UK Window Cleaning Tools & Equipment

Window cleaning pole, new design

2009-01-27T17:31:00.000-08:00

3 reasons we need a new designed window cleaning pole

One of the most important aspects of the window cleaning arsenal is the pole. The pole like the traditional cleaners ladders, is what gets the cleaning equipment up to the glass

There has been many attempts in the last few years to revolutionise the first cumbersome telescopic window cleaning poles we used. And I must say now that the attempts have been admirable to say the least. What we have now is much lighter and much more rigid poles, which results in less fatigue. Modular poles which have been introduced recently are more costly, and more time consuming to use, but they do have the advantage of being able to fit a control valve on, if and when any of the manufacturers caught on to the fact this could be done.

Telescopic poles along with modular poles are time consuming to use, the telescopic need opened to the desired height, and then clamped in position, whereas the modular pole relies on carrying all the sections around, and the ends of the sections being joined together to reach the window. Both poles are usually in 6 foot lengths at least for reasons explained later, and the same pole used for cleaning above ground floor, is useless for when the ground floor is done.

Now back to the 3 reasons.

1/ The poles on the market are time consuming to use.

2/ The poles on the market are no use at going from second storey window to ground floor windows.

3/ The poles on the market because of there long closed length are harder to carry around, and transport in your vehicle.

The material used in the make up of the pole is irrelevant, when it comes to the 3 very important points above. Manufacturers ignore these 3 points for reasons I will give below. Weight and rigidity are the factors most mentioned by the window cleaner and manufacturer, and although they are very important, they are not the only ones to be considered. The 3 other factors I mention are equally, if not more important.

When finding out what the window cleaner wants the manufacturer ignores the 3 points illustrated because he thinks nothing can be done about them.

Point 1/ The poles on the market are time consuming to use. The fact that the sections need to be clamped or joined together, leads him to believe it can't be improved on.

Point 2/ The poles on the market are no use at going from second storey windows to ground floor windows. To improve on that each section would need to be made in a smaller size, and lead to more sections needed to reach the higher window above, which would need more clamps, lead to extra weight, and more tooling cost for the extra clamps. And after all that the pole would be even more time consuming to use.

Point 3/ The poles on the market because of there long closed length are harder to carry around, and transport in your vehicle. If they solve the problems in point 2, then the problems in point 3 will be solved as well.

But wait a minute if they ignore the points 1, 2, and 3 and make the pole lighter and stronger then perhaps no one will give a though to points 1,2, and 3? Probably spot on as the window cleaner probably believes points 1,2, and 3 is impossible to achieve as well :)

Copyright (c) 2008 Peter Fogwill

Window Cleaning Forum

2008-02-16T07:10:00.000-08:00

I would just like our members to know that our window cleaning forum has now been changed over to a new more reliable system, and everything seems to be working fine.

For new members looking for a new way to share tips and ideas our www.window-tools.com forum is the place to be. It is the biggest window cleaning dedicated forum on the Internet with over 2500 members. Yes there are bigger forums out there but the window-tools forum is the biggest one dedicated to just window cleaners.

Why not join up now and browse our FAQ traditional window cleaning, or water fed pole window cleaning pages. Or if you are thinking of getting into reach and wash type window cleaning our water fed pole board is the place to be. Here you can browse through previous posts by our experienced members and see what problems you are likely to encounter, and see what actions are needed to overcome them.

Thanks and I look forward to seeing you in the near future.

Peter Fogwill
http://www.window-tools.com/windows/index.php

Window Cleaning Forum

2008-02-14T08:02:00.000-08:00

A questition was posted in a window cleaning forum recently asking about my new style of pop-up pole, so thought I would place the post and answer here for anyone intereted to have a look at my answer.

"I'm a big fan of the clamp-less WFP poles. I've one of Peter Fogwill's, and I've a few DIY ones too. They're light, very short when collapsed, and extremely quick to use. BUT,.. they could be improved!

The standard pole is 24' in 7 tapered cylindrical sections. At full extension the pole is very whippy, and because there are no clamps, the sections spin within each other, so you have less control over the brush. Also because the sections taper, occasionally they stick a little. Not major faults, but still, I reckon there must be a pole somewhere that is more suitable to being used clampless.

So what I'm looking for is:

A 28' pole (or even slightly more) in at least 7 sections
With a positive stop mechanism so the poles can't come out of the top of the pole below
As rigid as possible
Designed so that the sections cannot spin within each other
suitable for using with a microbore size internal pole hose
Cheap!!

Any ideas?"

Hi,

The pole you described will be available definitely by June at the latest. I have tried, tried, and tried again to find the suitable materials I need for the pole in this country, Europe, and even China, and had to start sourcing the machine myself. I have found the machine I need which is quite an investment, but it will allow me to make the pole sections in house exactly how I want them for size, weight, rigidity, and anything else you can think of. These poles will be the only ones I know of made entirely in the UK from scratch. The machine is built to order hence the time it will take me to get this up and running, but it will be well worth the wait, as this type of pole will take over from any poles on the market to date.

Peter Fogwill
www.window-tools.com

New window cleaning pop up pole

2008-02-07T02:55:00.000-08:00

The Reach and Wash window cleaning industry is about to witness another revelation in time saving water fed pole equipment with 50% time saving over any poles currently on the market.

Aquatec's new clamp-less pop-up-pole will double your earnings each hour of use, or half the time you have to work in the day while still earning the same amount of money. Strong allegations I hear you say, but we at Aquatec are so confident that the pole will do exactly what we say it will that we offer a full money back guarantee. If you find that the pole is not suitable, just send it back and get a full refund, no questions asked.

We are so confident that the above type of pole will completely take over the window cleaning water fed pole market that we are investing heavily in our own pultrusion machine which will give us the exact specification we need for manufacturing our own poles. These poles will be the only pultruded window cleaning poles manufactured in the UK, and will be available to all window cleaning supply companies. If your supplier tries to sell you anything else he will be putting his inflated profits before your well being.

We have also invested in Patent protection for the pop up pole, as we believe that this pole is the best pole there has ever been in the window cleaning market, we have put in place Patent protection to stop any industrial theft.

The above pole with Aquatec's Patent applied for Autobrush make a perfect and unique combination for window cleaning, not only are you saving a great deal of time, you are also saving a great deal of water. With water restrictions in some parts of England making it difficult for water fed pole window cleaning, you want to make the best use of the water you have. There really is no point of spraying water all over the walls when a simple tap with the brush is all you need to stop the water flow until needed.

When a customer buys a window cleaning system from Aquatec he is not only getting the very latest water fed pole system on the market, he is also getting the very latest and unique equipment available. Not only that he gets the very latest equipment at discounted prices, should a new product come on the market after his initial purchase.

Peter Fogwill
www.window-tools.com

New window cleaning trolley system

2006-11-01T01:35:00.000-08:00

Since designing my original trolley system a few years back which was the first one on the market to utilise separate water containers, with the benefit of not having to pour water, there has been quite a few imitations. There has been a lot of talk from window cleaners about what is best, van system or trolley system, with each having their advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage of the van system is sometimes your too far away from the window to reach it with a hosereel, and the disadvantage of the trolley system is your lifting it in and out the vehicle all the time, and they only carry 50L of water.

Keeping the above in mind I set about designing a new trolley system, one which didn't need lifting in and out the vehicle all the time, and one that carried much more water. One that could be left on the vehicle and used as a van system when needed, and taken off when needed without any lifting.

What this trolley system does is allows the window cleaner to walk up to the vehicle with the trolley, line it up in the centre, and push the handles up towards the vehicle, and that's it attached. You can have the trolley fitted to the vehicle in the time it would take to walk up and open the boot. Taking it off when needed is just as easy, a push up of a pin, and lower the wheels to the ground is all that is needed.

The trolley itself can be used in three different modes, flat truck mode (and carry up to 150L of water) Stand up mode has two different positions, balancing on two wheels, or resting on a third wheel. Each of these modes can carry up to 100L of water. So whether you are cleaning a large office building or a small domestic property this system is all you would need.

The trolley system comes with 6 water containers, a pump box with 100psi pump. a hose reel with 40M of micro-bore hose, and an 85AH battery. It also comes with the necessary fitting to attach to your tow-bar. Also included is a water treatment system of your choice, the Patent Pending Autobrush and pole.

Peter Fogwill
www.window-tools.com

Backpacks, and reach and wash window cleaning

2006-06-09T04:33:00.000-07:00

A few window cleaners lately have asked me if the backpack is up to the job we as a window cleaner has in store for it, my answer is quite simply no.

Remember the pump in the backpack although it is 40psi it is a little toy compared to the pumps in the trolley and van systems. It means the higher you go and the more hose you go through the less water you get at the brush. I personally don't feel that the water comes out the brush fast enough, and I feel that you are hanging around too long for enough water to pass through the brush to get a decent finish on the glass. Lot's of others seem to think they are great though, but I have a feeling that it is because most of them have just changed over from ladders and compared to that it is a godsend. They may have heard how fast reach and wash window cleaning is, and may even have seen a competitor using a system. If they had to clean the windows at the same speed, then the window done with the backpack would not nearly be up to the same standard as a window done with a real system.

How many times have we seen on the forums window cleaners complaining about loosing customers due to the water fed pole? How many of these window cleaners have backpack? My guess is quite a few of them.

Granted the backpack is a cheap way to get into water fed pole window cleaning at around £550 for a complete system, but is it really worth all the time wasted hanging around waiting on enough water to pass over the glass?Only you can decide.

Peter Fogwill
www.window-tools.com

First the brush now the pole

2006-03-20T14:18:00.000-08:00

Window cleaners are starting to see the benefits of the brushes I supply as standard and now I am starting to hear murmurs of the pole I supply being better than the alternatives on the market.

Let me start by telling you about a demonstration I had set up for me by another water fed pole supplier. As I was a using the water fed pole system daily he thought it was better me doing the demo for his prospective customer who had travelled over from Southern Ireland. He had arranged for the cleaning of a car dealer showroom maybe about 24 foot high and all glass. He had a trolley system all set up with a dense bristle brush and one of the glass fibre water fed poles. I set about cleaning the windows to show the guys what the water fed poles were all about. About 2 minutes into the clean I was getting nowhere fast, the brush didn't glide over the glass like my Salmon brush, and my arms were starting to ache with the weight of the glass fibre pole. Luckily by chance I had my Unger Tel-pole and Salmon brush on my trolley all set up in my car and ready to go. I put the other system aside and started to fly with my system, what a breeze the whole thing was done in about 15 minutes, and the guys from Ireland were impressed, I think they took two systems away with them.

Again the moral of the above story is, what everyone else uses is not necessarily the best. The fibre glass poles were developed for the USA military many years ago, and the manufacturers seen a very lucrative market for them when window cleaners started using water fed poles.

I have heard comments before that I sell a cheaper version of the real water fed pole to keep costs down, this is not true, the fact is the Unger pole I supply costs me more from my supplier than the glass fibre poles would cost me straight from the manufacturers. I supply the Unger pole as standard with my trolley system because it is the best all round pole for both domestic and commercial window cleaning.

Peter Fogwill
www.window-tools.com

Water fed pole brushes

2006-02-15T01:59:00.000-08:00

What water fed pole brush?

There has been a lot of talk lately about water fed pole brushes, and what ones are best.

Let me start by clarifying one thing, the most popularly used is not necessary the best. A while ago there was a certain brush manufacturer that caught on to the fact that the reach and wash system and water fed poles in general were gaining popularity among window cleaners, and quite rightly got in on the act. They realised their was big business and started promoting their car washing brushes at trade shows etc, and offering good deals to water fed pole suppliers. They even made some changes to the brush to make them more water fed pole friendly, trouble is they forgot about two main factors that overwhelmingly effected the cleaning power of the brush. Firstly the density of the bristles, their brush is far too dense and this restricts the flow of dirty water passing through the bristles, and working its way down and off the glass. Secondly the bristles were splayed at the ends to make them softer for car paintwork, as glass is a hard surface this was not necessary for a window cleaning brush, it had a negative effect and trapped dirt particles, again restricting the easy passage of dirty water through the brush and down to the bottom of the glass. These two factors although not the only disadvantages makes the most widely used water fed pole brush a nightmare to use.

How did the average window cleaner not notice this? They were supplied with the brush from their supplier, they didn't know any better, after all if you pay good money for a window cleaning system you would expect to be supplied with the best equipment to do the job it was designed to do. Trouble is most of the water fed pole suppliers have never cleaned a window in their life, they picked up on a brush that was being heavily promoted, got a good deal and the rest is history. The window cleaner got round the defects on the brush by brushing the window and then lifting the brush off the glass to give it a final rinse, which is both time consuming and a much higher water consumption over the course of the day.

There is another couple of disadvantages with the brush I am talking about. The weight of the brush, and the shape of the bristles. Again the clever window cleaners has compensated for the weight by using a much smaller brush, the size of the brush brings the weight down considerably, only problem with that is again more time wasted covering the glass with the smaller brush, and again more water wasted as you are on the glass longer. Next there is the shape of the bristles, they are straight. If they were slightly crinkled it would serve as a more aggressive cleaner, as there is a more abrasive contact on any dirt sticking to the glass. Slightly elongated bristles servers the same purpose allowing the bristles to splay more and would allow the non splayed tips of the bristles to come in contact with the dirt. This would also allow for faster cleaning, which in turn reduces water usage.

The funny thing about all this is I have had customers of mines changing from the brush I supply which has none of the disadvantages of the above brush, to one of the disadvantaged brushes. Why? simply because they have been told by other window cleaners that the brush they use is not a water fed pole brush, and that they have to change over to the disadvantage brush that they use. Its not all bad though, these helpful chaps sometimes show them some new exciting ways to get a spot free finish on the glass, they show them how to take the brush off the glass and give it a final rinse, and how to waste time and water into the bargain.

Peter Fogwill
www.window-tools.com

How much water do I need for a days window cleaning

2006-02-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

This question seems to be the most read posting on the water fed pole board on the window cleaning forum. The answer is a hard one, and I usually tell prospective customers who ask, "it depends on how fast a worker you are". A slow worker on a fast water flow will waste quite a bit of water over the day, whereas a fast worker on a slow water flow will waste a lot of time in the day, as he will be waiting around for the window to have enough water passed over it to wash the window properly.

It also depends on what type of windows you will be cleaning, domestic or commercial. Domestic uses less water as the pole is being heightened and lowered more than in commercial. Another thing that will determine water usage is the type of jets you use, fan spays will use less water than pencil jets as they make better use of the watter spraying water under more pressure to the very edges of the glass. Last but not least is the way you turn the water on and off while working. If you have to keep stopping what your doing to turn the water off between windows you will tend to keep the water running between windows, this tends to waste a lot of water in the day. I developed a system of stopping the water easily at the brush to save such water, it can be seen at http://www.window-tools.com/auto.htm

Its only when you get into the swing of things and find out what settings are best for you, will you find out how much water you personally will need.

Peter Fogwill
www.window-tools.com

Reach and Wash window cleaning

2006-02-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

A new water fed pole water treatment system will be on the market shortly from the makers of the Reach and Wash system. Seemingly the water purification system has no waste water, and with all the talk recently about water shortages in the south of England, this really would save quite a bit of water for the window cleaner.

I have been told that the waste water coming from the Reverse Osmosis membranes passes through another type of filter and back into the Reverse Osmosis. The downside is the cost of the replacement filters seemingly they are quite expensive.

Peter Fogwill
www.window-tools.com

Window Cleaning problems on the south coast with water shortages

2006-02-06T16:10:00.000-08:00

Window cleaners have been discussing hose pipe bans in the south of England which could come into force this summer due to very little rain fall lately. They are worried that the only water supply could come from a central stand pipe in the street, which would mean obviously water purification with their reverse osmosis systems would be impossible.

It is not all doom and gloom, they have long poles and could make good use of them. For around three or four years before I personally got into water fed poles I used the same poles I use now for window cleaning with pure water, to clean windows up to 3 storeys with an applicator and squeegee on the top of the pole.

It takes some practice and patience, but very good results can be achieved with this method. I am sure customers would understand if the windows were not perfect for a couple of weeks while they perfected their techniques with a squeegee on the pole, especially when they realise the normal amounts of water usage in these circumstances would be impossible.

If you live on the south coast of England why not try a squeegee on top of you pole and get some practice in now, and in the event of a hosepipe ban you will be prepared.

Peter Fogwill
www.window-tools.com

Window cleaning with pure water

2006-02-06T15:58:00.000-08:00

Someone asked on the forum yesterday if the windows would need cleaned more frequently if they were done with a water fed pole as opposed to traditional window cleaning methods. The opposite is true, the windows will stay cleaner a lot longer when done with pure water as there will be no soap film left behind.

Next time you clean windows with soap and a squeegee wet your finger and rub your finger across the glass. What you will see is the residue soap film. Because the pure water leaves the window without this soap film, the rain which is pretty pure will have nothing to mix with, hence leaving the windows spotless even after a heavy shower.

Peter

What window cleaning products

2006-02-03T02:31:00.000-08:00

Nearly everything out there on the market for window cleaners works fine.

I remember about 10 years ago having problems with Ettore rubbers, certain batches of them were inferior quality and left streaks on the glass due to the water passing from the back of the rubber onto the glass. The way I worked it caused major problems and cost me a lot of time. On the other hand one of the biggest window cleaning companies in the USA never had any problems with the same rubber, not because their rubber didn't have the same faults but because they trained their window cleaners to run a cloth along the squeegee after every window. I could have done the same thing but imagine the time it would cost over the day. It cost their workers time as well, but it didn't bother them as they didn't know any better.

What was happening is there was a wobble in their cutting tool, and some of the rubbers were slightly narrower in places. These narrow parts were allowing the water to pass from the back of the squeegee on to the glass.

I did tell Ettore about the problem, but because the big USA window cleaning company didn't notice the problem they were not interested. I ended up changing to Pulex rubbers and never used anything else since.

The moral of the above storey is there are lots of different products all doing the same thing, you just have to try out different things until you find whats best for you. Always look for better products and better ways of using them.

Peter Fogwill
http://www.window-tools.com/

Autobrush

2006-02-02T11:32:00.000-08:00

Introducing the new Autobrush As you will no doubt be aware with the increasing use of water fed poles in the window cleaning industry, we will undoubtedly have an environmental effect on our water supply. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water will be wasted each day when the window cleaner is moving from window to window, and more so when the pole is being lowered or heightened.. The AutoBrush will save all this wasted water, as it only lets the water pass through the brush when the brush is in contact with the window. No window cleaning, no spraying. Battery power will also be saved with the AutoBrush, as in most cases the pump will be idle when the brush is not cleaning the window.

Peter

www.window-tools.com