Does anyone use a vaccuum to clean window tracking? I think a wet/dry battery vac would work well. Does anyone get that particular in their cleaning or is it typical to simply wipe what you can with a towel?
Some wcers offer this as a standard level of service. For me it’s part of our premium service. I use a small portable corded vac when dealing w/ dry stuff. I know Larry Laczko uses a Rigid vac at times. He probably would be a good guy to give the particulars on it.
I was wondering about the same thing. I had a small shop vac back in the day, it was corded, maybe gallon size or so. Would like to hear what others are using.
I got mine at Wal-Mart it’s a Scorpion vac. It cost me $25. Doesn’t hold much but for basic cleans it works fine.
Just bought a Shop-vac from Lowe’s last Friday for $29+tax, it’s a corded one. I wanted a battery one for freedom of movement only, but batteries are expensive, need attention (charging) and they wear out. Corded versions are always ready and the power is constant everytime. Take a light duty extension cord, no more than 25ft since there’s always a outlet next to every window (at least around here).
To summarize, each version has it’s own set of pros and cons, so is up to you and your pocket.
Check these posts:
http://www.windowcleaner.com/vBulletin/search.php5?searchid=30169
I’ve got two vacuums, one just dust buster i bought for around $40 to carry on the ladder and easy clean ups and one dewalt battery powered which was total around $160 with battery and charger.
I am definitely high speed/low drag. I don’t want to drag a cord and plug it in although it may result in better work.
I’m familiar with the dust buster and I don’t think it will meet my needs. My concern with the Dewalt is whether it will “neck” down enough to draw dirt out from small cracks. Does yours do this well?
I use a mini-wet/dry vac that has an attachment that fits perfectly in the tracks, its corded tho, and I woulod love to have the cordless. I charge 5 to 10 bucks per track.
For vacuuming only or a full, like-new detail?
Don’t bother. I used to use one. There is no need. Some tracks are pretty heavy with soil and junk but I have still found it quicker to use a spray bottle on stream with a rag. I use a painters tool wrapped in a rag to get the tracks. Vacs just take up more time and more risk. More to carry in the house means more risk in knocking something over. Plus the constant bending over to plug and unplug will and can wear you down by the end of the day. I tried a ton of things to get in the corners etc. Still nothing has beaten the spray bottle on stream. Just load up the tracks with cleaner and let the weap holes in the sill do their jobs.
Great tip Silver. Getting water in is very effective. I call it irrigating. I’ve used a water bottle/vac combination to effectively remove dirt. I’ll try using the water only. Great idea!
Different soil and different conditions require different tools and techniques.
Most effective for me is a grout brush (I have a favorite) and cordless (small footprint/no need to plug into AC, etc.) Ridgid WD2450 wet/dry vacuum. If further attention and detailing is required, I use a dedicated bucket/solution/heavy-duty sponge.
I thought this was a good idea myself, but when I actually tried it it was just a pain to carry around. A wet towel works just as well and is much quicker, imho.
Good to have the vac in the van though in case you spill some on their carpets or have another use for it… you probably won’t see the use coming.
Wet scrim works for me. And use your small scraper closed inside it.
A pain to carry around a Ridgid WD2450? It’s a breeze for me!
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]I use a 1/2 gallon cordless DeWalt vac. It’s almost small enough to fit in a shoe box and I love it. It’s much better for my purposes than my old 2 gallon DeWalt corded/cordless vac. [/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]I like to use a 2 inch paint brush in conjunction with the vacuum. [/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]In New England we have triple track storm windows and a lot of debris can collect on the ledge between the window and the storm. I like to vacuum it up.[/FONT][/COLOR]
Totally. A shop vac is a must for some jobs. We deal with triple tracks almost daily here.
Ya, I don’t think it’s much of a pain to carry around a small shop vac. I mean, we carry around ladders and WFP’s. No biggie.
Trip track meaning storms yes? We have them here also. I agree the only way to clean those really well is with a vac. But here’s how I do it. I take out the storms, close the lower sash, reverse the vac so it’s on the blow setting. I then go outside and blow all that junk out. Then when it settles you can turn the vac back to suck and get out anything that has landed in the sill and all that can be done from the outside. But I have been pushing off storm window jobs now as they just take too much time removal and replacement. Don’t get me wrong I will do them but the price is double now compared to a normal double hung.
Hey guys how are your batteries holding up on your vacs. 3 years ago I bought the dewalt cordless and the battery lasted 10-15 minutes at most.
Never thought of the blower idea.
The battery life on my 2 gallon DeWalt battery/corded vacuum was very poor. The 1/2 gallon model lasts and lasts. I love it! Much lighter and easier to work with, but no cord.
