Things to note if starting out and points that many forget to mention new starters may be on a tight budget but you must factor in the following points 1, ensure your vehicle has business insurance not a private personal policy 2, familiarise yourself with your vehicles maximum load rating and ensure your own personal weight is included 3, you must have public liability insurance 4, any cargo you carry must be secured correctly regardless if it's a car or van. 5, you must use pure water not normal tap water like many have done I appreciate many think it's a cheap business to start out in however that is not true
Couple of things. First I think you are using the sill brush upside down, the point of a sill brush is that the extra bristles point down to help clean the sills! The second one is please get a frame and bolt the tank to the van chassis, I realise it's more money but if you had an accident a couple of straps isn't going to stop 400kg of water coming through the bulkhead and crushing you! Great to see your journey - I started back in June and am working from the car!
Thank you for your comment, I was using the sill brush to clean a fascia before the video hence why its up that way 🤣. Fully agreed on the frame for the tank, safety is essential. I have spoken to a local garage who are going to create a frame and install it for me. Congratulations on starting, how are you finding it? Are you window cleaning only or have you added any additional services?
@@seeitcleanltd-aylesbury Just cleaning windows at moment, it's all going well so far but winter is now here so it might get interesting :-) Not sure if I will add additional services or not yet, maybe next autumn get a gutter vac but it's a big outlay and long payback time.
Thats awesome, my plan was just to stick with windows until next year but with everyone in the facebook groups and forums saying how its gutter season....and I didnt want to miss out. I plan to do a video on my gutter vac, the pros and cons and how I choose to fund it. There is good money in it, and I would say its been worth it...Ive seen some people build DIY kits with wet dry vacs from screwfix and then using flag poles to keep costs down.
It depends on the location, but as a rule my min charge is £40. With experience you can work out roughly how long things take and then price it based on what you want to earn per hour.
When I do first cleans I use tap water and wash it of with pure water to save me getting pure water so often I can do a three bedroom home with half a barrel of pure water
@@seeitcleanltd-aylesbury I carry water with me in different colour barrels if they don’t have a outside tap looks more professional than asking them for water
You mention the filling station. Could you please confirm if you mean using water at a petrol station or a specific location you use to fill water tanks?
I’m looking to start up early spring next year with a similar set up. I’ve gone for the Nano trolley though. Also looking to do the ground floor windows trad to save on water. I can’t imagine all new customers needing first cleans though, only minging windows.
Thats awesome, firstly congratulations! That could be a good idea to help save on the water usage, I do everything WFP 🤣 With first cleans you will generally find them quite bad unless you pick up a customer from another window cleaner.
You will not be maximising your efficiency, and tradding the ground floor will look awful with all that soap residue bleeding out from the frames with your second floor pure water streaming down over the ground floor frames. All new customers are first cleans
Very helpful, thanks. What did you mean by " filling station" to get water? Was it a petrol station? Here in Scotland I think it's a quid for water from the machine, and it's only a minute or two.
I like window cleaning as it’s a regular service that provides you with a stable consistent income, carpet cleaning could be a good additional service to add once you’re up and running with your regular round.
Hi great video, can you tell me now you have used the back pack for a while have you been able to reduce the amount of water you use per house, for example how much water would you use on a 3 bed terraced house.
To honest, we went quickly on to carrying a 400l tank in the van. We’ve now got 2 vans, one with 650l and the other with 400l. To try to answer your question, if you’ve been cleaning them every 4-6 weeks then I would say between 15-25l
With the benefits of hindsight do yourself a favour and start with a van mount. Forfet the backpack and dont take on any awkward access or through the house jobs.
Hey, thank you for you comment. 100%, I choose the back pack option as new starter...I didn't realise how easy it was to set up a DIY system which is what I use know and have the back pack as a back up. Hope everything is going well.
Great video mate. I'm in same position you was. Just starting out in the process of ordering things, looking for a van etc. I'm gonna have to start with backpack. Thinking of going traditional on bottom windows using tao water and wfp on first floor etc with pure water to try and save water Think that's viable?
Congrats! That’s a good option, if we are running low on water towards the end of the day we often do some trad mixed with WFP. Just be aware that the top windows will drip down on to the bottom ones…which may cause spotting / runs when it dries.
Hi Mate, I'm just about to start wfp with a gardiner backpack. What brush are you currently using and have you had any issues with glass scratches showing after being cleaned with pure water?
Hey Jay, No silly question mate, normal tap water has iron, chalk and other chemicals in it…tap water goes through a filtration system to remove all of the minerals and chemicals to leave it 100% pure, This enables window cleaners to use it on glass and leave it wet without it causing spotting or limescale. You can either make it yourself, or buy it…we buy it because it’s just one less thing to worry about. We use spotless water which seem to be growing and putting stations across the country.
Still using the backpack but now have a 400l tank in the van. Currently Slowly building a van diy system, I’ve basically got all the bits, just need to put it together.
Hi bud I'm looking at starting window cleaning for naboures first to see how it goes..I'm thinking how do I get purified water so it doesent leave streaks or am I looking to much into it..do I use clean tap water
@@ryanmason491 £20 of resin does me 4 months of water, so yes it is worth it. Plus £160 every 3 or 4 years for an RO membrane. My water is extremely hard (450ppm) so you'll probably get even more
@@ryanmason491 yes, about £10 a month extra, I use about 250L a day (which takes 500L to make) and work 4 days a week. Between resin, RO and water meter it's about £30 a month
Great question, its something ive considered....to get started it was a lot easier to just go and buy it as it was one less thing to worry about. I don't have the space in the garden or a garage to build my own system so for now I will keep buying it. Naturally it will cost more to buy in the long run, but I think when you are starting out its easier to budget for it because you know exactly what you are spending. I am fortunate that I have a Pure Water station 10 mins from home which is 4p a litre and its convenient as its open 24hrs.
So sorry for the delay, pure water is tap water that gone through a filtration system to remove all impurities such as iron, calcium etc. I dont know the technical detail behind it as we currently buy our water filtered so we dont have to worry about it.
Things to note if starting out and points that many forget to mention
new starters may be on a tight budget but you must factor in the following points
1, ensure your vehicle has business insurance not a private personal policy
2, familiarise yourself with your vehicles maximum load rating and ensure your own personal weight is included
3, you must have public liability insurance
4, any cargo you carry must be secured correctly regardless if it's a car or van.
5, you must use pure water not normal tap water like many have done
I appreciate many think it's a cheap business to start out in however that is not true
These are great things for anyone to consider when starting out,
Couple of things. First I think you are using the sill brush upside down, the point of a sill brush is that the extra bristles point down to help clean the sills! The second one is please get a frame and bolt the tank to the van chassis, I realise it's more money but if you had an accident a couple of straps isn't going to stop 400kg of water coming through the bulkhead and crushing you!
Great to see your journey - I started back in June and am working from the car!
Thank you for your comment, I was using the sill brush to clean a fascia before the video hence why its up that way 🤣.
Fully agreed on the frame for the tank, safety is essential. I have spoken to a local garage who are going to create a frame and install it for me.
Congratulations on starting, how are you finding it? Are you window cleaning only or have you added any additional services?
@@seeitcleanltd-aylesbury Just cleaning windows at moment, it's all going well so far but winter is now here so it might get interesting :-) Not sure if I will add additional services or not yet, maybe next autumn get a gutter vac but it's a big outlay and long payback time.
Thats awesome, my plan was just to stick with windows until next year but with everyone in the facebook groups and forums saying how its gutter season....and I didnt want to miss out.
I plan to do a video on my gutter vac, the pros and cons and how I choose to fund it.
There is good money in it, and I would say its been worth it...Ive seen some people build DIY kits with wet dry vacs from screwfix and then using flag poles to keep costs down.
@@seeitcleanltd-aylesbury what do they charge for gutter cleanings? I'm located in Germany and would give it a try.
It depends on the location, but as a rule my min charge is £40.
With experience you can work out roughly how long things take and then price it based on what you want to earn per hour.
When I do first cleans I use tap water and wash it of with pure water to save me getting pure water so often I can do a three bedroom home with half a barrel of pure water
I use my pump on number 4 works great
Sounds like a good idea, are you using the customers water?
@@seeitcleanltd-aylesbury I carry water with me in different colour barrels if they don’t have a outside tap looks more professional than asking them for water
You mention the filling station. Could you please confirm if you mean using water at a petrol station or a specific location you use to fill water tanks?
Spotless water stations
We have a spotless water station local to us, which is like a petrol pump but for pure water
Great advices, thank you
Thanks
I’m looking to start up early spring next year with a similar set up. I’ve gone for the Nano trolley though. Also looking to do the ground floor windows trad to save on water. I can’t imagine all new customers needing first cleans though, only minging windows.
Thats awesome, firstly congratulations!
That could be a good idea to help save on the water usage, I do everything WFP 🤣
With first cleans you will generally find them quite bad unless you pick up a customer from another window cleaner.
You will not be maximising your efficiency, and tradding the ground floor will look awful with all that soap residue bleeding out from the frames with your second floor pure water streaming down over the ground floor frames.
All new customers are first cleans
Do you think being a window cleaner is a kind of frowned upon job in the sense of social status ? Nice work on your videos .
With some people for sure, I think the stigma is portrayed across the entire cleaning industry.
Very helpful, thanks.
What did you mean by " filling station" to get water? Was it a petrol station?
Here in Scotland I think it's a quid for water from the machine, and it's only a minute or two.
So we use spotless water, which is a pure water supplier.
what do you think of doing carpet cleaning as well as a an extra service. I pure water normal tap water ?
I like window cleaning as it’s a regular service that provides you with a stable consistent income, carpet cleaning could be a good additional service to add once you’re up and running with your regular round.
I added vlm carpet cleaning to my services!
Hi great video, can you tell me now you have used the back pack for a while have you been able to reduce the amount of water you use per house, for example how much water would you use on a 3 bed terraced house.
To honest, we went quickly on to carrying a 400l tank in the van.
We’ve now got 2 vans, one with 650l and the other with 400l.
To try to answer your question, if you’ve been cleaning them every 4-6 weeks then I would say between 15-25l
With the benefits of hindsight do yourself a favour and start with a van mount. Forfet the backpack and dont take on any awkward access or through the house jobs.
Hey, thank you for you comment.
100%, I choose the back pack option as new starter...I didn't realise how easy it was to set up a DIY system which is what I use know and have the back pack as a back up.
Hope everything is going well.
Did your set up takes weeks to come ? Still awaiting the other half of my arrival 😢
Ohh no,
I hope it’s arrived now…considering your comment was 8 months ago!
Great video mate. I'm in same position you was. Just starting out in the process of ordering things, looking for a van etc. I'm gonna have to start with backpack. Thinking of going traditional on bottom windows using tao water and wfp on first floor etc with pure water to try and save water Think that's viable?
Congrats!
That’s a good option, if we are running low on water towards the end of the day we often do some trad mixed with WFP.
Just be aware that the top windows will drip down on to the bottom ones…which may cause spotting / runs when it dries.
Hi Mate, I'm just about to start wfp with a gardiner backpack. What brush are you currently using and have you had any issues with glass scratches showing after being cleaned with pure water?
We use the sill brush from window cleaning warehouse and have never had any problems,
Hope everything’s going well
Hi. Really sorry for the stupid question but I'm new to all this. Is pure water the same as water. If not how do u get it
Hey Jay,
No silly question mate, normal tap water has iron, chalk and other chemicals in it…tap water goes through a filtration system to remove all of the minerals and chemicals to leave it 100% pure,
This enables window cleaners to use it on glass and leave it wet without it causing spotting or limescale.
You can either make it yourself, or buy it…we buy it because it’s just one less thing to worry about.
We use spotless water which seem to be growing and putting stations across the country.
Are you still using a backpack and barrels??
Still using the backpack but now have a 400l tank in the van.
Currently Slowly building a van diy system, I’ve basically got all the bits, just need to put it together.
Is there any way to start this without a car? I’m in London so easy to walk / ride everywhere in my area but think the water may be the issue?
The only way I would start is by doing it Traditionally on a bike and hitting up all the local shops etc.
Hi bud I'm looking at starting window cleaning for naboures first to see how it goes..I'm thinking how do I get purified water so it doesent leave streaks or am I looking to much into it..do I use clean tap water
I've seen a guy in Wandsworth who works from a pushbike. Has some kind of wooden box at the front where his water a pump is likely to be.
Are you considering doing your own water? It's much more cost effective than buying, and super easy
Spotless by me is 3p+vat a litre.. hardly seems worth making your own
@@ryanmason491 £20 of resin does me 4 months of water, so yes it is worth it. Plus £160 every 3 or 4 years for an RO membrane. My water is extremely hard (450ppm) so you'll probably get even more
@@james2614mcah okay that's interesting! I assume you are not on a water meter tho as I suppose if you are it adds up ?
@@ryanmason491 yes, about £10 a month extra, I use about 250L a day (which takes 500L to make) and work 4 days a week. Between resin, RO and water meter it's about £30 a month
Great question, its something ive considered....to get started it was a lot easier to just go and buy it as it was one less thing to worry about.
I don't have the space in the garden or a garage to build my own system so for now I will keep buying it.
Naturally it will cost more to buy in the long run, but I think when you are starting out its easier to budget for it because you know exactly what you are spending.
I am fortunate that I have a Pure Water station 10 mins from home which is 4p a litre and its convenient as its open 24hrs.
When did your father pass away my friend
The big buddies only sixteen litres of water
what is pure water?
So sorry for the delay, pure water is tap water that gone through a filtration system to remove all impurities such as iron, calcium etc.
I dont know the technical detail behind it as we currently buy our water filtered so we dont have to worry about it.