Proud to be professional window cleaners

Window cleaners don’t have a reputation for being professional.  We’re proud to buck the trend.

We are aware that a lot of window cleaners give the trade a bad name. They are door knockers, who take work as and when it suits them.  They say they’ll come back in a month, and then fail to show.  And often their only competitive edge is price.  And you know what they say: pay peanuts, get monkeys.  Or, in the case of window cleaning, get smeary windows that will be dirty again very soon.

At Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning UK we are proud to be different.  We call ourselves professional window cleaners because we are.  We do an excellent job, using the best equipment available.  We turn up when we say we will.  We have full public liability insurance, to protect both us and you.  We offer our customers the security of full Criminal Records Bureau checks, so they know they can trust us.  And we spend our time building up a relationship with our customers to make sure we deliver the service they want.

We don’t use the word professional lightly. 

It underpins everything we do. 

If you’re fed up with amateur window cleaners in Kent, Sussex or Surrey,

contact us for a truly professional window cleaning service.

Video shows how great waterfed pole window cleaning is

We’ve been talking about the amazing, gentle power of waterfed pole window cleaning to get windows truly clean for some time now.  Yet we still meet people who don’t know what waterfed pole window cleaning is.

They say a picture says a thousand words.  So, for those of you who haven’t got the picture from our words, we’ve made a video to explain what waterfed pole windowcleaning is and how it works.

You’ll see our lovely Shidan demonstrating the system (a career in TV beckons, surely?!).  You’ll be able to see for yourself the extremely long poles that we use, the pure, filtered water and the gentle brushes that we use to dislodge the dirt.  And you’ll be able to see that Shidan can get get a fantastic finish on even upper-storey windows with his feet still firmly planted on the ground.

What you won’t see are ladders, detergents, squeegees, people balancing precariously, accidents waiting to happen or window cleaners peering in through windows.

To see Shidan in action, click here.

For a free quote, contact us.

What do you want from your window cleaner? We want to know.

What do you value most in your window cleaner?

Reliability – that they turn up when they say they will? 
Quality of the wash?
Comprehensive insurance – so you and your home are covered if anything goes wrong?
Friendly and courteous manner?
Trustworthiness, backed by a Criminal Records Bureau check?
Membership of professional organisations?

Whatever you value most, we want to know. 

At Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning UK, we are constantly refining our service to make sure it matches what our customers want.  So we’re conducting a survey to find out what the people of Kent, Sussex and Surrey look for in a window cleaner.  Click here to get your voice heard.

We’ll share the results with you very soon.

In the meantime, if you want a window cleaner who listens to customer feedback,

contact us for a free quotation.

How to get smear-free windows

Now that the sun is getting lower in the sky, it shows up every smear and streak as is it shines in through your windows.

Blistering Summer sun can, bizarrely, be kinder to dirty windows than the lazy sun of Autumn.  High in the sky, the summer sun dazzles its way into our homes, blinding us to less-than-perfect window washes.  But when the sun starts filtering into our homes at a more direct angle, every blemish becomes obvious.

So after you’ve folded up the beach towels and packed away your picnic hamper, it’s more important than ever to get a great finish on your windows.  And the best finish is achieved with the waterfed pole window cleaning system.  Using only pure, filtered water and gentle brushes to lift the dirt, we clean the frames before we clean the windows, meaning your windows stay cleaner for longer.  And with no detergent or squeegees, we leave no smears.  Just sparkling, clean windows.  So wherever you are in Kent, Sussex of Surrey, we guarantee smear-free windows.

 Say hello to Autumn.  Say hello to fabulous clean windows!

Contactus now for your free quotation.

Discount on window cleaning for charities

The old saying is that charity starts at home.  For us, that means charity starts with window cleaning.

We all like to give to charity.  Research has long shown that happier people give more to charity and that giving to charity promotes a feeling of happiness*.

At Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning, we are very happy people.  And we like to stay happy.  So we choose to give to charity.  And the way for us to do that is to offer a discount to registered charities on their window cleaning.

It doesn’t matter if it’s the shop-front, the warehouse or the fund-raising headquarters.  As long as the building is part of a registered charity, and it's in our patch of Kent, Sussex and Surrey, Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning are happy to offer a discount on window cleaning. 

So if you work for a charity, contact us now to ask about our discount scheme. 

If you know someone who works for a charity, share this blog with them to help their donations go even further.

Every little helps, and this is our way of helping those who help others.

Plus it helps us keep those big cheesy grins on our faces!

Click here for a no-obligation window cleaning quote

*Source

Why you need a window cleaner with full insurance

Risk is an unavoidable part of life.  There probably isn’t a job on the planet that doesn’t involve some form of risk.  But when tradespeople come into your house or office, that risk is brought home to you.  So you need to know that tradespeople who carry out work on your property have proper insurance.

Most window cleaners will tell you they have insurance (if they can’t show you their insurance certificate don’t even think about taking them on!).  But the devil is in the detail.  There are insurance policies, and there are insurance policies.

A policy with a £500,000 limit per claim is useless to you if your home is worth more than that – and let’s face it, even modest houses in Kent, Sussex and Surrey top the £500,000 mark.  A policy that doesn’t insure the window your cleaner is working on, is next to useless – yet surprisingly many of them exclude windows while they are being cleaned.  Even worse are the policies that don’t cover injury to people.

At Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning we want our customers to feel safe in their own homes and places of work.  That’s why our work is backed by a premium insurance policy.  Our public liability cover has an upper limit of £5million, covering even the most luxurious homes.  We have scoured the small print to make sure we are covered if we accidentally break a window while cleaning it (it hasn’t happened yet, but we prefer to be safe than sorry).  And we insist on cover for injury to property and people.

We insist on the best insurance available 

because we want our customers to feel as safe as houses.

 Click here for a no-obligation window cleaning quotation.

In safe hands

We all want know we are in safe hands, which is why I am proud to be CRB checked.

When we invite tradespeople into our homes or work places, we want to know we are in safe hands.  One way is to check professional accreditation.  Another is to ask if they are CRB checked. 

It’s not a requirement for tradespeople and most won’t be.  In fact, generally only those who work in sensitive areas, such as schools, will have been through the process.  That’s how I can to be checked against the Criminal Records Bureau: when Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning won the contract to clean the windows at Belmarsh Prison it was a condition of the job.  After all, it probably wouldn’t be a great plan to invite an ex-con to clean the windows of a Category A prison.

But I’m glad I went through the process.  Having the all-clear from the CRB means I can offer my services confidently to schools, hospitals and other public services.  It also means I can offer all my clients an additional bit of peace of mind.

So ask to see my CRB certificate.  I won’t be insulted. 

After all, you have a right to feel secure at home and work.

Old wives' tales

Is vinegar really a good way to get your windows clean?  Can you get the best results with newspaper?  We put those old wives’ tales to the test.

Pick up any tips and wrinkles book and they’ll insist that nothing gets windows cleaner than vinegar or newspaper.  And they have a point.  Diluted vinegar (and a heavy dollop of elbow grease) or newspaper (and a heavier dollop of elbow grease) are pretty effective at getting windows clean.  But the problem with these old wives’ tales is that they are from olden times.  Yes, if you have nothing better, diluted vinegar or newspaper will get you reasonable results – often better than you’ll get with detergent and a cloth.  But when the sun shines you will still be able to see all the marks where you have rubbed.

But the 21^st century is not the place for these old wives, or even desperate housewives.  The 21^st century offers something much better, which means the old wives’ tales are destined to be reduced to mere folklore.  And that’s Waterfed Pole WindowCleaning.  Even the best balsamic can’t compete with the sparkle achieved by pure water and gentle brushes.  And it doesn’t matter whether you use a tabloid or the FT, you won’t get the long-lasting results that you get from gently washing the frames before you clean the panes.

So if a bird leaves an unwelcome greeting card on your window and I’m not due to visit again for a few weeks, by all means resort to emergency measures.  But for clean windows that stay clean, leave the old wives’ tales in the history books and embrace the Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning revolution!

TLC for those of mature years

Cleaning windows across Kent, Sussex and Surrey, I have the privilege of visiting some truly beautiful homes.  This is an historic part of the country, with architecture to match.

Unfortunately, the older a property, the more high maintenance it is.  Those beautiful sash windows rattle in the winds.  The deep chimneys need regular cleaning.  And those mellow bricks all too often need re-pointing and retying to stop them from collapsing.

If you are the owner of an older property, you will know that modern technologies are often incompatible.  They can be too harsh and abrasive for natural materials. 

Fortunately, that’s not true of Waterfed Pole WindowCleaning.  The action of the pure water and the soft bristles is gentle enough for even the oldest of window surrounds, whether lead, wood or putty.  We can clean your frames as well as we can modern PVC window surrounds to give you the same sparkling windows that stay cleaner for longer.

If your windows need some special TLC, give us a call on 01322 293831 for a free quote.

We’ll be happy to discuss how we look after mature properties. 

Checking out the competition

I’ve been writing about Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning for a while.  But I have to share a little secret.  We are not the only window cleaners using the system.  It is a great system, and others have cottoned onto it.  But even the best of systems can fall down when corners are cut.  So here’s how to find out if the window cleaner who has approached you is going to get the best results for you.

There are some simple questions you can ask that will tell you if they are using the Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning system properly, or if they are taking shortcuts that will mean a less-than-brilliant service.

How often do they change the filters?  The filters need to be checked at least once a week to make sure the system is purifying the water properly to get your windows truly clean.

How often do they check the quality of the water?  The water purity needs checking very week to get the best results, and the filters changed accordingly.

In what order do they clean the windows?  If they’re not cleaning the frames before the panes, the moment it rains your windows will get dirty again. 

There’s only one Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning system.  But not everyone using it is following the training as they should.  Make sure you ask the right questions to get the best results. 

Under pressure

We’re all under pressure these days.  Under pressure from rising prices.  Under pressure to look younger for longer.  Under pressure to make less money go further.

But there’s one area where you don’t need to be under pressure.  And that’s when it comes to getting your windows clean. 

A lot of people guess that with the Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning system, we have to use water at high pressure to enable us to clean windows up to six storeys high without leaving the ground.  I’ve had endless discussions with customers about this: “Of course you need high pressure!” they tell me.  “Otherwise you couldn’t get the water pumped all the way up to sixstoreys.”

But we don’t.  The Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning system uses water at the same pressure as rain.  Any stronger, and we’d risk damaging your windows. But at the same pressure as rain, it’s the perfect amount of gentle force to ease all the accumulated grime off your windows to leave them sparkling.

So if you’re feeling under pressure, relax!  Gentle pressure is all you need.

Providing quality for less

We all like our money to go further.  But very often saving money means compromising on quality.  So isn’t it great when you get a better product or service for less? 

Lots of companies promise more for less.  But I’m going to demonstrate to you why we really do deliver more for less. 

One of the larger buildings for which I have the contract for window cleaning is Belmarsh Prison.  Previously, the windows were cleaned by traditional window cleaners.  It took two of them, using ladders and buckets, 20 days to clean all the windows.  That’s 40 full working days. 

When Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning took over the contract, we instantly saved the prison service time and money.  If you don’t have to keep moving ladders, climbing up ladders and balancing at the top of ladders, you can clean a lot more windows in a lot less time.  A staggeringly lot more.  In a staggeringly smaller amount of time.  The total amount of time it takes us to clean the windows at Belmarsh? 1 person, 5 days.

That’s 5 working days compared to 40 working days.

What’s more, using the pure water system of Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning, those prison windows are cleaner than even before and they stay cleaner for longer.

If you like to get more for less, give us a call now!

01322 293831

Protecting your plants

With the truly awful summer that we’ve had this year, many of the gardens that I work in in Kent, Sussex and Surrey are enjoying colour much later in the year than usual.  If your plants are only just coming to their best, you’ll want to enjoy their blooms for as long as you can. Unfortunately, window cleaning and plants don’t always go well together. 

Picture the scene: Wisteria wandering along the walls.  An Albertine rose rambling over the porch.  Colourful wallflowers brightening the bed under the windowsill.  And then along comes your window cleaner, trampling on the wallflowers, clipping the wisteria as he positions his ladder and knocking the Albertine buds off with his bucket as he climbs. 

If the image is enough to make you consider living in gloom until the autumn, fret not!  There is a way to enjoy both clean windows and your garden.  The solution is Waterfed PoleWindow Cleaning.  Our ladder-less system means we can reach up to six storeys high from ground level, so there’s no risk of trampling on flower beds or knocking down climbers.  We deliver sparkling windows while respecting your garden. 

So you can enjoy your blooms, even if the rain returns and you have to admire from behind the comfort of your clean panes.

Pane sailing

Picture a chocolate-box cottage.  Perhaps with a thatched roof, ivy climbing up the wall and those romantic, leaded windows.  It's traditional England at its best, right? 

Yes - until the bills start coming in.  Then you discover that the thatch needs replacing every ten years, the ivy is pulling the walls down and your window cleaner charges you more than twice as much your neighbours because all the those tiny lead-panes are so fiddly.

If you're lucky enough to live in the kind of home that most of us only get to dream about, I have some good news for you.  Whether it's an idyllic cottage, a traditional farmhouse or a Georgian town house, I can help with one of your bills.  I can't do anything about the rising damp, wood worm or sagging walls.  But I can bring down the cost of your window cleaning.

And that's not just because I am a nice guy (although I am a very nice guy!).  But with Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning, it doesn't matter how many panes your window has.  All that matters is the size and number of windows. You see, traditional window cleaners have to charge more because it's more fiddly getting their squeegees into all the corners of small panes; with really tiny panes they even have to resort to wiping each one individually with a cloth.  But the bristles of the Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning brushes can gently reach into all the nooks and crannies without taking any longer.  What's more, the bristles are so soft, they're safe for all windows, no matter how delicate the materials.

So if you live in my dream home, I'd be delighted to visit and save you some pennies  - and I'll give you some amazingly clean windows as well. 

Proud to be an animal lover

As a nation we have a reputation for being animal lovers. Dotty about dogs. Crazy about cats. Soppy about  small furry things. Which is why I'm proud to be an animal-friendly window cleaner.

Maybe you didn't know there was any other kind. Maybe your window cleaner always tickles your pooch behind the ears. But being a friend to animals is different from being animal friendly.

It's the pure water of the Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning system that makes me animal friendly. Traditional window cleaners with their buckets and squeegees rely on detergent to get the windows clean. And detergent is bad for animals: it pollutes the water system, which in turn harms animals.  Our pure water keeps the water system - as well as your windows - clean.  And clean water is the starting point for healthy, happy animals.  

So if you're an animal lover, you need to make sure your window cleaner is animal friendly. At Waterfed PoleWindow Cleaning we are proud to say we do our bit to keep animals healthy and happy.

Preserving your tiles with style

As a window cleaner, my hatred of ladders is both private and professional. 

Privately, I hate heights.  Professionally, I hate the heaving and hauling on and off the van, the positioning and repositioning as you move from window to window.  I hate water slopping against my leg as I climb up and down.  I hate the juggling of passing the bucket and squeegee from one hand to the other.  But more than anything, I hate the balancing.

It’s bad enough when you’ve got a straight wall, with a window directly above you. But when you have a tricky window, ladders are a nightmare.  By tricky, I mean a window above a porch, over a conservatory, or over a sloping roof.  To clean tricky windows, you not only have to perch on the ladder, you also have to perch on the obstacle in the way.  If balancing on a ladder seemed precarious, balancing half on a ladder and half on a porch seems an invitation to the Grim Reaper. 

It’s not good news for the window cleaner.  But it’s also not good news for your house.  When window cleaners balance on sloping roofs and conservatories, tiles get knocked and panes of glass get cracked. 

Which is why Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning is good news for windowcleaners and good news for you.  With my waterfed pole window cleaning equipment I can reach even the trickiest of windows up to 6 storeys high without my feet leaving the ground.  

No more balancing for me.  And no more broken tiles and cracked conservatory roofs for you.  Win-win! 

Conserving your conservatory

The sun is finally doing its best to top up our Vitamin D levels, but there’s still a swift breeze to stop it from feeling truly balmy.  If you’ve got a conservatory, this is perfect weather to be enjoying it: all the feel good of the sunshine, with none of the nip of the wind.  But to really enjoy your conservatory, you need the glass to be sparkling.

Sitting in a conservatory with a confetti of dead leaves, bird droppings and moss stuck to the glass may make you feel at one with nature, but probably not in the way you had intended.  It’s definitely time to give your conservatory some tender loving care. 

And tender is the word.  Prop a ladder up against a conservatory and the chances are it will go straight through the glass.  Stretch across the roof to try and knock off the winter debris and you’re likely to create debris of a new kind.  Ladders, buckets and squeegees are definitely not the right tools for the job.

Cleaning conservatories is a special skill that needs specialist tools.  Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning provides these tools.  The super long waterfed poles mean we can reach to the middle of your conservatory roof from the ground, removing the inherent risks.  Our pure water applied with soft brushes creates sparkling windows all round.  Plus we clean the frames first - so your conservatory stays cleaner for longer. 

Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning 

– we make your conservatory show-room fabulous once more.

Not too old to YOLO

Teenagers love having their own jargon to distinguish them from the fuddy duddies.  If you’ve got one (a teenager, not a fuddy duddy) you may be familiar with the phrase YOLO – You Only Live Once.  Teenagers use it to signal that they are about to do something unbelievably stupid - but,  hey, YOLO!

Sadly, I said goodbye to my teenage years some time back, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t empathise with YOLO.  But the implications of YOLO change with age.  Rather than “Hey, look how imbecilic I am!” it’s more likely to resonate with a need for quality of life, while we still have it coursing through us.  For example: YOLO – so mend bridges before it’s too late.  YOLO – so get cracking on your bucket list.  YOLO – so don’t put up with a job you hate. 

I’ve always loved providing a great service cleaning windows across Kent and Sussex.  But I hate climbing ladders.  Every time I had to climb one, I was quaking inside.  So in true YOLO spirit, I stopped climbing them. 

Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning gave me my YOLO breakthrough.  I can now clean windows up to six storeys high while keeping my feet firmly on terra firma.  What’s more, the windows are cleaner and stay cleaner for longer than they ever did when I was hauling buckets up and down ladders.

YOLO – so make sure you enjoy what you do.  I do! 

Giving you back your privacy

The twenty-first century isn’t a very private place. 

Every time you buy something, your bank builds a sharper profile of you, your family, your likes and dislikes.  Cookies follow your every click on the internet to customise your cyber experience (or, more cynically, to optimise which ads you are bombarded with).  And you only have to slip over to discover you are the latest YouTube sensation.  

Wouldn’t it be nice to get back some good old-fashioned privacy?  We think so.  At Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning, we are committed to rekindling that twentieth-century concept of privacy.  And we are among a handful of window cleaners spearheading the campaign.

Unlike traditional window cleaners, who peer in through your upper windows as they perch on their ladders, we keep our feet firmly on the ground, using our very, very long waterfed poles to clean windows up to six storeys high.  With Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning, what goes on in your upper storeys, is your business.

So, we can’t help you if you sign Bohemian Rhapsody at top volume in your car.  When you pull up at the traffic lights, we can do nothing if the teenager standing at the crossing decides your rendition needs sharing with the world.   But we can promise that if we’re round cleaning your windows, you can step out of your shower and we’ll be none the wiser!  

Living the high life

The High Life is something to aspire to.  The Pent House suite.  Dreaming spires.  On top of the world.  Phrases around high living make it clear it’s where the elite hang out and the lowly dream of.

But high rise can be different from high living.  While you can have the reassurance of living in a close community and no time-consuming garden to maintain, there can be down sides: broken lifts, dirty stair wells and grimy windows, because window cleaners can’t reach beyond the first couple of floors.

Wrong!  Whatever the pros and cons of living in a flat, grubby windows don’t have to be one of them.  Not with Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning to save the day.

True, most window cleaners won’t venture beyond the first or second storey – their rickety ladders won’t let them.  But with Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning we can safely reach as far as the sixth floor.  Because we have no ladders.  Our feet stay firmly planted on the ground and we use our very, very long waterfed poles to make your windows as sparkling as those of your ground-floor neighbours.

So don’t endure grubby windows.  Let the light back into your life!  With Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning, everyone can have sparkling windows, whether you’re living the high life or high rise. 

Neighbourhood Watch

At Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning we pride ourselves on being environmentally friendly.  You may have noticed we even blog under the name Eco Window Cleaner.

We’re eco-friendly because we don’t use any detergents - just pure, clean water.  We’re eco-friendly because we let the daylight flood in through our sparkling clean windows, meaning you don’t have to turn on your lights so often.  And we’re eco-friendly because we try and keep our carbon footprint as low as possible, even running our Waterfed PoleWindow Cleaning van on LPG.  But we want to make our emissions even lower.

That’s why we promote community spirit by encouraging our customers to recommend our excellent services to their neighbours.  The more windows we can clean in one neighbourhood, the less fuel we use driving between customers.  That’s good for our costs.  It’s great for the environment.  But it can also be fantastic for you.

We’re so committed to keeping our carbon footprint down, that we want to reward you for recommending us to your neighbours.  For each of your neighbours who make the switch to Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning on your recommendation, we’ll take 20%off your bill.  So if just five of your neighbours join the Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning revolution, we’ll clean your windows for free!

That’s two bonuses for the environment: our carbon footprint is reduced and there’s even less detergent polluting the water system.  And great news for you – free window cleaning as long as you keep the neighbourhood spirit alive! 

The trouble with ladders

Ladders are scary things.  Even if you don’t have a phobia of them like me, the statistics speak for themselves.

According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, ladder and stepladder accidents send 41,000 people to hospital annually - often resulting in some of the most serious injuries and even death when people fall from high up.  In fact, ladders account for nearly ten in every thousand accidents (although knitting and sewing equipment account for 2 in every thousand).  And a third of all falls from ladders occur when people are carrying out DIY or household maintenance. 

So what do these statistics tell us?  Firstly, as I long suspected, DIY is a very silly idea.  Secondly, watch those knitting needles.  And thirdly, avoid ladders! 

But not only should you avoid ladders, you should avoid, as far as possible, asking people to go up them on your behalf.  If you get someone round to carry out work on your roof, scaffolding is a much safer option.  And when you take on a window cleaner, make sure it’s someone who can keep their feet on the ground while they make your windows sparkle.  Someone like Waterfed Pole WindowCleaning.  We can reach up to six storeys high standing on ground level, getting the same results as we do on the ground floor.

So don’t ask your window cleaner to risk his neck.  Join the Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning revolution and make sure your window cleaner is safe while he works.

Windows go green

Of course windows aren’t green.  They’re clear: ideally streak free, smear free and grime free.

When I’ve cleaned your windows they will indeed be streak free, smear free and grime free.  They will be the cleanest you’ve ever seen them.  But they will also be green. 

Let me explain.  Traditional window cleaners use detergents, and we all know that detergents are bad for the environment: they contaminate the water system, which is the basis for our entire eco system.  But at Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning we don’t use detergents.  So how do we get your windows clean?  With lovely pure water. 

The water is purified on our Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning bespoke van, and then washed over your windows at a gentle pressure with soft brushes to dislodge any dirt.  The result is lovely clean windows that stay clean for up to two months.

And that’s the second reason our windows are green.   Because our method of window cleaning keeps windows cleaner for longer, they don’t need washing as often, so we use fewer resources in the longer term.  

And our windows are also green because they are so clean they let more light in, reducing your need to turn on the lights. 

So there you have it: three green reasons to use Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning UK.

Who said windows can’t be green?

The birds and the bees

Isn’t nature resilient?  We may have had the harshest March for 30 years, but that hasn’t deterred Mother Nature.  The birds and the bees are now in full flow, making out like, well, birds and bees.

When I’m out cleaning windows, there’s nothing quite like fabulous bird song to lift my spirits. At this time of year, the birds are cranking it up as they establish their territories and get nesting.  As they belt out their Greatest Hits it’s impossible not to smile.

Which is why I get sad when my clients report that their windows are so clean after I’ve visited that the birds fly into them.  By way of apology, I’d like to invite my customers to follow my tips to keep the birds away from my shinywindows.

Placing a cat statue on the window sill inside – ideally glaring out of the window – can help. 

But even a statue won’t help if the birds are seeing the sky and the trees reflected in the window.  So the most effective strategy is to stick silhouettes of birds on the outside of the glass, so your garden birds think the territory is taken and steer clear.  Birds of prey silhouettes will also make your feathered friends think twice about flying straight on.

Another great deterrent is a cobweb sticker – no bird wants to get tangled up with a spider’s sticky web.  As with the bird stickers, position it in the middle of the pane or in a strike hotspot, if there is one place the birds keep hitting.

So please keep enjoying my lovely clean windows, but make sure they are bird friendly. 

April showers - does it matter if it rains after your windows are cleaned?

April is traditionally the month of showers.   So it’s the perfect time for me to address the most common question put to window cleaners: does it matter if it rains after your windows are cleaned?

And the answer?  Well, that depends upon how your windows have been cleaned.

Most traditional window cleaners squeegee over the pane and give the window ledge a quick wipe over with a fairly grimy cloth.  If that’s what your window cleaner does, then yes, it will matter if it rains soon after.  Because your window cleaner has missed out the magic first step to clean windows that stay clean – come rain or shine.  He hasn’t bothered to clean the window frame.  Over time, your window frame gets covered in exhaust fumes, dust and bits of dry leaves etc.  If you don’t clean the frames, as soon as it rains all that filth washes over your window panes and make them dirty again.

Which is why, at Waterfed Pole Window Cleaning, we clean the frames first with lots of lovely pure water.  And only when the frames are clean do we move onto the panes and the ledges.  Which means when we clean your windows, they stay clean for up to two months.  Come April showers.  Or sleet.  Or snow.  

Waterfed virgins - what to expect

I have a confession to make.  The first time I come to clean your windows, it will be messy.

But that’s not my fault.  No, honestly, it’s not.  It’s the inheritance I get from other window cleaners.  You see the difference between other window cleaners and waterfed pole window cleaning is that we clean the window frames first.  And the other don’t.  They may give the ledges a quick wipe over with a grimy rag after they’ve done the windows, but they never clean the frames.  And that means over time your window frames get filthy.

Dirty window frames are more than just an eyesore.  They’re the reasons why your windows seem to be dirty only a couple of days after your window cleaner has visited.  Think about it.  Your window frames are dirty.  It rains.  What happens?  Yes.  The rain washes the dirt off the window frames onto your nice clean windows.  And your nice clean windows get dirty all over again.

Clean window frames are the key to clean windows.  We wash your window frames first and get rid of all that grime that has accumulated over the years – the grime that keeps running onto your clean windows.  And only when the frames are clean do we move onto the glass, which we may sparkle with our pure water.  Because we don’t use any nasty detergents, we use quite a bit of water.  If you’re a waterfed pole window cleaning virgin, you might be surprised by how wet it looks by the time we’ve finished.  But the beauty of it is, it’s only water – lovely pure water.  And it soon dries out.  To give you sparkling clean windows, that stay sparkling for longer than you ever dreamt possible. 

Why we love British Summer Time

I’m getting ready to block my ears against the barrage of complaints that I know are coming this weekend.  British Summer Time starts this Sunday, and every year it’s the same old whining about losing an hour’s sleep. 

Enough already!  British Summer Time is fab, and here’s why: longer evenings, relaxing with friends, the sound of kids playing outside after school, peeling off the winter layers, green shoots (and hopefully that includes the economy) and the promise of better to come.  It’s not just a clock change.  It’s a change of mind-set as we slough off the lethargy of winter and prepare to re-energise for the summer. 

For a window cleaner, British Summer Time is especially good news.  No more getting up at silly o’clock with the van smothered in a blanket of frost and windows cold enough to freeze the brushes in an attempt to smuggle enough daylight hours into the working day.  Instead, we can enjoy sensible hours, boosted by the songs of nesting birds and the warmth of a returning sun on our backs. 

We all take an hour forwards and backwards in our stride every time we go on holiday.  So stop the whinging and instead think of all the positive things this means for the next few months.  British Summer Time is just around the corner, and this window cleaner is preparing to celebrate.  

How long between washes?

It’s a very good question.  In the 50s and 60s, girls used the excuse “I’m washing my hair” to avoid dates.  It was a standard brush-off, given that girls used to wash and set their hair no more than once a week and the process took the whole evening.  But the Wash N Go revolution put paid to that, making most of us daily or twice-weekly washers.  As the world of hair-care products has progressed, our hair lasts less and less time between washes.

Fortunately, evolution in the window cleaning world is working in the opposite direction.  The development of waterfed pole window cleaning means your windows can go for longer between washes. 

How?  It’s all in the technique.  Traditional window cleaners wash the windows and then give the window sill a quick once over.  This system completely overlooks the key factor in keeping windows clean.  Your windows don’t get dirty when it rains because of the rain: the rain is generally clean.  What causes them to become smeary and smudgy again is the accumulated dirt on the frames: the moment these get wet, the loosed dirt runs down your windows and they get murky once more.

One of the key features of waterfed pole window cleaning is that we wash the frames, and we do them first.  Only when the frames are free from dirt do we move onto the windows and, finally, the sills.  This means when the rains come, your windows stay clean.

So the answer to the question “How long between washes?” is 2 months, IF your window cleaner is doing it right. 

My eureka moment

Eureka moments are rare.  But when they come along they provide inspiration that can change your world forever.  Like Archimedes, my Eureka moment provided me with the solution to a problem that had been vexing me for some time.

Archimedes’ Eureka moment was inspired by a dodgy goldsmith.  King Hieron II had commissioned a crown from a lump of pure gold, but he suspected the goldsmith had substituted some of the gold for a cheaper metal, such as silver.  Unfortunately he had no way to confirm his suspicions.  So he asked Archimedes, super mathematician and inventor, to find a definitive answer. 

Archimedes famously found the solution in the bath.  When he stepped into the bath, he noticed that the water level rose.  And in that moment, Archimedes developed his principle of buoyancy, which says that the volume of an object is the same as the volume of water it displaces. 

Archimedes was so inspired by his discovery that he jumped out of the bath and ran through the streets shouting “Eureka!” – or “I have it!”

My Eureka moment did not involve a bath or naked street dancing, you’ll be pleased to know.  But it did involve water.  I had been a window cleaner for two years.  There was just one problem: I hate heights.  And I hate ladders even more.  But you can’t be a window cleaner without a ladder.

Or so I thought.

Then I discovered waterfed pole window cleaning.  It was the answer to my prayers!  No ladders, just a super long pole with a soft brush that can reach up to six storeys, using pure water to get windows cleaner than ever.   In other words, I can do my job better than ever, without trembling like a ninny!  

Eureka!

And, in case you were wondering, the goldsmith had cheated the king. 

That's my Eureka moment - now tell me yours!

Show your window cleaner some love

Spare a thought for window cleaners.  It’s not an easy job.  Out in all weathers.  Detergent reducing hands to tired prunes.  Heavy buckets blistering palms.  Juggling buckets, squeegies and cloths.  Cold water sloshing on jeans.  Heaving ladders on and off the roof of the van.  Not to mention that just one slip could result in a broken neck. 

And where would you be without a good window cleaner?  Locked in a cocoon of grime, squinting in the half light, unable to enjoy the world outside, unaware of changing seasons.  You probably don’t give window cleaning much thought.  But a good window cleaner quite literally brings light into your life. 

So it’s time to show window cleaners some love.  The window cleaning love revolution starts right here, right now.  And the key to the revolution?  Waterfed pole window cleaning.  No more rickety ladders – just a long pole that can reach up to 6 storeys high.  No more detergent damaging skin and the environment – just pure water.  No more juggling heavy brushes, squeegies and cloths – just a waterfed pole and a soft brush that leaves your windows squeaky clean for longer than you thought possible.

Show your window cleaner some love.  Join the waterfed pole window cleaning revolution and let the light back into your life! 

ECO Window Cleaner

ECO Window Cleaner

How can you clean windows without detergent?

ECO Window Cleaner, yes it is true you can clean your windows with just water ... however, it needs to be filtered pure water, which we generate on-board our ECO Window Cleaning vans.

www.waterfedpolewindowcleaninguk.com

ECO Water Fed Pole Window Cleaning in the UK