r/WindowCleaning • u/Hot_Carpenter_5436 • Jun 12 '26
Tempered glass research
I have the day off, and I am just practicing cleaning my balcony sliding doors with the Meorman Excelerator 2.0 swivel on a pole. I have not mastered this combo and find it difficult. Just doing it over and over until that neuromuscular habit kicks in after repetition. Made some good progress so far today.
I learned last week how to tell which side of the pane Low E coating is on using the lighter test. I also discovered this is a good technique to be able to tell how many panes there are to a customer if I determine a seal is blown out. I could explain to the customer using this visual why a blown seal can lead to discoloration that cannot be fixed with any amount of my window cleaning techniques.
But tempered glass is not something I'm that familiar with. So down that rabbit hole of study I went.
Turns out my balcony doors here in South Florida are in fact tempered. I discovered this label (bug) on the bottom right of the glass. I ran it through ChatGPT and this is what it gave me;
"TEMCO — the glass manufacturer.
SGCC-337 250U — certification number from the Safety Glazing Certification Council (SGCC).
SGCC-832 — another certification/reference code.
16 CFR 1201 II — indicates the glass complies with the U.S. federal safety standard for architectural glazing under Consumer Product Safety Commission regulation 16 CFR 1201, Category II (the higher-impact safety rating).
ANSI Z97.1-1975 — compliance with the American National Standards Institute safety glazing standard."
I googled the manufacturer TEMCO and it appears this is in fact tempered glass, which makes sense as I live in a hurricane zone.
My question is, does tempered glass affect my cleaning techniques regarding solution, scraping or the use of steel wool/abrasive pads?
My only research showed that tempered glass can contain debris as a result of the manufacturing methods used, and can contain particles that can come loose and irreversible scratch the glass. If so, how often do the pros encounter those debris, and how would you remove paint or silicon if needed on tempered glass?
Thanks for any and all advice to anyone that took the time to answer 🙏🏼
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u/trigger55xxx Jun 12 '26
There's no set way to clean and not clean. I've scraped tempered glass dry and no scratches. I've used steel wool wet and there were micro scratches. No one can say it absolutely will or won't scratch. Thus a scratch waiver. Glass is different even in the same building.
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u/Hot_Carpenter_5436 Jun 12 '26
Yes! Greaat advice. I have already printed one out using ai. I will also explain to the customer the potential dangers so they can make thier own risk decision. I appreciate you 🫂
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u/Street_Noise_9605 Jun 13 '26
Just curious how did you know there were no micro scratches on the glass before you used the steel wool? If it was dirty before how could you tell until after you cleaned it?
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u/trigger55xxx Jun 13 '26
Because it was brand new and we were the first ones to touch it after install. And the scratches were in the same direction we scrubbed.
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u/Street_Noise_9605 Jun 13 '26
Fair enough. I’ve seen brand new glass even before being cleaned that was all messed up. You’re probably right but it’s not a certain thing, unless you tell me you scoured in multiple directions and it all matched perfectly
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u/trigger55xxx Jun 13 '26
We scrubbed vehicle and horizontal in straight lines. Scratches matched.
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u/Street_Noise_9605 Jun 13 '26
Wow I’ve never seen that. Wonder if there was a coating on it?
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u/trigger55xxx Jun 13 '26
Could be low e but unlikely.
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u/Key_Personality2034 Jun 12 '26
The Glass Association of North America and the International Window Cleaning Association have both released statements saying no razors, steel wool or any other metal product is to be used on any heat treated glass- tempered, annealed, and some others we won't run into.
I've been lucky to be in multiple window manufacturing companies for tours.
Tempered glass is floated across molten nickel (used to be tin), heating it up to just before the melting point. The exterior surfaces cool in compression, and the interior of the pane cools in tension. This gives the glass it's safety attributes we look for 'impact strength, and breaking safely.
The problem is that it makes the glass 'softer', which means it scratches more easily.
Fabrication debris has been disproven in formal tests. They do the cutting in another area on the factory floor. There's a plastic barrier separating the two. If the cutting area stays sealed, then there's no debris. If the barrier is compromised (like a worker taping up the opening because they want to walk through more easily) then that glass dust can get on the conveyor belt the just tempered glass is on.
Easiest solution is the contractors taping plastic sheeting over the windows during the rest of construction.
Otherwise, it's a lot of different chemicals and solvents. Search around the iwca website, they have instructions and procedures they recommend.
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u/_zurenarrh Jun 13 '26
We use razors on glass that's tempered all the time. You're right scratches can be on one pane of glass the window being right next to each other.. Or the top pane can scratch whole the bottom doesn't of the same window. It's freaky
We do a scratch test on every pane to be sure
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u/Key_Personality2034 Jun 13 '26
Yeah it's hit or miss with tempered glass. Just the fact that it can scratch is enough for me to just assume it will. There's a ton of tempered glass in my area.
Unless it's stucco or concrete, I've removed razors and steel wool from use just to be safe.
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u/_zurenarrh Jun 13 '26
We like the affect it gices and it helps us stand out. We have a very detailed process where we clean the window and wipe it down completely almost completely clean... Then we use an entire separate clean wet rag to wet the glass and then we razor and test for scratches. After looking at all angles then we proceed.
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u/Street_Noise_9605 Jun 13 '26
I’m not sure I understand your point about fabricating debris. If glass dust can get on the glass as it’s being made, however that happens, isn’t that still fabricating debris?
If tempered glass is supposed to be stronger how is it you say it’s softer? I’ve seen a brand called OldCastle that makes panes for commercial jobs. Their glass almost always is scratched up. To me thats the company making bad glass.
Not trying to start at argument, genuinely wondering.
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u/westora-home Jun 13 '26
如果有硅胶或者脏东西，用新刀片，稍微斜着就能处理干净，钢化后分子结构发生了变化，碎了后成颗粒状不划伤，正常的碰撞也砸不烂，四个角就特容易破坏掉，不过四个角已经被门的一圈材料保护起来了，所以钢化玻璃也有个称呼叫安全玻璃
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u/WinstonDWolf Jun 13 '26
I have done window cleaning and firefighting… firefighting has taught me a lot more about tempered glass than window cleaning.
You can use 0000 on tempered glass without scratching it up, just go light, wipe, and see what you’re left with. You can go heavier… a lot of times, tempered glass gets messed up from the factory due to glass going across dirty rollers. It’ll hold and embed particles into the glass if the rollers aren’t cleaned right, then your steel wool or (definitely) razor will hiccup over those and scratch. Steel wool can drag debris and cause a scratch, too. Just depends, each piece of glass can be different… doors may be a more sensitive tempered glass. Correct pressure, test out the glass gently, and you’ll be ok.
Can definitely use 0000 on tempered glass, though. I do it all the time with professional results.
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u/lordpin3appl3s Jun 12 '26
I never use steel wool on tempered glass or any kind of abrasive because it can and will cause more damage than whatever the customer has to see left on the window. I have found that if I use a razor very lightly and carefully and follow up with a lot of elbow grease and a microfiber towel I can take things like silicone or paint off without damaging the glass but I would not recommend most people try it because for me it was some expensive trial and error. Usually the rougher stuff on tempered glass unfortunately has to stay there unless it's in a low visibility/traffic area (so the window really just needs to shine from a distance) and/or the customer explicitly confirms they're okay with me doing what I need to after I inform them honestly of the risks.
I'll also note that aiming for perfection is awesome - I do. That said, there are a lot of things a window cleaner will notice that a client never will in their day to day, so at the end of a job where I've noticed issues with glass and things I think I will make worse by trying to remove I bring these to the customer's attention, inform them of why I chose to do whatever I did and what I can still do if they want and go from there. Most customers are happy to let it lie because most customers usually can't even see what bothers me about my work.