Window cleaning squeeges

 The modern single-bladed window cleaning squeege was patented by Ettore Steccone in 1936; it was made of lightweight brass with a very flexible and sharp rubber blade. The Ettore Products Co. is still the leader in the window cleaning squeege market today. Adding a Squeege to a telescopic pole to extend the washer's reach enables window cleaners to clean high windows without the need of using ladders.

 Hospitals sometimes use the floor squeegee to clean up any spills that occur in operating rooms or patient rooms as the squeegee lends itself towards a more sanitary clean up.

 Small, hand-held plastic and rubber wedges with an edge formed as a blade which are very similar to squeeges are also used in signwriting. This type of tool is used for the application of vinyl signs to deminish the chance of air pockets. Squeegees used by Signwriters come in different types, some do not have handles and are about the size of a credit The window cleaning squeege is used to remove window cleaning solution from the window after it has been applied and has done it's work of loosening and disolving the dirt.

 Squeeges vary in size from about 4" all the way up to 60" The small squeeges are used for cleaning Georgian windows and the 60" squueeges for cleaning large panes such as shop windows or car showrooms.

 The larger the squeege the more difficult it is to move it off the straight line. So we have a choice between straight pulls across large windows with large squeeges or being able to sweep from side to side with a smaller squeege.

 It does not take long to develop a technique that involves pulling a squeege straight across or down a pane of glass. We need to wipe the edge of the blade with a damp cloth after each pull, and if a trail of solution is left behind, then just make sure the next pass overlaps the trail.

 If you want to develop the skill of sweeping or swirling the squeege over the pane from side to side and so completing the window in one continuous pass. You will need to twist the squeege to an angle of 45 degrees as it approaches the window frame and then pull straight down for a short pass. Once you can do this to the right, practice doing this to the left. After a whil put the 2 passes together and you will be able to work continuously down the window.

 Don't be suprised if your wrist aches, because you will be using your wrist muscles in a way that they are not used to, but this will diminish as you persevere with this technique.

 As we develop this technique, it is important that we sweep as close to the frame as possible, so that we do not leave a lot of surplus solution. But we do not want tokeep dragging the squeege blade down the sides of the frame, otherwise the blade will become nicked and wear out quickly.

 If the blade becomes nicked, it will leave a small trail of solution behind, each time, in the same place. We can cope with this for a while by overlapping our passes to sweep over any of these trails, but this will increase the time it takes to clean each window.

 So eventually we will have to change the blade.

 To change a window cleaning rubber blade, we need to be able to remove it from the window cleaning channel.

 Rubber blades can be held in the channels in a number of ways.

 The blades can be clamped in place by the mechanism that holds the channel to the handle, in which case, this will need to be loosened off. Most squeeges are constructed to be loosened off by using a small coin, so that window cleaners do not need to carry screwdrivers about with them.

 The blades can also be kept in place by either some brass clips or some plastic clips that are inserted in either end of the channel. These need to be removed and then the rubber blade will slide out.

 New window cleaning rubbers come either pre-cut to size or you can purchase larger lengths that you can cut to size yourself.

 As a part of the professional window cleaners equipment, we have safety scrapers to remove bird lime or paint from the glass. These safety scrapers are very sharp and can be used to cut the window cleaning rubbers to the correct length. Once cut to length the rubber blade needs to be slid into the channel and the brass or plastic clips replaced. To do this you will need to insert one of the clips to hold one end of the blade in place and then stretch the rubber blade enough, so that you can clip it around the rubber blade and then let it spring back into the channel.

 To complete this blade change, make sure the rubber blade is sitting in the channel correctly and the clips are pressed into the channel sufficiently, so they do not scratch the window frames. The blade also need to be flat and not rucked up, otherwise it would be difficult to produce a good finish.

 I make use of these old rubbers by cutting them down in size to replace my 4" squeege rubbers. I check the rubber blade is not nicked or the edge to rounded off and if ok then it saves using a new rubber.

 Some of the more well known manufacturer's of squeeges are :-

Ettore

Unger

Sorbo

SYR

Wagtail

Lewi