My name is Brad and I’m new to this awesome forum. I’ve cleaned windows in about a dozen homes over the years, but never took it seriously. The homes were in Utah and Illinois. I live in Phoenix now and am looking to pick up a job or two on Saturdays to help pay off some student loans a little quicker. With the different climate, I have come across a few things that I need your expertise on:
Sun screens - after reading through a lot posts, it sounds like Screen Magic applied with a pump sprayer to both sides and worked in with a 14" t-bar is the best method. (I only had to worry about cleaning bug screens in the past with a soapy t-bar and a hose)
any recommendations on pump sprayers?
Hot glass – I read that using cold water and harder rubber will work better when it really starts heating up.
Recommended rubber brand/model for hot weather? At what temp does the harder rubber make a difference?
Do people add ice cubes to their water to keep it cold? (yes, I’m serious)
2nd Story Windows & Tile Roofs – there are some weird roof lines here that would leave the window at least 4-8’ away from where I am on the ladder in certain situations – with a tile roof separating me from the window. I am old school and a newbie, so I am always right at the glass with a t-bar and squeegee (no WFP or extension poles yet).
Do I only look for ranch style, 1-story homes to avoid this problem? Do I invest in a 12’ extension pole? Other? I would prefer not to try and climb on the roof as I’m sure I would break tiles and possibly fall off the roof.
Tinted windows - tricks/tips, etc? Do you use the same Dawn/H20 formula as usual?
Anything else that I should consider or be prepared for?
There might be a mis-interpretation of my above post. I have no issues getting on a ladder and the majority of the work I have done in the past required one. The challenge arises when I can’t get the ladder near the window due to the way a lot of the houses are built here.
Thanks,
Brad
Sent from my iPhone using Window Cleaning Resource
Screen magic sucks. There’s been a few posts about speedy screen and you might look into that.
Hot glass – I read that using cold water and harder rubber will work better when it really starts heating up. [
Recommended rubber brand/model for hot weather? At what temp does the harder rubber make a difference?
Do people add ice cubes to their water to keep it cold? (yes, I’m serious)
I’m not sure it helps. I’m in New Mexico so I don’t get as hot as you. Ettore is a good all around brand of rubber. But the Pulex hard is a pretty good rubber. I’ve been trying it out for the past month and I’m going to go back to ettore.
No ice cubes, but I would invest in a nice cooler and fill it up with ice and bottled water. You’re going to need it.
Oh, and get some glass gleam 4 - it’ll help prevent your water from flashing off the window before you can squeegee it. About 3/4 oz for 3 gallons seems to work good. Use more if you need it.
But I’d definitely invest in some sort of pure water system because when the windows get that hot, the best solution is WFP.
2nd Story Windows & Tile Roofs – there are some weird roof lines here that would leave the window at least 4-8’ away from where I am on the ladder in certain situations – with a tile roof separating me from the window. I am old school and a newbie, so I am always right at the glass with a t-bar and squeegee (no WFP or extension poles yet).
Do I only look for ranch style, 1-story homes to avoid this problem? Do I invest in a 12’ extension pole? Other? I would prefer not to try and climb on the roof as I’m sure I would break tiles and possibly fall off the roof.
I’d recommend NOT using a pole from a ladder. First, I’m pretty sure it’s against OSHA but second it would be easy for the ladder to slip and it takes about one second to change your life forever.
If you do some searching, one guy on here used upholstery padding on the back of some plywood which helped distribute his weight on the tiles, prevented breakage and slipping. I dont’ remember the thread off hand.
Tinted windows - tricks/tips, etc? Do you use the same Dawn/H20 formula as usual?
Don’t use ammonia and apparently the porcupine sleeves will damage tint. So maybe carry a monsoon washer for tinted windows.
Go with speedyscreen for the sun screens. Pump sprayer buy the ace brand at ace hardware. I like the unger hard rubber here in az. Dawn and water is fine on tint I’ve been doing it for years. If you want chat about az window washing give me a buzz 520-742-9876
Hey I’m in Vegas so I’m sure we have similar issues so I’ll try to give my two cents on your questions
personally I think screen magic is over priced garbage and messes up the windows when the screens touch the windows.on solar screens just wash them with a brush and soap.
2)don’t use pump sprayers if someone can tell me the point to using them in window cleaning please tell me because I could be missing out on something.
3)hard rubber does better in hot weather this is true but honestly in my opinion it just does better because it wears out slower than soft rubber in hot weather so I don’t really notice a difference to care.I order my rubber in bulk and currently use a sorbo so I don’t even think sorbo has hard and soft rubber
4)brand that I have used for hard rubber pulex and unger.I didn’t notice a real difference really maybe the pulex burned out a little quicker.its suppose to make a difference after 90.
yes people do add ice cubes.I worked for a company that did this.I think I can remember one time it helped but it was when I first started in 110 degree heat and I really didn’t know what I was doing.I don’t do this anymore because honestly 15 mins after you put ice in the bucket the water will be Luke warm again anyway so I just wasted 2 bucks on ice lol.there are water wetters that slow drying of the solution.the worse here in Vegas is the tinted black glass on commercials in the summer.
6)at some point in doing residential in the desert your going to have to get on a roof, yes it sucks because they are tile roofs and can break if you don’t know how to walk on them.you can try to get a short pole and pole from the ladder but I would rather walk on the roof than fall off a ladder just my opinion. I would also recommend learning how to pole since window cleaning isn’t a career where its straight forward,there will be times where it won’t work one way so you may need to pole something because you can’t get to it any other way.
tinted windows are the same as any other window they just show mistakes more in my opinion.I use the same solution as any other window I just don’t scrape or steel wool tinted glass
Honestly my only advice is don’t be afraid to get on the roof just be careful,learn using the pole because it saves time on some jobs and makes you not one dimensional if you get what i mean.that way you don’t limit yourself to taking only one story homes or one story commercial jobs. Also stay super hydrated.this is a must in the desert.I hate water but learned this lesson the hard way when I heat stroked out.plus it seems stupid and I don’t do it but use sun screen
