It’s number one for a reason!
I use GG4 with just a drop or two of Dawn for extra glide.
Doubleing up on the recommended amount of GG4 for more glide doesn’t seem to work.
Lot’s of guys swear by Dawn, Joy, and Ajax. Not all dish soap works as a window cleaning soap.
I use Dawn, I have tried the GG’s. (dont like them, thanks)
The key to ANY cleaning, is leaving the surface as close to “nuetral” as possible. And Dawn mixed w/ water IS PH 7 .
Guess this is a tough subject to take.
Oh well, Nothing wrong with the hard road.
LinO
Thanks,
I’ll give this a go. Two things: 1. got a ratio? 2. cust. asks what I use to clean inside win. …same thing? [it’s a very nice, new home]
LinO
PH changes in each region.
I honestly believe we have lost the urge to fight about this anymore.
What’s the best pop? Best car manufacturer? Best Motley Crue album…
There is no best there is only best for us.
I dumped GG4 to go back with Seventh Generation dish soap. GG4 is good, but I prefer this dish soap by a hair.
Karlos,
I have checked the PH of various local supply and true it does vary, I have seen it as high as 9 :eek: However “most” soaps, including Dawn use “bufferers” to lower the PH 
Lino,
You asked me to chime in on this one so here is what I use. Palmolive anti bacterial. For those who are going to fire the shots at me. Let me first save you some typing.
The reason I use Palmolive is because it cleans well and is very slick on the glass.
I have used Ungers stuff. It works pretty good. Smells like your grandpas cheap aftershave. Used it for a day until the smell made me sick to my stomach.
Ours is 5. Now what?
Some places I go they have a water plant for the house & add PH uppers & downers for the water. I don’t think PH is as important as hardness or softness for trad guys. For wfp guys it could make a difference.
Slightly acid is better and less residual than “basic” which would be “residual”.
Wasnt that what this post was about?
I also doubt if your in PH 5 range, that you have a very good cleaner there, bud, since “most” soils and grease ect. are “acidic”
Hey Guys,
[B]I see why[/B] this gets so heated. It challenges our reasoning and our expertise. However for the newbee (what kind of bee doesn’t fly?), we, or should I say I, need your input in a great way. So to all of you who have undergone the challenging debate, thank you for helping me improve.
much needed advice
LinO
Spelling Bee?
We have had some real bad arguments over the years about this. So bad that someones mama could be brought up lol
I don’t miss those debates at all…
I’ve tried alot of stuff also in my 23.17 years of window cleaning. I started with ammonia and water. Good.
Tried a new product on the market: Simple Green (and water). Pretty good, but I was trying to convince myself I had found a secret that nobody else knew about. It dried too quickly for me and left a hard to remove residue.
Back to ammonia- ahhh!
What else- GG3 and GG4, liked it. Seemed to do the same as Simple Green, but maybe I was using it too strong or didn’t want to spend the money.
Ammonia, dish soap, and water, sometimes rubbing alcohol. Always a happy medium.
Also tried water and peroxide based cleaners like H2Orange2(which incidentally are awesome for general cleaning). Good, but not enough glide.
Back now to GG4, but I’ve also been using pure water alone. I like it, but sometimes the squeegee doesn’t glide enough.
That’s my 3 cents.
Dan,
I also used ammonia with Dawn years back with decent results. The ammonia made my solution slick on the glass (which is one of the reasons I liked it). There are different types of ammonia (some were clear and some were cloudy- I bought the clear stuff). Ammonia skyrocketed in price per gallon so I switched to Palmolive. Identical results really.
I sure do miss mixing that stuff up (ammonia) in the morning. The odor it gives off sure does wake you up thats for sure!!
Amen to that! I got so used to the smell that I’d blow people away without realizing it. I FINALLY found ammonia in gallons a couple of years ago at a ShopRite for 1.58 last I checked. I’d go in and grab as many as I could carry.
GG5 and a hammer.
Well, ya’ll may have been through the “soap wars” before, but as a newby, I was glad to see this thread! I have been trying to decide if I was gonna buy a window cleaning soap or just try Dawn. Was leaning toward GG3 or 4 because I hate Dawn for my dishes. It never lasts long enough to get them all done, but then, cleaning a window doesn’t take near as long as washing the dishes!
Think I will start with the dish soap. Will try Dawn and Palmolive (it’s my fav for dishes) and see which I like best.
Nobody else can decide for you whether YOU like dish soap or GG4 (or other commercial window cleaning soap) the best.
They both clean windows very well. I use GG4 most of the time because I like it. I also use Dawn dish detergent for some greasy restaurant windows because it does cut grease better than GG4.
The downside of Dawn dish soap is that it’s extremely messy and requires more detailing time than GG4. For that reason I use GG4 (with added slip) for 99% of my window cleaning.
Try both and maybe use both for different applications. You’ll know very quickly which you prefer.
I found this and thought it was funny.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2301230_pick-window-cleaning-soaps.html
Commercial cleaners can be expensive and the truth is they are all basically the same
That’s like saying all cars are basically the same…they are you know…
Be a professional and use a professional cleaner. GG4 Just my opinion.
