I’ve been ‘nose to glass’ for a quarter century, it’s come to the point I won’t be able to hike up my 28’ ladder any more.
I’m looking at a waterfed pole/brush for 3rd story residential, any advice is appreciated.
I built a ‘pump box’ with a 2.2/70psi and battery, if I could just draw from a 5 gallon bucket filled with distilled, it’s all I really need. Buying a DI cart is out if the question.
Oh and a really stupid question, does the brush with water do all the cleaning or is a soap used as well?
Do you know what the TDS (total dissolved solids) level is in your area? That will determine your needs of filtration system. If you are at or under the 250 range you can get away with a resin system, well, you can still use a resin system at higher numbers but you will use resin up quicker; but it is a way to save on initial cost. TDS in my area runs between 185 and 255, had one job a few years ago that was 425!!! Holy crap, don’t know what was wrong with their water. I use the Unger Hydropower single stage and Tucker 35 carbon 3 story pole - it works fantastic for my needs. I buy 4 bags of resin per year (so far). After 25 years you should have set enough money aside in the business account in order to put back into equipment purchases to make times like this bearable on the wallet.
We had our house water tested at 240. I don’t have or need a meter for window cleaning so I don’t know what it is elsewhere.
As for the DI question, I simply don’t have room. Right now my 2001 Sienna is stuffed with WC and screen repair equipment. It’s also (unfortunately) having to pull around my pressure washing trailer.
Once you start using pure water you will wonder what took you so long. Then you will want to upgrade your equipment.
That being said, a small DI tank takes up just as much room as a 5 gallon bucket and will produce way more than 5 gallons of pure water,with your TDS being around 240. You wouldn’t need to use your pump.
You can also buy and make a pretty compact RO/DI and water tank based system since you have a pump. That way you would always have water and consistent flow.
If space is an issue I’d go with the Xero micro series WFP’s. I’m on my second season with my Xero mini gold.
No need for soap. All you need is some agitation on the glass with a wfp brush, then a good rinse with the pure water. There is a million and a half you tube videos out there on how to clean glass with a wfp.
You can fit a 3 stage system almost anywhere… Mine goes behind my bicycle. It doesn’t have to be complicated and huge like a pre-built system. I prefer a modular system that comes apart and that is easy to maintain.
Fascinating. Here I thought a DI filter cart was necessary.
I’m strictly doing this for the windows I no longer feel comfortable doing. Frankly after having to ‘clean up’ after other window cleaners here using a WF pole I’m not on board with using it for everything, but I no longer feel safe doing 3rd story residential, especially in the heat.
Before I went with the Unger Hydropower water fed system back in 2017 I was skeptical too. Had always done traditional and the hard to reach 2 and 3 story homes were getting more frequent. I took the plunge because I had booked 3 back to back 3 story homes with insane landscaping obstacles; what the hell was I waiting for before! I soon discovered that it took the place of 90% of the need for a ladder even on ground floor windows that were out of reach without a 6 foot ladder. I thought I would really be working the windows in order to get them satisfactorily clean as nose to glass I would often scrub away to get some grungy windows clean. I still find the need to place my ladder on occasion for some first cleans only if my Alpha Scrubber attachment can’t get it first. As you can see it doesn’t take a lot of room to fit in your van.
I can see the brush and bronze pad getting dirt off, but here in KY we have a lot of other junk that requires my Triumph scraper. Artillery fungus is bad, and we run across this buildup that takes a couple scrapings to get off. This is why I get calls from customers to ‘fix’ what the other guys missed, just wondering how something like that is dealt with.
Like I said, this Is strictly for windows I can’t reach as our company is well known for a more thorough cleaning than the other bigger companies.
I do find that some heavy items (paint, old silicone, wood stain, hard water spots) are buggers to get off with a WFP setup. So it’s not the miracle solution for all other tools, not that anyone actually feels it replaces all other tools.
On occasion you do have to climb up that ladder and take care of business, but for the most part the WFP keeps you off the ladder. I call it my new definition for LLC (limited ladder climbing), doesn’t entirely replace ever having to use my ladders, but ensures I do it on a limited basis.
I keep a small 12 foot carbon fiber for trad work, also works great for putting on my scraper to take care of the odd paint and artillery fungus. Wouldn’t want to do it real high or for major paint, but saves me from laddering up for fungus.
We have a very well put together link on understanding pure water. It covers everything fro poles to filters to brushes and what they do. Take a look at this and if you have any specific questions about what system would work for you please call, text or DM me 24/7 Understanding Pure Water & Water Fed Poles | WCR – WindowCleaner.com
Ok, looks like the oval series is mainly for commercial so that’s unneeded. I’m thinking the basic carbon as I probably won’t use it more than a few hours a week.
