HOW TO CLEAN TROUBLESOME WINDOWS WITH THE WATERFED POLE SYSTEM

WINDOW CLEANING WOODEN FRAMED WINDOWS

Wooden famed windows can cause serious issue for window cleaning, due to the fact that if the paintwork is not complete and there are areas of untreated paint; this can cause water to become trapped in the wood and subsequently lead to dirty run marks on the glass. This is a common type of window and frame on older buildings, that were developed prior to upvc frames being installed as standard, but with care these specific frames need be no issue.

To successfully clean such a sash frame and window, it is essential to do so in a two stage process; even after the initial clean. We would scrub all the frames and rinse them thoroughly, ensuring to have our water pressure high as we attempt to blast all impurities downwards and out of the framework. Between the top and the bottom half of these windows there is often a horizontal and deep part to the framework that needs a careful scrub, and we also want to ensure that there is no dirt left here.

It is quite possible that after all frames/glass has been washed and rinsed off, there may be some run marks. You can observe this better when the glass is generally dried out. To eliminate any run marks we would bring the pole back to the glass again, and firstly switch the pump on. We do not spray any closer than half way up the glass panel because we do not want any over spray to catch the upper frames again (potential contamination and runs could occur). So instead we do as said, and then bring the brush head as close as possible to the glass without touching it and raise it until we are around 2 inches from the top of the glass. This final rinse is glass only, and we rinse off all upper glass panels, and then the lower half of these windows are rinsed off after all the upper ones have been completed. This whole exercise is done to limit risk of older framework contributing to dirty run marks on the glass.

• Sterilize all framework
• Be careful with single glazing glass, turn hot water off on cold days and be gentle on the glass
• Final rinse 2 inches below top of glass, to avoid further drips

PVC SASH AND CASE WINDOWS

More modern sash and case windows can often have multiple plastic panels per window, and usually these are placed over one large glass panel (for decorative effect) but sometimes you may have several separate glass panels within the framework  as well. The reason these frames can be an issue to clean, is that with each vertical section of frame is another opportunity for dirt to congregate and run down onto the next glass panel. Our objective is to completely sterilise these frames on the first clean, to prevent any issue.

We dip our brush head into a traffic film remover on the first clean of such frames, so that we can get a very deep clean of the plastics especially.  The likes of spider webs and moss build up can also have a detrimental effect on how the glass dries, so we want to get rid of all of this. It is important to spend a lot of time scrubbing vertically on these windows because rubber seals and cob webs need banished from our soon to be spotless windows. We then rinse off sections starting with the top and working our way downwards. A second rinse pass is then used to rinse off the second top sections of glass, a third pass to rinse of the third sections of glass from the top etc and so on. Do not be alarmed by runs on the glass when it is still wet because often these will dry spotless but to be sure, scrub that area again and rinse off once more.

• Use a degreaser
• Scrub vertically particularly
• Look for drip patterns and return to those areas
• Sterilize framework fully ie removal of webs, moss etc
• Rinse off in vertical sections

LEADED WINDOWS

Leaded windows may look like a difficult surface to clean with purified water, but as long as you get the first clean right then there will be no further issues.  While the process of cleaning these is very similar to that of sash and cash windows, we have found that using something like lemon juice works well here.  The citrus acids help to break down dirt and grime, and so can be sprayed onto your brush head and used to scrub into the glass.  On a first clean use a lot of water, and make sure that you go over the same windows at least twice, and if time allows you can wait for the upper frame to stop dripping and rinse of the glass a final time.

• Use a degreaser
• Double rinse glass and return to finally rinse again
• Scrub deeply over each part of the lead, vertically and horizontally

OPENER WINDOWS

These are the small windows that you usually find above the main living room windows, within the same frame and they usually are two identical small windows that can be opened outwards slightly. The reason we have included these types of windows here is due to a particular dirty run that they can cause, if not cleaned properly.

On a first clean, we always clean these windows before even doing any upstairs windows. The reason for this is that often the dirt caught between the panels can lead to a dirty post clean run right down the middle of the main glass panel. So we scrub the openers with water on all the time, and spend a fair amount of time rinsing as well.  At this stage there will still be a noticeable run mark down the main panel, but we are moving on to another window now and plan to come back to this panel soon.

When we return to the openers we rinse off these two small glass panels and avoid the upper frame, and perhaps clean the front door and such like before finally rinsing off the main glass panel at least twice. Be prepared to get issue with this particular window the first time because you are flushing the framework so clean that a great deal of dirt has to wash away, and sometimes even after the first clean it might take a second clean until you have no more issues here. So just educate customers as you go, and be honest about the fact you are offering such a deep clean that its inevitable sometimes on a first clean you may get water runs (but you will fix for free and because the frame is now sterilized this won’t be an issue moving forward)

• Always start on these windows
• Spend a lot of time scrubbing the top of framework and the gap between and below the opener windows
• Rinse off openers separate from main window