Window Cleaning.

[Andy Allen]

not to put the damperners on things but do you think now is the right time to be setting up a new buisness.
the reason i say this is i have just had to cancle my w/c with work being so up and down cut backs had to be made.
i dont know what the situation is like down your way but with some people struggling to pay the bills w/c can be one less bill to pay.

 

[faithhealer]

every man and his dog walks round my way with a ladder on his shoulder

 

[united]

I'm sure Prem Tiler owns a window cleaning company, maybe he can give some advice

 

[enduro]

A mate of mine has an estate agents....his window cleaner charges him £12...takes him 4 minutes to do, then he is onto the next shop...Got a few people in different areas near me going to get quotes for me...Not a lot of money to set up, so still tempted....

 

[Gazzer]

Just the front of my house gets cleaned by the window cleaner, 1 Large wide window upstairs, 4ftx 4ft kitchen window amd glass the side of the front door = £3.

 

[Spud]

we pay our window cleaner £12 we have a standard sized 3 bed house with a conservatory, he is the old fashioned bucket and squeege type with long ladders ,he is feeling threatened as the long pole guys are coming into his turf and taking alot of his work

 

[enduro]

we pay our window cleaner £12 we have a standard sized 3 bed house with a conservatory, he is the old fashioned bucket and squeege type with long ladders ,he is feeling threatened as the long pole guys are coming into his turf and taking alot of his work

People in my area are getting fed up with the water fed pole cleaners, say they don't do a very good job, if i was going to start i think it would be the traditional way.

 

[faithhealer]

Enduro, some food for thought mate

This ie Deans website, Deans Cleaning Services - Home looks like the tiling one has bit the dust.

Just had a flyer through the door, according to this advert, the advantages of 'pole cleaning are,
difficult areas reached(above conservatorys etc)
No detergent used (puried water) therefore enviromentally friendly
No ladders therefore no looking through windows
purified water keeps windows cleaner longer (no soap residue to attract dirt apparently)

other selling points were
window frames cleaned foc
one offs / fortnightly /monthly cleans
Reliable friendly and trustworthy

 

[mattyg]

I used to deliver the water units for a company in Southport called Brodex not sure if they still do it may be worth pricing with them.

 

[mikethetile]

this process works by reverse osmosis, water attracts dirt but if you reverse the osmosis it will repel dirt leaving only clean water on the windows , the process also purifies the water as all minerals and impurities in the water are repelled from the water, purified water wont leave chalk marks on the glass

the only downside is the water becomes slightly acidic and does affect the furniture to patio doors etc

as the water dries without leaving any residue to the glass the glass stays looking cleaner longer

 

[DHTiling]

:lol::lol::lol::lol: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfmAeijj5cM]YouTube - George Formby - When i'm cleaning windows[/ame]

 

[TheWrightTiler]

5 quid inside and out

4 bed house

 

[enduro]

Go for it mate but you don't need to splash out on the system, i've got quite strong views on this one being local. till tomorrow, sorry

So what were you going to say on this subject...

 

[Prem Tiler]

I can't believe I missed out on this subject.

As you know this is my area of expertise. I've been cleaning windows for 10 years now, 7 years of which for my old man who lets just say will never worry about bills. I set up on my own in 2007 and would say it is a great business. I have never worried about £ as work is regular as clock work. while every one else was wondering when the next job was coming in through the recession I was turning it away because I just didn't have enough time in the day.

P£ices differ from area to area but on a whole you can really lose. I won't go in to detail what your average window cleaner earns but I can promise you this. You will never find a poor one!

Trad V's WFP! I started out trad on commercial work and mastered the trade from aerial platform to ladder work. You all know I do like to blow my own trumpet but this really is the truth I am by far the best window cleaner I have ever met or worked with. But it is hard graft. No more than tiling but in a different way. need to be fit to do really well at it. most trad window cleaners are skinny for a reason.

WFP is the best ££ I ever spent. I doubled earnings over night. I lost a few customers at 1st because some people just don't like change but for a house that used to take me 20 mins now takes me 5-10 so I do twice as many.

Winters are hard. Got to be one of the worst jobs in the uk in the winter but the summers awesome! Some one said in this thread ''every one has a ladder on there shoulder'' yea but I bet there are alot more houses than window cleaners!

IMO domestic market is a better bet for earnings. Every one chases commercial work and the H&S aggro is a pain in the butt. I've cleaned some of the South's most iconic building and racked it in (well the old mad did) but men in suits make it not worth the effort for me.

There are many ways of setting up a wfp system to suit different budgets if your really interested let me know and I'll give you more advise.

 

[enduro]

Got my gear to start window cleaning...practising on my own god they are dirty...:lol:

 

[Aston]

i really hope you can make a big success of it mate
i'm sure you will!

 

[hillhead]

watching with interest here.............

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

Hope it goes well mate, sad to see you leaving the game though

 

[faithhealer]

Got my gear to start window cleaning...practising on my own god they are dirty...:lol:

what you got then, which way did you go.

 

[enduro]

what you got then, which way did you go.

Trad to start with and see how it goes, then may invest in wfp...

 

[Prem Tiler]

Good luck with it mate I'm only the other end of the phone if you need any advise. BE WARNED the window cleaners forums out there are nothing like this one mate.

The members just ***** and whine at one another about who dose it best and how many millions they earn. Don't get me wrong they have there uses but be careful.

 

[enduro]

Good luck with it mate I'm only the other end of the phone if you need any advise. BE WARNED the window cleaners forums out there are nothing like this one mate.

The members just ***** and whine at one another about who dose it best and how many millions they earn. Don't get me wrong they have there uses but be careful.

Thanks Prem...been onto the window cleaning forums i find it quite funny, all bitching going on...

 

[Prem Tiler]

Thanks Prem...been onto the window cleaning forums i find it quite funny, all bitching going on...

Recently there has been major dramas with one fella getting banned and starting up a new forum taking 80% of the members with him.

As I said any help or advise you need just ask. I can't advise strongly enough to go WFP though mate. You can be set up for around £600 with a small system then upgrade once you need to.

 

[enduro]

Recently there has been major dramas with one fella getting banned and starting up a new forum taking 80% of the members with him.

As I said any help or advise you need just ask. I can't advise strongly enough to go WFP though mate. You can be set up for around £600 with a small system then upgrade once you need to.

I have been thinking about wc for a long time and been bringing the subject up with customers and quite a few are not that happy with wfp...maybe its bad operators not knowing what they are doing, so thats why i thought i would start trad cleaning in my area.

 

[Prem Tiler]

I have been thinking about wc for a long time and been bringing the subject up with customers and quite a few are not that happy with wfp...maybe its bad operators not knowing what they are doing, so thats why i thought i would start trad cleaning in my area.

I was trad when working for the old man for 6 years and dam good too. I hated wfp and hated when I had to use it because of the complaints but the key is to get customers who don't complain. I was trad for a year on my own and when I had to convert the customers over the wfp I lost about 5 customers and had enough time spare to take on another 30+ a week.

At 10+ a house and just 15 mins to clean them you do the maths.

But saying that I am a true believer that is is easier to build a round on trad than wfp. So you are not necessarily doing the wrong thing starting out trad.

 

[enduro]

I was trad when working for the old man for 6 years and dam good too. I hated wfp and hated when I had to use it because of the complaints but the key is to get customers who don't complain. I was trad for a year on my own and when I had to convert the customers over the wfp I lost about 5 customers and had enough time spare to take on another 30+ a week.

At 10+ a house and just 15 mins to clean them you do the maths.

But saying that I am a true believer that is is easier to build a round on trad than wfp. So you are not necessarily doing the wrong thing starting out trad.

Thats what i thought...i will give you a call next week if thats ok.

 

[Prem Tiler]

Thats what i thought...i will give you a call next week if thats ok.

Of course, No worries.

 

[mikethetile]

the local wfp blokes are losing ground to trad where I am, if you understand wfp and maintain your resins and filters regularily you shouldnt have problems with streaking etc

problem is these lads dont understand what they are using and are getting too many complaints and losing work to trad wcs

 

[Prem Tiler]

the local wfp blokes are losing ground to trad where I am, if you understand wfp and maintain your resins and filters regularily you shouldnt have problems with streaking etc

problem is these lads dont understand what they are using and are getting too many complaints and losing work to trad wcs

Far to many guys think its a get rich quick trade. The wfp is not a magic wand there really is a method to it.