Reach and wash system for window cleaning

Reach and wash window cleaning

Have you seen windows being cleaned by a man stood on the pavement with a very long pole with a brush on the end and water coming out of the brush? If you have, you’ll have seen the system which is called reach and wash being used on the building.

There are a number of reasons for using this system, but primarily it is the cost (it’s cheap to do) and health and safety as you don’t have someone on a ladder, hanging on a rope or using the cherry picker to access the windows.

People always think this system does a poor job, but we thought it might be interesting to explain how it does it so that you know.

You will invariably see a hosepipe linked to a pole that the man is holding. If you follow this, it will go back to our van normally. Inside the van will be a large water tank which holds tap water. The tap water then passes through a number of filter systems which remove all deposits from within the water to create ionised water.

What is ionised water?

If you’ve ever washed your windows and not dried them you’ve probably seen marks left on the windows, or if you have a glass shower screen you’ll have seen these marks. The marks are where the water is evaporated leaving behind any contaminants in the water such as lime. Ionised water has none of these contaminants as they have all been filtered out and so evaporates leaving no deposits behind. No deposits mean a clean window.

As long as the windows are easily accessible with the pole then a good clean should be achieved. This system also washes the window frames leaving a relatively good quality clean. If the windows have not been done in a while it can take a few cleans to get them properly clean.

You can watch The Reach and Wash System here.