I use my pole for just about everything. On storefronts, it’s very rare that I break out a ladder. I’m also lazy in that I don’t like kneeling down to get lower windows so I use my pole on those too. I didn’t know that my way was actually faster until I was next to one of my competitors and I knocked out a bunch of windows while he was still messing around with a handful. He was an older guy and actually came over and asked me how I was doing it without kneeling down. So I gave him some tips.
But I’ve been playing around with an idea for a while and actually stumbled across a solution in home depot. I picked up some 2 1/2 in rope cleats (who knew they were called that?) and drilled out some holes on the bottom of my pole and the result is this:
I wrapped it with electrical tape this morning, but I’ll probably pick up some heat shrink for it.
Besides keeping my pole from falling down when I lean it against a wall, it also does other cool stuff.
It can do some detailing, put a towel on it, give it a spin and you can get in a corner tighter than a finger. (Yes, you have to flip the pole over, but it’s not as weird as you think)
It can also do some moping up. I just drop my sill wiping microfiber on the floor, hook it, and mop up any drips. It can also wipe bottom sills if you pole them.
Oh, and one thing I was really interested in was the ability to push up on really high blinds. I did one house and his blinds were mounted like 18’ up and I don’t like relying only on the cord. I usually push up on blinds for safety reasons, now I can push up on really high ones too.
So I’m kind of excited about my new mod. I think I’ll call it “The Bullhorns.” Or maybe “The Doohickey”
No, just side pulls. I’ve got one squeegee (cut flat like a standard channel) that fits in my chain restaurant lower windows (I think it’s like a 14.5" or something). But I use that one for any window that is 25" or less. If it’s a bigger window like 36, then I’ll use my 24" and walk it sideways, the pole up for the bottom part.
I know it sounds lazy, but it saves my knees (ever kneel just right on a pebble?) and I think it’s a little faster depending on how many I’m doing at once. I can walk down 6 or 7 windows mopping then walk back squeegeeing. Then the only toweling is the starting position of the straight pull. Oh, then I hit the bottom sills with my 6" to get the water and dirt.
Naw, get a couple pieces of heat shrink tubing. I’m going to pick some up this weekend. Home depot also has this tape that can bind a broken shovel handle, I might look at using that. If it glues itself together and hardens, that might be perfect. I’ve almost worn through the electrical tape.
But I tell you what, being able to lean my pole anywhere is worth the price of those cleats. It’s awesome. I even leaned it on a sill while I was detailing!
… I actually had an employee tell me that once when I asked why the bottom sections
of the large windows in an air traffic control tower weren’t done…“Ah they never look down …”
Oh, I found another use for this thing. I was able to hook the Christmas light hangers and pull them out of the gutter from the ground. I think next year, I’ll put the light in the hanger and the hanger on the doohickey and latch it to the gutter from the ground.
I think this could totally speed up the hanging of Christmas lights.
