I have been cleaning windows close to 8 years now and i see a lot of people wfp’ing. I never used it on houses unless our 32ft ladder didnt reach. Always used it on commercial. I dont wanna assume anything but it seems like noone washed the outside using mop and squeegee…just wfp. When or how to use it sems to be the trick here. My question is do you use it instead of mop n squeegee? My satndard way of washing is like this…mop, steel wool, squeegee, wipe. Id love to hear imputs from others as i am about to venture out on my own here. Thanks!
Tallguy,
I started using a water-fed pole setup last spring. Over the course of the season I’ve used it alot; mid-rise office buildings, large storefronts and houses.
I am not an expert on the water-fed pole, but as far as homes go, in my short experience I was able to use it about 60% of the time. In my area we have lots of homes that have old windows that are “cut up” and have storms on the outside. The WFP worked beautifully for this. Despite the storm frame around these windows filling up with water (I had to have someone on the inside make sure that the pure water didn’t overflow into the house) it cut the time in half and the results were really good–even for a first time cleaning!
For the homes that had casement windows, or newer windows that had removable grilles I found that for a first time cleaning, the traditional scrubber/squeegee was best. Then for second time around the WFP worked pretty good.
Again, I’m no expert. I’ve only used the WFP for close to a year. I thought that maybe my experience would help you considering that I am relatively new myself at the WFP and have experience some really good results. I’ve had some really happy residential customers using this method. Also, using a WFP has no doubt allowed me to grow my business.
Good luck.
I use the WFP as much as possible. In fact I had a few 1st time cleans last year that I did w/ the WFP and they turned out great.
Tony,
I am looking into getting into WFP also. Are you saying for a first time clean its better to do it face to Glass? Do most people clean it regular first…then after that first cleaning they go to WFP next time?
Dave
I recently did a huge home between a river and the ocean, needless to say those windows were filthy!!! So much salt build up!
For the first clean I did WFP and the results were great.
I’m relatively new to WFP but I have been using it like crazy. So it’s kinda about technique.
I’ve seen some people on youtube WFP and I think they are complete idiots. They take SOOOO LONG and waist so much water…WFP is supposed to make things faster not take the same time or longer…
Dave, it works well on some jobs but not all. If the windows are trashed then I’d go face to glass for the 1st time. The jobs I did were homes w/ screens that had mostly loose dirt that came off well. On a couple windows I used a steel wool sleeve to get the stubborn stuff.
Many do choose to do the 1st clean face to glass and then maintain it w/ WFP.
Do you guys come across those “mulch spores”(Thats what I was told they were) those tiny dots that attach to the windows. It seems to me about 80% of my residential homes have them…and I need to scrape them off. If you do come across them does the WFP take them off?
ohhh yeah… take the WFP and pull it back about 12inches and gently smack it against the window to remove those stupid buggers. Maybe a good smack will do…remember the brush is kinda soft so your not doing any damage
What the hell are they anyways? They drive me bonkers. I hate those damn things!
matt,
thanks…That is one concern I had. Now another…Do you do the estimates any differently as far as looking at the glass more closeley when using WFP? Or is the estimating procedure the same for you? When I do estimates…the only issue I really look for is hard water, cracks, or blown seals. Do you do anything different for WFP estimates…thanks
if there’s cracks or hard water spots I point that out before I give the final estimate. If I give an over the phone estimate which is now 75% of the time, before I start the job I point this out to them and tell them of any price difference.
never really ran into blown seals, but I mainly do high end homes that hardly ever see problems.
I estimate on time. So if it takes me 5 hours with a mop and 3.5 with a WFP I charge what it would take me with a mop…so I charge as if I had no WFP.
They’re called “shotgun fungus”. From what I understand, they spring up from cheaper mulch; the kind you get from a big box store as opposed to a higher end garden shop. Everyone must use the cheap stuff in that case.
Matt’s right. Just hit’em with your brush at a distance from the window.
Shotgun fungus spores explode from the mulch and deposit on anything nearby. I’ve found them as high as 8ft from the mulch bed. ON some you may need to use a blade or steel wool sleeve to remove them.
I use wfp on every house, first time, every time. The only time I’m getting the squeegee out to do the outside of a house is when it’s a construction clean, or when it’s an exceptionally small one story home.
I use the Reach boar’s hair brush with fan jets. The boar’s hair brush has more scrubbing power.
I still use a Vikan brush on the office buildings, though. With the Vikan brush, you can rinse with the brush still on the glass, which is great at 3 stories & up.
I use a wfp on all my residential. Unless they haven’t been cleaned in awhile and the dirt is baked on. If that is the case, I will wet the window with the wfp, take bronze wool over them and then clean as I normally would with the wfp.
Have you used a steel wool sleeve Sean?
Hey Tony,
No, I have never used one. Just use the standard pads. On windows I can reach from the ground I do by hand, on higher windows I use that claw thingy, cant remember the name of it, and an extension pole. Although, in extreme cases I have had to break out the ladder :mad:
Have you ever used them? If so, how do they work for ya? Recommend?
I would highly recommend the steel wool sleeve. Spring for the stainless steel so you don’t go thru as many. I’ve used Ettore’s version of the Fixi-clamp w/ bronze wool in it but I get more scrubbing power w/ the sleeve on a swivel t-bar.
Thanks Tony, I’m looking forward to checking them out. Where do you purchase your sleeves from?
I’m still using the ones I got from the late, great Jim Willingham a couple of years ago. He gave me a grip of em and I just started using them last year. I don’t know if Chris and Alex can get them - if they can I’d use them. If not I think maybe J********** carries them. Alex???
