Window Cleaner

[maccawozzagod]

without going too technical Gremlin, the dust from the garden hadn't settled it was the minerals in the water. The utility companies add stuff to the water, according to area, to make it what they consider drinkable etc. It is measured in parts per million (ppm) and tap water in the Accy area is around about 40-50 ppm. Leeds, where I do the majority of my work, is between 100-400.

The guys who use pure water to clean windows will treat the water via two different methods to bring it down to zero ppm. This means that the water is pure and contains no elements of iron, calcium etc. It is these additives that are left behind when the water evaporates.

A squeegee guy has to leave the window dry because he uses dirty water to clean the window. The slightest gap from the squeegee sliding around will leave dirty water or soap behind which when dried will leave a streak. The pole guys don't need to leave the window dry because, after rinsing, the window will only have pure water on it. Rain water makes no difference to this because rain water is typically almost pure.

[Gremlin]

I used to deliver liquid caustic soda, Sulphuric acid or Sodium Hypochlorite to the water treatment plants, 20 ton at a time in a tanker.
I delivered all over the North and Scotland and some of the water plants were in beautiful locations.
The water going into the plant from the ones in the Lake district was absolutely crystal clear and I often wondered why they needed to mess about with it.
We even delivered to the one by the Easterly by pass at Accrington so even our locals weren't spared the stuff.

[maccawozzagod]

Originally Posted by Gremlin

The water going into the plant from the ones in the Lake district was absolutely crystal clear and I often wondered why they needed to mess about with it.

government conspiracy to keep regional identification? eg you can tell a Brunleyite from a mile away

[Rowlf]

Re my 'window wetter' Maccawozzagod you have hit the nail on the head saying 'if its done right.' I have two front bay windows, two back bedroom windows, back lounge window ,bathroom window and window half way upstairs done and believe me if it takes him 5 mins he is having a go slow day !!!!!

[maccawozzagod]

Doing the glass only can be rapid without any detriment to the clean, but if he is doing the frames as well (including the top bits) then I would imagine that one man should be about 15 minutes but hard to say without seeing the job. As a rule 50p to a £1 per minute is about right to do the job right for both parties.