Brijesh Purohit

Window Cleaning

A squeegee on your right hand, a bucket of water and soap on your left. Are you sure you're doing it the right way? Do you have the right tools?

What to do when cleaning a window? What tools are we supposed to use? Did you left streaks when washing your window? How do the professional cleaners do it? Dust particles are just sitting there in our window. It can cause asthma and allergies. It isn’t right to just let it sit there.

Before anything else, let us take a look at the history of the most popular glass cleaning tool, the squeegee.

The History of the Squeegee

A squeegee is a tool with a flat and smooth rubber blade. It was first used as a wooden bladed tool with long handles by fishermen to scrape fish blood, scales, and to push water off the boat deck.

During the 20th century, people needed a more efficient tool for cleaning windows. That’s when the window squeegee was invented. The first squeegee used by the professional window cleaners was a heavy “Chicago squeegee”. It is a bulky tool with two heavy rubber blades and 12 screws.

Then in 1936, an Italian immigrant invented a squeegee that is still known, widely used, and one of the best squeegees. His name is Ettore Steconne. He migrated to the US in 1921. He then chose window cleaning as his profession.

Since the tools he used where heavy and bulky, he decided to create a better and lighter squeegee made of brass handle and a single sharp rubber blade. He first named it as NEW DEAL. And as the time went on, it took a new name, the ETTORE master.

Types of Squeegees

There are different types of squeegees:

1. Window Squeegee (the most popular)
2. Floor Squeegees (mostly used in hospitals)
3. Silk Screen Squeegees
4. Stiff Blade Squeegees (used in applying grouts to tiles)
5. Horse Scraper (used on horses to remove sweat from its coat, similar to the window squeegee but with an arched blade.)

Tools Used by Professional Window Cleaners

1. Washer or Scrubber (this is to wash the windows with a solution. It removes a lot of dirt.)
2. Squeegee (to wipe excess water and suds)
3. Cleaning solutions

Cleaning Solutions

There are organic and non-organic cleaning solutions out there:

1. Vinegar solution (a mix of water, soap, and vinegar)
2. Commercially available cleaning solutions.
3. Dishwashing liquid with water
4. The Unger Pill
5. Water spot removers

How to Clean Your Window

1. Using a washer, wash the window with your preferred choice of cleaning solution.
2. Wipe the surface with a squeegee. There are different wiping motions when using a squeegee: the left to right motion and the most commonly used is the fan method.
3. As you wipe along, clean the rubber blades with a lint free cloth.
4. Then clean the window with a cleaning cloth, recommended is a chamois cloth.

Remember, check to see if the materials you are going to use has no defects. A poorly made squeegee can scratch your window, which can cause you tons of money. Wiping your window doesn’t help in cleaning. It will only push the dirt to the corner. If you don’t have time to clean your windows, contact your local window cleaners.

Article Tags: Window Cleaning

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