I find I spend way longer at jobs than I need to because my workflow is so inefficient. What is your process of tackling a residential Job? Where do you start on the house and on which windows? Do You Start Inside or Out? Or take screens off first? How do you move around the home? How do you move your ladder or pole around the home? Stuff like that. The more detail the better. Really just trying to increase my speed because right now I’m so slow. Thanks.
I walk in the front door turn either left or right and start with the first window closest to the door in which ever direction I decide to go, then I place a towel down in front of the window lift out the slider, remove the screen. place it outside, brush and vacuum track, replace window, wet up wipe upper frames, squeegee window, wipe lower frames and tracks , then go to the next window and repeat. each 2 slider/double hung should take no more than 2 mins.
I always do insides first as 75% of the screens here will have to be removed from the inside also if you are cleaning tracks dirt will turn to mud when wet, much easier to deal with dirt/dust than mud.
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efficiency is key.
arrive, roll out hose, turn on pump start cleaning
roll up hose drive away
in/out later
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Do you keep 2nd story screens inside and then come back after the outside and put them back in?
Also what type of vacuum do you use?
Roll up the driveway, check my schedule and make sure I know the customers first name. Ring the bell, meet and greet. “Do you have a preference where we start inside?”, that kind of thing. Even if they are an established customer. Let them know who will be inside and who will be out. Whoever is using wfp goes around and removes all screens, the other just gets going on interiors. I like to use warm/hot water for interiors so the inside person usually starts at the closest window to that sink, goes right or left and follows the perimeter wall. Usually exteriors get finished first, hoses get rolled up and that person goes to help finish interior or starts cleaning screens and putting them back. Generally we leave screens outside right by the window and clean them there. Second story screens we bring inside and wipe down unless they are too nasty, then we take them out. Say goodbye, “have a nice winter, see you in the spring”, collect the check, bye-bye.
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2nd story screens get placed in the bathroom on a towel, then all are taken outside to be cleaned in my screen cleaner, this happens after I clean all the outside windows with WFP.
I use a Sauber hand held. fits into a cordless mini drill holster on my belt.
I got 6 months of daily use out of my first one before the battery stopped, its in for repair ( as 2 year warranty on the battery). Bought another even though it only lasted 6 months as to me workflow its really my best option to keep my tasks very streamlined.
Here is my belt set up:
Poweraide bottle is how I put solution on the glass/washer. No bucket for me.
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I work with my wife, so my method is a bit different.
I typically get the ‘harder’ windows so go upstairs and get what I can from inside such as cranks and tilts. She does the walk up windows, I then go downstairs and do the transoms, palladiums and nasty garage, basically whatever she can’t get.
Next I go outside with ladders and finish what couldn’t be done while she cleans screens and sills.
We typically do the basement together as it’s usually the worst ones.
We use a DeWalt 20v vacuum with the optional power cord but the 6ah battery has never run out on a job.
I’ve used a BOAB since the beginning as I can’t let my scrubber drip on their $$$ floors, but we still have to police some on occasion.
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I always start on ground floor first (not everyone is used to having work done in their house, and jetting our way upstairs to their bedrooms isnt the best way to instill confidence)
I prefer to get them used to our process, right off the bat, visually.
- I DO have a guy start on high windows right off the bat, not only to get them out of the way, but also to give a sense for the CUST to ‘get out of the way.’
- The first floor treatment get them scurrying upstairs, and when we finish main floor, they are cool, huddling back downstairs staring at their phones in the living room… while we clear their bedrooms.
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