“Never clean windows in the sun!”
– That’s the advice given in many housekeeping magazines. But is it true?
For the general householder it is good advice, but a professional window cleaner cannot afford to be always dictated to by the weather.
Especially when using traditional methods, cleaning in the hot sun can cause problems so here are some tips to avoid the smears and shadows.
Shadows left on the window are caused by the solution drying before the squeegee blade can carry it away.
On overcast days you may soap up a few windows at a time and two or three minutes may pass before you squeegee them all clean. However, when the weather is warmer it is important to blade the window as soon as possible after it has been mopped to avoid leaving shadows and streaks. Here are a few tips for getting good results even when window cleaning in the sun;
1. Only wet as many windows as you blade before the water dries.
It is best just to soap up one or two windows at a time so that the solution does not have chance to dry. The two handed technique of mopping and blading simultaneously is good in this situation because the solution is carried away almost immediately and doesn’t get chance to dry.
2. Use combination tools
When using a traditional pole combination tools such as the Unger Vice Versa, Ettore Back Flip or Wagtail Flipper will save time switching tools.
3. Use more water
The most obvious tip is to use more water. Wetting the window more will give you more time to blade it before the solution dries. If you are using a water fed pole then you should rarely encounter problems unless the windows are really hot. – In which case the answer is to just use more water
4. Use less soap
Another practical tip is to use less soap if you use washing up liquid. The solution tends to evaporate quicker if you use too much soap and you will be more likely to leave streaks.
5- Minimize detailing and use of cloths
Using a cloth on the window in the sun is a bad idea. The less you use a cloth on the window for detailing the better. Sometimes you can do more harm than good when detailing causing smears with a cloth that are more noticeable than the original mistake. Take care when using the squeegee to not miss bits in the middle of the window and practice your technique to minimize the amount of detailing necessary.
These tips should help you achieve good results when cleaning windows in the sun however, if non of the above work for you then use a water fed pole system with pure water!
