Scour Power

The last few days I’ve had a few first time cleans. As usual loads of insect droppings on the window, thick layer of dirt etc. So my method has been to soap up the window as normal with the strip washer, then get use a white (non-scratch) scour to scrub the window, then squeegee off. It worked great, the glass came out perfectly, and the customer commented on how good they looked. I was thinking of getting a white scour pad, cutting a strip out and sewing it to the front of one of my strip washer sleeves, so I have extra scrubbing power, and will reduce the chances of having to re-wash very dirty windows. I am aware there are sleeves already available that has a scour pad on the back of the sleeve, but I would like mine on the front. What do you think? Has anyone tried this before?

Turn the sleeve around?

I’ve used Unger’s abrasive sleeve, but my go-to on first-time cleans is the Pulex MicroTiger.

A hogshair brush also works great on the conditions you describe.

What’s a hogshair brush? :slight_smile: never heard of that

I use a pulex microtiger sleeve every day for general maintenance cleaning. Most of the time it’s perfect, but I work out in the open country where there are loads of trees, and therefore insects etc, so I frequently need more scrubbing power.

i did a place with old old windows, that hadnt been cleaned in a couple years, right by the towns public square (trucks galore)…

supersoaked my micro tiger, quick run through on all windows to get the soft surface dirt off. then popped on my steelwool 6 inch mop on the tbar, rand through all the windows.

the 4 gallon tub was now all dirty, but i supersoaked the microtiger (18) again and just did a quick mop to remove all the scrubbed off filth.

finally changed the water, cleaned off my microtiger, and acted as if they were monthly windows…

obviously this took some extra time-- but man what a change, place looked fantastic!

…owner didnt say a thing. haha.

now back to the original post… that sounds like a good idea, except i think i would go thru the sewn on white scrub pads really quickly if they were that easily accessible. they wear down pretty quickly imo, and you would shorten the life of the mop, as well as have crappy white pad sewn and tearing, on your mop…

tracking down where our suppliers get their white pad material from, keeping it from getting perforated for easy tearing, and then making a mop/sleeve to fit your t-bar, with just a little bit of quick sewing----------- WIN.

would love to have a mop thats outer surface is 100% white scrub material, with the inside being cotton or something plush that retains water…

tracking down where our suppliers get their white pad material from, keeping it from getting perforated for easy tearing, and then making a mop/sleeve to fit your t-bar, with just a little bit of quick sewing----------- WIN.

Now THAT is an excellent idea :smiley:

This looks interesting

http://www.windowcleancentre.co.uk/productdetails.aspx?ProductID=69&SectionID=9

Uh, try a Triumph scraper?

Wiljer White Shark.

Wiljer - Sleeves / Covers - Window Cleaning Tools

I use a 6" model on my WFP with RHG Reach Around.

Although this is an example of a hogshair brush for a WFP, they are also made for handheld or extension pole use.

The bristles offer aggressive scrubbing power. I use them for CCU service where construction debris may be present. Washer sleeves may trap that debris and drag it across te glass surface, causing scratches.

The white shark looks fantastic :slight_smile: too bad its not available in the uk :frowning:

Uh, try a Triumph scraper?

Thanks, I will try one of these :slight_smile:

the razor blades don’t always get all the heavy dirt build up off. Hogs hair brush works well but not as practical as a t-bar. I’ve not used that shark sleeve. It says the outside is abrasive. What type of abrasive is it? I’ve seen the steel wall t-bar cover but have not used it. Can it be reused or does it have to be tossed after a single use? I think an ideal sleeve would be one made of that bronze or steel wool polishing pad material, with an absorbent material underneath.

Nothing works better for me than a scraper. “Quick and sick.” ~ Craig Aldrich

+1
Unger Pro Trim 10

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Those bronz wool pads are really nice and 0000 steel wool works well but rusts fast. The blade is my first option too but if you have employees I prefer havin guys use anything but a blade until they are very experienced on putting a blade on glass

Blades don’t work well here in Texas on Dirt build up. On most first time cleans you have to use an abrasive on the glass to break up the backed on dirt. Either steel/bronze wool, or the synthetic white pads. The wool works better. Hogs hair brush can work well as well but not as practical. I’ve only cleaned windows in Texas so I can’t speak for other areas. The heat really bakes the dirt on the glass. I only use blades to remove the stuff wool does not efficiently remove like paint over spray, seeds some bug stuff etc.

White scrub pads are invaluable! As a matter of fact I have one in my kitchen sink for washing dishes! I will try to scrape first, but if not I go straight to the scrubby.
And you can’t scrape frames and sills. I love my scrubbys, I’m not sure what I would do without them…

I didn’t realize there was a front and back to my strip washer. So I’ve been cleaning windows backwards this whole time??

I’m going to have to disagree with you :slight_smile: blades will work as long as they are sharp and you keep the surface wet. If they are really bad I use one restore or add a little CC550 in my BOAB. I’m not real keen on wool or scrubbys

I appreciate you input Larry.

Even with a sharp blade, Razors are not efficient to use for removing heavy dirt build up. I did not say they don’t work at all, I said they don’t work well. Sometimes if the dirt has been on the window long enough they don’t work at all. They remove the top layer of dirt but often if you look along the top portion of the window at an angle, where it is usually dirtiest, you will still see a haze on the glass that can be easily removed with wool(steel, bronze, or synthetic). Wetting the window 2 or three times and scrubbing the glass with a blade is not efficient. Wool removes the dirt a lot faster. Not to mention if your using a razor blade to remove heavy dirt build up on a dirty job the blade will be dull after a few windows leaving it even less effective as you go. Not to mention the lack of ability to razor every pane do to fabricating debris.

Again Steel and Bronze wool work better than the synthetic white pads. In many cases over the years I have run across jobs where the white scrub pads would not remove the dirt but steel wool took it right off. And you could forget a razor blade that would have been worthless on a job like that. I wish razor blades worked well for the heavy dirt because I would not have to use a ladder. I could just pole the windows on a first time clean and save tones of time.

I only use a razor for light dirt and stuck on debris. For heavy dirt the most efficient methods are wool or hogs hair brush.

As a friendly precaution I would not recommend using cc550 or one restore to clean glass. I;m not sure how familiar you are with those products but they are designed glass restoration not glass cleaning. They contain harsh acids and need to be used with chemical resistant gloves and a respirator. Along with being harmful you run the risk of hazing the glass with the acid. If the glass has a bad reaction with the acid the only thing you can do is polish the glass with a compound to bring it to clarity. This does not make for a very efficient cleaning process. Again mot trying to insult your intelligence or level of professionalism Just trying to be helpful. :wink:

Great post. I may have to give the bronze wool a chance, but I haven’t had as hard a time scraping as you have. I do agree that precautions need to be taken when using restoration products, especially CC550. Testing for the tin side will eliminate the risk of tin etch haze

Any first up cleans that have heavy build up.
Use one restore.
Find that if you first scrub with your cleaning solution leaving wet.
Scrub with One Restore on a doodle bug with sponge on it.
Rewet with cleaning solution using scraper to get any paint etc off.
Then scrub and squeegee.

Dilution of the One Restore one to three water.