PURE-WATER USING WATER-FED POLES (WFP) vs TRADITIONAL SQUEEGEE WINDOW CLEANING

By Julian Romanetti, May 02, 2017

The window cleaning industry has made significant technological advances in recent years, all in an effort to increase efficiency and high quality output for the customer; be they commercial or residential. At All Clean Property Services, we recognize the value in all methods of window cleaning and apply where necessary to ensure the customer is happy and keeps on coming back.

Perhaps the most revolutionary change to the industry came with the advent of the water-fed pole coupled with the use of pure water. It is important to understand that you cannot effectively use the water-fed pole without pure water. The table below shows a list of All Cleans experiences with the wfp using pure water vs the squeegee system:

COMPARISON

Wfp’s using pure water	Squeegee
*LADDERS:* HIGH REACH: Wfp’s can be obtained that can reach a maximum of 75 feet. This is sufficient for any size residence. MINIMUM USE OF LADDERS: Ladders are only employed for windows that are precariously positioned on a house. This amounts to less than 5% of the jobs we do. SAFETY: No ladders means it is safer for technicians and gives ‘peace-of-mind’ to the homeowner. DAMAGES: No ladders means no risk of damage that may occur by putting ladders against a home. This is especially important where you may have many windows side-by-side.	With the exception of windows that can be reached, in all cases this method requires the use of a ladder. There exists poles where squeegees can be mounted, however such poles do not extend more than 30 feet and at that height the use of the squeegee becomes very inefficient.
*USE OF FIBROUS BRUSHES:* With the brushes at the end of the wfp, the frames and areas around the window can be thoroughly cleaned. How many times have you heard a homeowner complain of windows getting dirty after a rainfall? This happens because of dirt around the window and/or within the frame that gets activated. The brushes also ensure the removal of any solids, such as shrubs or dirt that may be on the glass.	Squeegees were not designed to be used on anything else other than glass.
*USE OF PURE WATER* With advanced filtration systems such as Reverse Osmosis & Deionization (RO/DI), the hardest of water can be purified. Normally the total deposited solids (TDS) reading of water from the tap can range from 75 – 400 parts per million (ppm). The use of the RO/DI filtration system brings the TDS reading to 0 ppm, thus guaranteeing no spots on windows and cleaner windows for longer.	It would make no financial sense for a business to invest in a RO/DI system and not use a wfp, therefore water from the tap is what is invariably used. The TDS reading shows the degree of solids that are in the water. It is the solids in the water that cause spots on the window.
*CLEANING OF WINDOW FRAMES* Window frames can be effectively cleaned with the brushes of the wfp’s. Many frames have small narrow grooves where dirt gets lodged. When it rains this can get activated and cause streaks on the windows. The fibrous brushes will get into these areas and get them clean. In addition the spraying action from the brush will allow for dirt to be expelled from between the glass and the frame. This will keep windows cleaner for longer.	The squeegee is not designed to clean a window frame. It would require the use of other tools and take much more time, which would in turn cost the company more money which would then be passed on to the customer.

CONCLUSION

Although the squeegee method is still in use to date, using the pure water water-fed pole system guarantees the customer a more efficient and higher quality results.

We should never lose sight of where the industry started, but we must also be willing and able to move with the times. Some day in the future the pure-water water-fed pole system will be complement to a new, more advanced system and we at All Clean look forward to this.

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