What’s up all?! So I haven’t posted anything in a while cause I’ve been busy with a newborn. Anyway, still trying to get technique down and figure out different tricks to be more efficient. Does anyone dry brush screens while still up on a ladder? Does dry brushing work well on most screens?
Isaac Rauscher
A Royal Pane
Congrats on the newborn !
We take all scrreens out from the inside top screens get pulled in bottom screens get pushed out . Upstairs screens keep separate from downstairs . Yes a lot of the times you can get away with dry brushing them. It all depends what they look like if there just dusty then you can dry brush them . Never did them from the ladder.
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With a newborn you want to keep in mind the three points of contact rule. It makes it hard to brush the screens unless you do it before pulling them.
It only takes a second to get hurt bad from a ladder fall.
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Good point and a great example why this forum is so important. What I was imagining was hanging the screen from the top of the ladder so that it’s laying on the ladder face while I brush it. Maybe it wouldn’t save enough time to be worth it, idk. One less trip up and down the ladder though seems like it could save a lot of time. Do you guys remove the screens from the inside more often than the outside?
Isaac Rauscher
A Royal Pane
Theres a screen lanyard. Made to hold screens while up on a ladder. Not to clean them though. Hook it on to a rung and clip the screen on. Wcr doesnt sell it and i cant remember where i got mine sorry
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I clean screens on a ladder when I need to…
It’s not quite as scary as people would think.
(your planted feet on a rung actually makes a good resting spot)
But the logistics from there may be different for those not on piece ladders, they aren’t as wide as extensions.
(my right hand while holding the rung of the ladder works out to be about 1/3 of the way from the end of the screen)
I just started doing it. Some times im hired to clean outside windows only and the homeowners may not be home so removing from interior is not possible.
I used to make the trip down the ladder to dry brush and then back up but realized that it was time and energy consuming. I decided to try cleaning it while up on the ladder and found that it was dangerous and not worth the risk of falling. Then I put standoffs on my ladder and it pretty much eliminated any fear of falling, it feels really stable and allows for more room to move your arms not just while cleaning the screens but also when cleaning the windows.
heres an old pic of my standoffs and you can see how stable it looks. I would use a clip to hold the screen to the standoff arm while cleaning the window
I used to use the ladder as shown in the video below and always felt uneasy reaching to the far corners of the window, it sometimes turns into a balancing act. with the standoffs all that fear is eliminated.
the guy in the video below is not smart to place the screen in the rungs, a) it could bend the frames, b)you can forget its there and accidently step on it as he did.
he didnt detail all the sides of the window, he might say that its good because he used the s method but fact is that he did see spots in the places that he looked carefully at so that means that there are spots in the places that he did not look carefully at (the far corners)
final observation of this video? Im glad I never learned how to clean windows from this guy.
[video=youtube_share;ryp79CxVm4s]How to Wash Windows : Washing Windows from a Ladder - YouTube
Ugh. Where do I start?!?
Well at least he’s “[I]amadextrius[/I].”
Yes you can effectively dry brush the screens on a ladder. That’s how I do it and have done it that way for the last 16 years. It is perfectly safe if you have positioned the ladder properly (you will have to be the judge of this. If it feels unsafe then it probably is and you need to position your ladder better next time). The best method I use is to thoroughly brush the screen while its on the window. Then flip the screen and re-position it back in the window backwards (don’t fully install it backward but jut set it in the window frame loosely where it would go when it is installed. The frame will hold the screen in place and allow you to effectively brush it good (it may take some practice at first but you should quickly get the hang of it. Every once in a while it may be awkward to do this but its usually the best way I have found. every once in a blue moon it is just more effective to go down the ladder and brush it on the ground but that is rare. At least for me.
Don’t use the guys method in the video for holding the screen in the ladder behind you. You will forget it’s their and step down on it and have to replace the screen, like he almost did in the video. I generally slip the screen between me and the ladder and it stays there nicely. If you feel the need just buy a clip from Home depot and some small rope and tie one end to the ladder and the other to the clamp and the clamp will hold the screen for you and just hang from the ladder. I don’t do this because I am to lazy to go buy a clamp and clip :).
If the screen is removable from the outside, I usually mop it while installed, and use a stiff, narrow putty knife to pop the bottom corner and take a huck and dry the inside. That way, both sides are cleaned. Then I wipe the edges and clean the windows while holding the screen. I’m going to the hardware store for a clip and string before work tomorrow. Great idea. I only clean screens on comfortable ladder sets. I bring them down carefully on steep ladder sets and clean them. I try to always use a standoff and sometimes use that like an easel for smaller screens.
If we’re up there we shoot it with speedy screen and a quick wipe makes it look brand new. We usually remove screens from the inside out and just hang out the window , a little mist with speedy screen wipe with a dry strip washer and set it next to the window. No upstairs downstairs upstairs again and no climbing up and down a ladder
Ditto
Hey , can you provide a link for this stuff.
Thanks much appreciated!
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If you don’t mind me asking, have you ever gotten the product on the glass surface, and how did it clean afterword if you did.
I am avoiding screen magic because of the hydrophobic properties of the product. I’ve been waiting to hear feedback from other users. [MENTION=37813]Tyler2868[/MENTION] was the one that I heard about the product, from.
We haven’t had any problems with hydrophobicity. We’ve been using for the last 4 or 5 months works really well and fast. When we cleaning sliding glass door we shoot the doors right there in the track we don’t remove them. So we are covering the sgd glass completely in speedy screen. We clean the screen. Quick wet and wash on the sgd and then a second wash for the final. We normally hand wash the first story flat glass and we will pole any second story work. We havnt noticed any of the second story window going hydrophobic.
Is it one side your spraying or both?
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Ordered some speedy screen today. According to the website, you can get it on the window and then just clean the window after. Spray the screen, take it out and wipe the other side , then hang it from a lanyard while ya clean the window. Sounds good to me.
Isaac Rauscher
A Royal Pane
Santee, CA
I just shot the on side clean with a dry strip washer. And flip and clean the other side. Enough material transfers through the screen and it gets on ur strip washer also so there’s enough there to clean the other side without re shooting it. On average it takes about 30 seconds a screen. I just clean an enclosed patio today about 8 x 15 two sides for $100 took about 25 min and probable used less than $7 worth of product. That’s cleaning the outside and then the inside. U can also stack screens if u want and shoot them 2 or three at a time. But in most situations it’s not worth it. The pennies it cost to clean the screen with speedy screen isn’t worth the time to grab the screens stack them shoot them clean them bring them to the window. We just pop the screen shoot it wipe it up wash window install screen on to the next window. It’s a huge time saver
