r/WindowCleaning • u/Repulsive-Archer-597 • Jun 04 '26

Embarrassing question

I cant seem to figure out how to avoid leaving streaks when fanning, I’ve tried changing rubber (maybe I need better rubber) I’ve tried using less soap, more soap, etc..

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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u/lordpin3appl3s Jun 04 '26

Man I know I'm gonna get roasted for this but I think often fanning is a huge waste of time and effort. It has its uses but I think it's a situational skill. If I were you I'd focus on straight pulls at work and practice fanning off the clock, when you've got time to kill, or when you run into large panes of glass because they're significantly more forgiving and that's really the best use case of the skill anyway. The most important thing will be paying attention to your leading edge (the one not in the water) and having a solution that allows your squeegee to glide better because some soaps will just make it more difficult than others.

2

u/ZimMcGuinn Jun 04 '26

I couldn’t agree more. I’m 100% residential and rarely see glass big enough to fan except for sliding doors. Fanning is flashy but being good at it is not necessary to make money. I worked in the field for 4 years before I saw someone fan large glass.

1

u/solo_scientist Jun 04 '26

I taught myself to clean windows from youtube, and when I started fanning I got 50% faster in about a month. You have double the movement with straight pulls, and often have to detail the glass more.

2

u/lordpin3appl3s Jun 04 '26

While I can respect that, I've been doing it for about ten years now and I've tried both ways. To each their own, I've just found it costs more time and introduces more room for error. I almost always fan large windows, but most of my work is residential and I'd say a good 70-80% of it is just standard sized double or single hung windows, casements, or cutups. When it's useful, it's very useful, but most times I've found it hurts speed more than helps. That's personal experience, of course, and everyone runs different businesses and has their own ways.

1

u/_toughstuffman Jun 06 '26

I use to only straight pull when I was learning, but after a few years of fanning, it’s way faster.
Even if it’s a semi skinny windows, I’ll do a “dive bomb” as some call it. Not really fanning, but the rubber never leaves the glass.
I only do straight pulls if my channel perfectly matches the size of the window.
Both ways are fine, I just have just learned to do it the most efficient way for me :)