Your missing the point, this is exactly what you not supposed to do on any tempered glass, older glass you probably may not encounter it, most manufactures now state not to use scrapers as it will likely cause scratches.
The problem comes back to window cleaners we expect he glass to be free from micro particles, as we had the luxury of in the past. The thing is these micro particles are not visible to the naked eye, nor do they impose any structural defects to the glass as a whole. So for all intents and purposes the glass is flawless, unit you start dragging a scraper over it, then the micro particles get dislodged and cause damage.
So now the window cleaning community has the sole responsibility to educate every trade who works near the glass that it should be covered to prevent any deposits of construction debris. In my area about half a dozen builders have started to cover new constructions as they have been stung by full house window replacements due to hiring the cheapest cleaner, who went out of business due to the damage, so the builder was left with the bill.
Did you consult with Glass Renu to see if it is fixable?
This has happened to me but I was able to prove the glass was defective (I think). I called Dan Fieldâs for advise. He suggested I document every piece of glass in the house inside and outside. I then sent a letter to the owner and builder with all my documentation and mentioned I used the same technique (with a scraper) on every piece of glass in the house, inside and outside. Many pieces of temepered glass were scratched while many werenât. I never heard back from the customer or builder.
Maybe I got lucky but what I didnât do was take the blame or lay blame on anyone. This was years ago and maybe things have changed. I do not remember there being any stickers or documentation saying razor blades were not allowed on the glass.
That is totally unsafe for starters, secondly the blade is still will not deform to surface debris like a rubber will so its still gonna do damage, maybe you do not have poor quality tempered glass to test it on, I actually saw this a few years ago and tested it out, still tore the glass up.
If the insurance company is claiming they will not ensure glass that was cleaned in a incorrect way that would mean insurance companies will start not taking scratch claims because manufacturers state not to use razor blades?
Although this can be a serious reason.
Accidents happen in many industries due to neglect and still covered.
I think you mean you werenât covered for glass working directly on?
Have you had milgrad take a look at the glass /windows ? They might be able to put under their warranty , or maybe they can just replace the glass and not the intere window . Itâs just hard to believe that you would leave and not notice the scratches. Do you blade straight up? I notice most blade left to right .
Generally speaking a homeowner will know what the glass is-- the builder should be discussing this. I canât tell you how many customers I have done that get brand new windows, hire a âCCU guyâ (who normally is a painter, or works for the window install company) and they destroy the glass. In fact, I just did a job on Thursday-- brand new house about 2-3 million-- and the glass is completely trashed due to the install company scratching it with their âpost CCUâ guy. The lady is pissed, rightfully so-- we just cleaned it with traditional tools and WFP. That is why we donât get into that, I donât care if you can make 100-200 an hour-- if its tempered glass itâs going to cause problems cleaning it up after the mess they leave behind.
Over the last 2-3 months I have seen MULTIPLE âbrand newâ or 2-3 year old windows having to be replaced due to the double pane seal being broken. Now since this is happening in the same community, it might just be the same company. I had a call back from a customer I did for my employer and saidâ quote âIâve never complained in 15 years of you doing my windows, but this place looks terribleâ-- so I went back, she thought I didnât clean the insides-- the seal was busted ans the double pane glass has been fogged-- I cleaned 1 window in/out and she apologized to me and was right on the phone with their window installer screaming. Rightfully so! Iâm not going to throw anybody under the bus, but if you are paying 80-150k for windows, they better be scratch free. Everybody will try to âblame the window guyâ-- LOL, let the CCU for the window installer take that hit.
Donât get me wrong, I have seen countless commercial jobs that look like that, just havenât really run into it on residential in 15 years. I generally walk the house with ânewâ customers and show them any problems I see before we even get started. Or if I am cleaning using my microfiber Ettore, and notice scratches I will stop everything I am doing and show them. I always feel showing them BEFORE you were to do any cleanup is a good way of handling it. If I bring it to THEIR attention, BEFORE any blade to glass-- they at least have an idea. Iâm not here to mess up your glass, Iâm here to make them SHINEâŚ
I agree with you about post construction cleans and they hire the cheapest guy syndrome. Some homeowners are getting smarter in my area because theyâve learned the hard way in the past. One guy pressure washed their skylight glass to clean it and it was leaking while the customer was under it, and the other customer, had a guy use their razor on their glass after 10 years not using it. Both had to replace those windows.
Exactly AllStarWCM. I wonder if itâs possible that pressure cleaning can bust these seals on the double-paned glass. Because truthfully, Iâm starting to wonder (Most of the customers will get their home Pressure Cleaned before we come). I do not know much about PW, so that is not for me to say.
Iâm not saying the âlow bidâ is the one who is going to ruin your glass. Letâs get real here, you can charge your â7-10 dollars a windowâ and still scratch the glassâŚI agree with Steve above you must be educated on the kinds of glass.
You arenât supposed to use high pressure to clean a home, and windows Iâm sure, are not made to hold up to high pressure like that. Iâm sure if some putz is blasting them with 4k PSI, itâs contributing to blown seals.
I agree . There are still âwindow Cleanersâ that still pull out their scraper thinking Iâve done this a thousand times to every window and so trust me Iâm a pro. Iâve learned from the very beginning when I used a razor on some tempered windows in a garage, and my helper that time (who actually was my competition business) shouted âdude you canât use a razor youâre scratching the glassâ as he was on the other side of the window. I couldâve ruined the whole house if he wasnât mentoring me that day!
Ah thanks man, like I said I have never really gone into that route. Two of my good friends have ventured into it within the last 2 years. They had hundreds of window cleaning accounts, figured why not add on the service and generate found money? I think he spent around 10-15k for the setup and trailer. 8gpm machine, cleans fast. Iâve helped him over the years but window cleaning is my wheelhouse. Then my other friend is into this âsoft washingâ, hey anyway you can generate more business is fine by me.
Both of my friends will not take off any paint, ect. I donât blame them, hell one of them wonât even do the hard water stains-- also donât blame him LOL.
. There are still âwindow Cleanersâ that still pull out their scraper thinking Iâve done this a thousand times to every window and so trust me Iâm a pro. Iâve learned from the very beginning when I used a razor on some tempered windows in a garage, and my helper that time (who actually was my competition business) shouted âdude you canât use a razor youâre scratching the glassâ as he was on the other side of the window. I couldâve ruined the whole house if he wasnât mentoring me that day!
