How Do I Clean Windows with a Water Fed Pole?
Using a water fed pole (WFP) has many benefits compare to using traditional window cleaning tools like a washer sleeve and squeegee, but it does take a little time and practice to learn how to efficiently clean with a water fed pole. While there a number of WFP cleaning methods , this is one of the more popular processes. As you gain more experience, you may tweak this water fed pole cleaning method to find what works best for you.
How to Wash Windows Using a Water Fed Pole
1. With the water flow on from your water purification system, start by brushing the top of the glass. This is where dirt and contaminants tend to collect the most. Scrub back and forth along that top portion a few times, then leave and let the water drip down. Note: If you are going to clean the window sills, you need to do that now. Otherwise you'll drip from the sill back down on the glass.
2. Go back with your water fed pole brush and scrub the rest of the glass, leaving the top 2 to 3 inches alone. We recommend starting from the bottom and brushing upward, giving the water from the top of the glass time to drip down.
3. Rinse. The key to a good rinse is ensuring that the purified water is the last thing to touch the glass, not your brush. Your goal is to create a curtain of water that flows from the top down (See video below). Create the top of the water curtain, then follow it down with your water jets. Then rinse side to side, only rinsing about 2-foot wide strips at a time.
Rinsing: On or Off the Glass?
When scrubbing windows, you are applying pressure on the pole so that the brush bristles spread out for better scrubbing action and to ensure you're getting into all the cracks and crevices. However, when you're rinsing, you want to remove the pressure from the brush. If you're using a nylon bristled or hybrid brush, you can just barely lay them on the glass while rinsing. This lets the water collect in the brush, and gives you a better rinse by reducing splatter, which can leave micro dots on the glass.
After scrubbing the window, start at the top and move your brush back and forth across the glass, working in 2 foot wide strips. As you build a little head of water at the top, quickly glide your brush down in a zig-zag pattern so that the purified water is the last thing to touch the glass, not your bristles. Then repeat with the next section.
If you're using a boar's hair brush, you must remove the brush from the glass (i.e., "off the glass") and spray from a few The natural fiber holds dirt and pollutants, and you'll get a poor rinse if you leave it on the glass.
The higher the windows, the harder it is to rinse with your pole "off the glass" because it becomes harder to control the pole. That's why we recommend limited the use of 100% boar's hair brushes to windows that are 3 stores or less.
What about Window Frames?
Whether or not you want to clean the window frames is up to you, but you need to decide one way or the other ahead of time. If you're going to clean window frames, you must do it thoroughly because any dirt that comes off the frames is going to leak down on the glass below. Otherwise, leave them alone. Your first cleaning of the frames will probably take longer, while subsequent cleanings will be easier.
What about Difficult to Remove Items?
There are some contaminants and stains that may be difficult to remove with a water fed pole. This is particularly true with new construction cleaning jobs that have things such as fresh plaster, concrete, paint, etc., which often require the use of a scraper to remove, although some products, like the Alpha Scrubber, can help. Other problems include things like hard water stains (which are typically only lower windows due to sprinklers), bird droppings, stickers, caterpillar and snail trails, and so on. If you do not have the equipment and skills for these types of cleanings, it's best to either pass on the job or at least let the customer know what to expect before starting the job.