Still pretty new with wfp use, so here are some basic questions. Seems like my name is getting out there in the land of higher end homes. These homes tend to be lake front homes with lots of lake facing glass, big traps way up, set deep into log home. Sometimes the equivalent of 3 stories up. Originally, these homes were one of the reasons I bought a wfp. Now, after a little experimenting I’m wondering if I over estimated the usefullness of wfp in situations like this. Will a wfp really work well on residential glass cleaned once a year? Any thoughts on working these north woods lodges so that the water running down the building doesn’t just keep messing up the glass below? Is it just a matter of working all the high stuff, waiting till it stops running down the logs and dripping and then moving to the lower stuff? Finally, what wfp tools would you recommend for getting into the corners of the traps and into the depth of the window sills when the window is 25 feet up?
Eric
The wfp will do a great job for you. I live in Smokey Mts and we do lots of log homes with wfp. To answer you specific questions, yes do allthe tops first with the pole out to the right length. Then if you are doing inside, work on them while the drip down dries up. Then do the lowers. As for the windows not been cleaned yearly, wfp will clean them them well. You will need to spend time brushing and rinsing. A hogs hair brush works better on most spots and you can also use a scraper or put and abbrasive cleaner like soft scrub or bonami on the brush for more action. Once you get over the learning curve you will not go back to climbing ladders to clean the high windows.
John, and anyone else that wants to chime in on this one, thank you. How about reaching into the tips of peaked traps? Never thought of adding an abrasive cleanser to the formula.
For properties cleaned only once or twice a year, my recomendation would be to go HOT!
Get a propane tankless heater installed in your truck, and heat the pure water as you use it,… it makes a world of difference to WFP and is relatively cheap to setup too.
Any potential to crack glass with sudden change in temp? I have a friend who used to have a subbed route. He was learning. His first day, one of his first jobs was a coffee shop in the winter. BIG plate glass windows. He got steaming hot water from inside, went outside with temps in the teens (F), soaked the window and watched in horor as a couple large cracks raced across the window. I’ve been scarred of heated water, winter or summer, ever since.
There was a same case scenario in the UK earlier this year with cracked glass & wfp hot water. For the same reasons I’m leaving hot out of the equation for now.
I’ve been using hot for 18 months now and haven’t cracked a single pane of glass yet.
Thermal shock can be an issue, but if you’re sensible it can be worked around.
In the winter my heater is turned down to minimum. The water at the brush head is barely lukewarm,… but lukewarm still cleans a lot better than icy cold water…
In summer I rarely go above 60 degrees C,… any hotter is a waste of gas!
I’m not 100% sure what you mean when you say traps? Maybe they are called something differant on my coast. One thing that would concern me with a log building and a WFP is the stuff used on the logs to seal them. If they even do? I know zero about log homes but have worked on some mock ones here. You know the ones with just the cut side of a log on a 2x4 frame. Anyway that sappy crap and some stain/sealer is a bitch to get off and I dont’ see a WFP doing the job for a 1st time clean. I think homes like these need a really good face to face with the glass. After that WFP should blow the home over. Sometimes the WFP is great, but in wooded areas if you are not cleaning the homes 2 times per year you can only do so much. A wooded area has so much more crap hitting the entire window, where as with my thoughts becomes more of a restore job then anything else. Even more so when those homes are on or very close to water.
