Stop Scratching Glass is a post I just wrote in my blog with a couple of great but short videos. Please take a look and tell me what you think. It is as honest as I can be. This information touches me very personally because I also have scratched glass by accident.
Henry
Good topic of discussion Henry. I have reduced my scraping lately to spot-scraping of some areas, and using Titan Oil-Flo to remove paint and stucco. In a pinch I have found that WD-40 will also loosen debris that I would have normally scraped.
That is great Gary! We need to be proactive. And start educating everyone we talk with in our work. I want to start educating the General Contractors by offering to test their windows BEFORE they have them installed. Actually even before they go into storage to wait for installation. Then there will be time to send them BACK. I see this as a very profitable part of Glass Smart Consulting in addition to my newsletter the PDF. Want to join me?
Henry
Anyone seen a clean towel pull dirt/pebble from the seal and scratch the edge of a window? Not common, but I’ve seen it happen.
I think the biggest challenge is finding an effective alternative for removing debits from the glass. It’s important to remember that alot of the chemicals that will effectively remove debris will void the IG warranty.
Removing contaminant debris after installation as opposed to FD (fabricating debris) I imagine you to mean.
Any chemical should be judiciously used to not compromise seals which would in turn compromise the IG (insulated glazing) of double and triple pane windows.
Any solvent should not be used in a way to saturate the entire product that you are trying to remove contaminant debris from. More aptly put would be similar to spot cleaning so as not to allow excess solvent drip down and pool on the seals and frame. Pre-soaking the frame area with cleaning solution would aid in protecting this area.
I would agree with you Gary as that would be common sense. However most manufacturers don’t see it that way from what I understand. Any use of certain chemicals, no matter how careful the use, voids the warranty. That was my point. The challenge is we are having to play by the manufacturers rules and they seem to have no desire to be accountable to anyone outside of their industry.
True. And to do our job to the best of our ability without compromising the product that we are cleaning - it is up to us to identify ways to safely clean glass - and that also involves taking all necessary precautions with the tools that we use in order to reach that goal.
I agree in part. On existing homes where there is no warranty left to worry about its a mute issue. However on constriction cleans and homes where a warranty is still valid it is important to let the contractor or homeowner make the decision to use a product that will void the warranty. My point was only that chemicals don’t even solve the problem for us in a lot of situations. There are plenty of jobs where I just leave the contaminate on the glass and explain to the homeowner or business why it was not removed.
Yep, every job is different.
Great discussion! I agree with your reasoning. Many times we just simply
have to explain everything to the owner and let that person make the
decision.
Thanks guys!
Henry
Henry Grover Jr.
603-498-9474
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Glass Smart Consulting
http://glass-smart.blogspot.com/ http://glass-smart.blogspot.com/
Henry i havent heard from you in years,are you still in sanbournton,nh? I love oil flo for labels,residue,even to remove tint with a blue or white scrub pad…only a fool rushes in w.o. testing prior to pricing and cleaning! ! We also are using less and less triumph 6 inch blades,more #10 razors . Another hugectool especially for glazing is,magic eraser
The thing we should also remember is that along with the cleaning instructions also come with care instructions these care instructions strongly advise the builder to cover glass from possible construction debris thus to avoid the problem entirely.
I think if window cleaners were to offer a covering service right after initial installation many if not all problems would be eradicated.
At the end of the day who is more liable the person who disregards the care instructions or the person who has to remove what is never suppose to be there, watch a painter prep an area, covers everything he might drip on but the glass. same as every trade, because for decades magic window cleaners were able to remove just about anything from glass, but those days are all but gone.
Apparently it’s no obvious to me. Can you please explain?
That’s always been my approach. It puts the burden of liability on the owner. It’s their home or business so it’s ultimately their responsibility to make those decisions with your professional advice. If they choose to assume responsibility for any damage I would always get a waiver signed. Always.
Once again I have to say;…fantastic discussion. I applaud you all! Your ideas are excelling! In particular I enjoyed a few points made. First regarding looking for alternative solutions. Also testing the window for conditions that would promote scratching before even quoting the job. Also making sure the homeowner knows that the warranty if still intact would be voided by the use of solvents even bio-solvents. Then absolutely including a signed waiver. Both put the burden on the owner and OFF us! Further the idea about finding ways to apply a safety film to the glass before storage so it could be simply whipped off at the end of construction on PC work. Checking/testing the glass for defective surfaces and applying this film as a part of our quote and work is a wonderful idea.
What I do find VERY interesting about this discussion so far is that NO ONE seams to really care whether or not the theory of fabrication debris is a lie or not. We know there are way too many seriously defective surfaces out there. What we need so desperately is an effective way to deal with this problem. The glass manufacturers don’t care about us. We are nothing but a pimple to them. A very small nuisance. Unless we as a community start to turn hundreds of millions of bux in glass BACK to the factories, they will continue to ignore us and the quality of the glass they are putting into the field. Lets talk about that. Have at it people!
Henry
Hey LA,
Time has gone by! Too much. We are both older now. Hopefully wiser.
Thanx for joining my thread here today!
Henry
The thing is Henry the manufacturer cover themselves by stating you cannot use blades on their surfaces.
They do not have to make glass to our cleaning preference, so long as it passes a visual inspection they have done all they need.
There are literately billions of panes out there that are going to scratch when they are hit with a blade.
Its about construction costs, windows are forgotten left til the end not covered up then the builder who wants the cheapest price coz his budget is over, its builders that NEED to educated that their neglect in covering the glass is the reason there is so much scratched glass in the world.
Honestly I don’t really care if its FD or elves or fairies that is causing the scratching tbh. There will NEVER be anything we can do to stop it, we have to try to get builders to cover glass, we have to find an alternative to a blade period.
So what you are referring to defective glass, its only defective in the way we clean it, under worldwide glass standards the glass need to have a certain strength and needs to be visually free from defects, not under magnification, glass industry now matter how much window cleaners cry about it will not change the way they make glass for our ease of cleaning, their product they get to determine how the surface is and whats used to clean it.
Thank you Steve,
I will work on this. I will write a post in my blog aimed directly at general contractors/builders. Please use this to help with educating such companies and people in general. Hopefully it will help. Feel free to copy post part of the text and put it on your website. Or I am very sure you could write this stuff yourself.
Thanx for your input!
Henry
