor would I share it on this Forum unless I knew for certain. For instance, I learned, years ago, that steel wool was safe to use on glass - How ? Other guys in the business. Is it " Approved " ? I don’t know, but it is safe ( If used Correctly ).
It works very well…
I would contend you ARE opening yourself to liability. Lime-a-way isn’t a window cleaning product. It’s not made for pro window cleaners. Pretty sure a lawyer could successfully argue that this stuff is meant to be used ONLY in a place where it drains into the sewer, like a shower or a sink.
So you are leaving yourself open to be sued if someone claims you killed landscaping, ruined brick/siding, or even sued for contaminating the soil around the home. We live in a litigious world.
Again, I’ll say, you guys can use whatever you want. I’m not the one that has to worry about getting sued for doing something I should know better than to do. I’ve got too much going on to risk it. Just because “nothing has happened yet”, doesn’t mean it won’t sooner or later, and catch up to you.
Thanks for the information! I looking for something that will do job without damaging window. I will definitely take your advise.
Thanks
