My window cleaning guys told me recently that they have not really been using buckets anymore. They just put water in a spray bottle and spray the window down, use a wand on it, squeegie it off then detail with cloth. Now, in all of the training videos I’ve watched, people use a bucket outside for the wand. I don’t have a WFP so it’s all by hand. They say the spray bottle works better for them because they can just reach behind them in their belt and grab the bottle. What do you guys think? Should they be using a bucket outside? Do you see any downfalls of using a spray bottle for outside and in?
If you use the spray bottle method, you miss out on cleaning your wand out throughly, which means you are carrying dirt to the next window. A combination of the two would be best.
[I][B]“because glass looks it’s best when you can’t see it”[/B][/I]
I saw an employee of Baskin Robbins using Windex and a squeegee. So I limit the use of a spray bottle. I don’t want my clients to think that might be the service they are receiving. I have used that method for small transom windows though outside and inside.
+1 
KURT , TRY THIS ON A 4x8 WINDOW. DO ON ONE SIDE YOUIR WAY AND ON THE OTHER USE A BUCKET AND STRIP WASH AND WET SCRAPE WITH WAIVER AND SQ AND DETAIL. U WILL SEE AND FEEL THE DIFFERENCE !! YA !! WHAT KINDA WORK DO YOU WANT TO PUT OUT??? BOTTLE ON A BELT WORKS TO, DEPENDING ON HOW DIRTY IT IS. GOOD FOR IN SIDE AS IT HARD TO TIP A BUCKET OVER THIS WAY AND U DON’T HAVE TO BEND OVER ALL THE TIME. THERE’S WATER IN THE CENTER OF THE HOME ALLWAYS !! STAN, PRO WINDOW KLEENING, 26 YEARS AND PROUD SORBO USER
+2
We only use spray bottles on res. Buckets are a waste of cleaner and water. i have used buckets before and had a few clients ask me if what I was pouring out on the grass at the end was going to kill their grass. Anyway it’s a simple fix for cleaning the scrubber. We use a clean rag for every window. In a ten window home we will use about 40 rags. 1) for the entire frame 1) for the sills & tracks 1) upper sash 1) lower sash. I have tried less only to find its a pain because the rags never stay clean enough to use on a 2nd window. Anyway this makes for about 4 trips to the rag bucket to reload and drop off dirty ones. Everytime we head out we turn on the customers garden hose and clean off the scrubber. Never had any problems. Besides if you use a bucket, after a couple of windows the entire bucket is contaminated with dirty water and dirty cleaner. As the solution gets used there is less and less clean water in the bucket so you end up having to empty it an refil. More wasted water and more wasted cleaner. When using the hose to clean the scubber try and get as much preasure as you can. This will get deep into the fibers of the scrubber and get most of the dirty out. Beside bottles on the stream setting are great for getting in the corners of the tracks. Can’t do that with a bucket.
what kind of buckets are your guys using? I much prefer the smaller round 3 gal buckets to the larger rectangle ones. Maybe if they had a smaller lighter bucket they would find it easier to work with. I’m sure the spray bottle works fine on maintained windows, more water the better on dirty exteriors.
On commercial work I use a rectangle. On the outside of a house I will take the garden hose when there is a ton of dirt an clean out the entire window. I make sure the windows are locked inside and of course the screens are off. But I have found this to be awesome. Takes no less time and in fact speeds up the cleaning cause there is usally so much water coming out of the hose every speck of dirt that can come out of tracks etc, comes out. So you dont have to spend the extra time getting that stuck on, cornered junk out. Only problem is sometimes the hose is not long enough.
i use a pulex rectangle bucket ,long enough to catch my squeegee when i throw it to the bucket . i use a wagtail flipper 18 as my main tool ,if i go to clean the inside of the house i leave the bucket in the centre of the room . my bucket also has the wagtail bucket clip on it , i like that gizmo .
Sound like an awesome idea. If I use your system I will have my own hose and it wouldn’t be garden hose, because it’s to heavy. Have you ever thought about using the light weight hose WFP guys use? It could be as long as you like in 50 or 100 ft sections.
The flip top bottle on a belt (Unger Bottle Holder) and the big rectangle bucket each have their place in my work.
All residential interior work I use the flip top bottle (unless it’s CCU). For resi exterior it varies according to how dirty the windows are, whether I’m WFP’ng, squeegeeing, or both. I certainly don’t carry the big bucket up ladders…the bottle on a belt really shines in that situation.
Most all exterior commercial I use the large rectangle bucket. Most (but not all) interior commercial I use the bottle on a belt.
Any small amount of dirt that may be transferred to the next window via the scrubber sleeve is cleaned off completely with perfectly clean solution from the bottle, then scrubbing & squeegeeing it off. Like someone already said, if you’re constantly dipping your scrub bar into your big bucket then your solution gets dirtier and dirtier as you go anyway. So it’s “six of one, half a dozen of the other”.
Both methods work well. It’s simply a matter of which one you prefer to use. You are not wrong or right for using either method. Use YOUR tools to YOUR advantage.
Hey Wayne, I like the small 3 gallon bucket as well. I carry 2 gallons of water and a 24 oz. flip top bottle with solution in it. I like to rinse my dirty strip washer in the bucket and apply fresh solution to the mop from the bottle. The bucket is with me mostly for rinsing out the strip washer.
Gents,
Use a pull top drink bottle with your solution in it, it works great, poor the solution on the strip washer, dont use spay bottles a waste of time.
Bottle on the belt time !! Inside generlly not that dirty !! Don’t be setting it on wood !! Ring !! There is allways a water close !!i use it out side too if it anin’t too dirty !! I carry a little chem too charge the bottle !! Works for me !! Stan, pro window kleening , 26 years and proud sorbo user
+3
I have seen people using a squeeze bottle to apply chemical to their strip washer. That’s not a bad idea but I think the spray bottle is a bad idea.
Why?
Because I don’t want the customer thinking we are spraying windex on the windows. They might get the wrong idea that they can do it their selves. Do you agree Larry or are you getting ready to bash me. 
I thought you had an actual technical reason. Sounds as though you’ve never attempted, though.
I use an Unger Sprayer on a Belt often. It looks professional, is convenient and efficient, and my customers understand that I use the same solution as in my 6-gallon bucket or flip-top bottle on my belt. So, I guess I disagree with you.
You sure sound paranoid…
