New Ionics 'Grafter' Water Fed Poles

 

The GRAFTER is a completely new range of waterfed poles, designed specifically for residential window cleaning. Grafter poles are made from a glass carbon fibre mix, which makes them ideal for low to mid-level cleaning. Because of the very short collapsed length, they are particularly easy to use at ground level, and readily stored in any vehicle. Hard wearing and light-weight, the grafter is the ideal robust and affordable residential pole. The Grafter PLUS features the same short collapsed length as the standard grafter, but has greater carbon fibre content in all extendible sections. Therefore, it is easier to use (especially at heights above 25ft), more rigid and harder wearing. All Grafter poles come complete with a 12” residential brush as standard. Upgrade to a LedgerTM brush for an additional £11. NOTE: All weights and dimensions include brush-head assembly and hose. More info here.

The Glyder is a full carbon pole, manufactured from high grade carbon fibre. Not only does this give the Glyder superb rigidity, but also enables it to be very hard wearing without sacrificing on weight. Those who try the Glyder find that it is the perfect combination of rigidity and lightness, making it the ultimate pole for residential cleaning. The excellent rigidity makes the Glyder the pole of choice for cleaning at awkward angles, easily reaching over obstacles while remaining fully controllable. A short collapsed length makes the Glyder easy to use at ground-level, even in confined spaces. Like all Ionic poles, the Glyder is built to last, and the high grade carbon means the pole is extremely tough and robust.

The SWIFT range has been specially designed & engineered to meet the unique requirements of cleaning at 50, 60 and even 80 feet. One of the most important characteristics needed is rigidity. Only a very rigid pole will be controllable at these heights, therefore the material the tubes are constructed from must be incredibly strong. Swift poles utilise a specially developed multi-modulus carbon fibre construction throughout, and thanks to high-precision manufacturing techniques, have tighter tolerances between the sections.

The Swift range incorporates TRANSVERSE clamps, which have a smaller profile reducing both pole weight and collapsed length. And because they grip the sections with a wider clamping area, they grip more powerfully and evenly, leading to further improved rigidity.

The result is that the Swift pole is unrivalled in rigidity, and is the only composite telescopic pole to reach to 80ft available anywhere in the world. But this outstanding rigidity has not come at the cost of weight or size. Thanks to a specially developed thermoplastic toughened matrix system (TMS), the Swift range is remarkably light-weight for such long-reaching poles, and have amazingly narrow handle sections (from just 35.5mm). It’s no surprise then, that window cleaners all over the world are now using Swift poles to clean where previously only hydraulic platforms or abseiling techniques could reach.

But that’s not all... The 35ft and 45ft Swifts are now widely used by commercial window cleaners because the improved rigidity, light-weight and narrow handle width allows them to get through their mid-level commercial work up to 30% faster than using other poles. More info here.

•  GRAFTER 17ft - 32ft Carbon glass fibre mix poles, ideal for residential work up to about 25ft, with the occasional need to reach a little higher. A short collapsed length means ease of use at ground level.

• GLYDER 30ft - 40ft Carbon fibre poles with excellent rigidity and lightness, as well as short collapsed length. Great for residential and low-rise commercial where 30-40ft reach is needed regularly. A real workhorse, for use all day, every day.
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• SWIFT 35ft - 80ft Carbon poles with unsurpassed rigidity and lightness. With extremely tight tolerances between sections, Swift poles are designed specifically for medium to high level commercial work. Very narrow handle sections make this pole comfortable to use even for prolonged periods.

Also see "Q&A With Reuben Reynolds of Ionics Window Cleaning Systems."

Home Owners Get Their Own Water Fed Pole

The amount of homeowners that have bought their own squeegee's, pressure washers & now water fed poles will count for nothing even after they have laid out money for all these home cleaners, they often end up in the garage with a pile of other unused weekend toys. Although these DI filters & brushes aimed at the home owners have been sold in UK stores before now, it will be a matter of time before home owners actually repeatedly use them.

Ionic Clean® Washing System. PRICE: $249.00
Benefits: The Ionic Clean® uses de-ionizing (DI) technology to create purified water that has unique cleaning qualities. As water flows through the Ionic Clean, ionic exchange occurs that removes minerals and impurities from the water. The DI water leaves the Ionic Clean hungry – looking to regain the ionic particles removed during the exchange. It finds them on dirty surfaces – like on your home’s windows or your car. The DI water in the Ionic Clean grabs the dirt particles and rinses them away, leaving an ultra-clean spot-free surface.

• Spot-free, streak-free cleaning with no drying required.
• De-ionizes water so there are no minerals that cause spots and streaks.
• Ionically cleaned surfaces repel dirt and stay clean longer.
• Homeowners can save hundreds of dollars cleaning windows themselves. Pays for itself with one use.
• Also use on cars, boats, RVs, airplanes, and more!

Includes:
Base unit with filter
20-foot hose
Telescopic pole
Auto/window brush with nozzle
Filter-life tester

Ionic Clean Washing System Review by John Schettino:




The HomeRight Iconic Clean Washing System is a large blue canister that takes your tap water and turns it into de-ionized (DI) water. The canister has a 20 foot hose with a soft bristle brush attached, and a three way (Off – Bypass – DI) switch on the end. You’re supposed to be able to wash windows, cars, boats, and other similar surfaces with the system and water only. Having just spent a weekend scrubbing windows “the old way” (soap, water, elbow grease) I was pretty skeptical. I was also interested to see if it could best my results. I am pleasantly surprised to report that for the most part, it works exactly as advertised. Parts Parts Parts..

The Ionic Clean comes in a long box that (at least for my review unit) didn’t fully protect it during shipping. Once you dig out the parts you’ll have the following spread out on your floor:



The initial setup involves connecting the 20′ hose to the wand, attaching the wand to the brush, and putting the hose attachment onto the bottom of the canister. You can just see the small pile of plastic bits in the photo – that’s what’s left of the on/off valve the UPS guy managed to kill:



Fortunately for me, this is an inexpensive part (a few bucks at the local home center) or it can be unscrewed from the wand and then you simply use the OFF position on the canister itself. In either case, I proceeded to put it all together. Then, I had a go at getting the end-cap off to see what the filter looked like, and how hard it is to replace:



I’m no body builder, but I do hit the gym nearly every day. Let’s just say you want someone strong to help you with getting that end cap off! After a bit of struggling, I got it to release. You can see in the photo the orange stuff in the middle. That’s the ionic filter that does the magic of converting tap water into de-ionized water. It’s also the only down-side to this whole thing. Those filters have a run-life of MINUTES. If you have really hard water, just 35 minutes. Most people’s city water comes in around 200ppm, so you should get 70 minutes or so out of a filter. The filters cost $50 each, so you’ll want to pay attention to that… washing a car and using 5-10 minutes of rinse is the same as $3.50-$7.00. Washing windows, where you spend a minute or two per window rinsing, is 75 cents per window.

The Test Subjects: Sadly, there is no way to review this product without first showing some of the dirt. So, for your pleasure, I give you some shots of a dirty garden window (which is truly a pain in the back to wash) and my neglected car:





1 & 2. Garden Window… yuck. This is only a few weeks after washing it by hand, with soap. 3. This is the rear window of my car. 4. This is the passenger side window of my car. 5 That’s the roof.

For this test I just followed the directions. First I scrubbed (gently) with the brush and the canister on Bypass. That got rid of most of the dirt, but if left alone at that point the result would be a spotty mess. After the scrub, I flipped it to the DI setting and gave a few scrub/rinse passes. Then I left it alone.

Action Photos: Here’s a few shots of the ionic rinse. It’s very noticeable when you are in DI mode – the water just sheets right off of any surface. I found the 20 foot hose to be long enough that I could leave the canister on the ground nearby the car or window, and the telescoping wand/brush was long enough to reach across the car window, or up and over the top of the garden window. So other then keeping an eye on the clock when in DI mode, the whole thing was a breeze:



Weird sheeting action of DI water. Long reach of the wand.


Closeup of DI water sheeting action.

Results. Wow. Like I said, I was prepared to be disappointed, but in fact it worked exceptionally well. With no soap at all, just a pre-rinse with regular water and then a quick rinse with the DI water, both the garden window and the car came out sparkling clean. The glass results rivaled those you get after a lot of windex and a pile of rags. The car finish sparkled, and all the grime was gone.


Garden window, nearly perfectly spotless. Two drops… that’s all that I could find on the glass after the rinse.



Windshield… clear, spotless, and shiny. This is with no wipe-down. The same side window as before, only now you can see reflections.

Yes, there are still a few spots. But this is about as bad as it gets, and the car was filthy before. Rear glass. You can see a few spot-trails, but again with no wipe down, and no soap at all, that’s pretty good.

Conclusion -I’m a believer. The whole process went very quickly, since there isn’t much more cleanup then re-capping the canister (or letting it drain out for a while) and then putting it away. The actual cleaning process was done in minutes – a scrub pass and then a DI rinse pass, and you’re done. The only lingering doubt I have is the cost over time of the filters. My guess is I wasn’t as efficient as possible since I was doing this for a review and was pausing for photos – even though I was turning off the canister I expect I used a few more minutes of filter time then I otherwise would have. Still, washing a window and a couple cars, I used at least 10 minutes of filter time. So I could see needing a new filter after washing all the windows in your house twice, or washing your cars once a week for a couple months. On the up side, the Ionic Clean system is very gentle on your car, or whatever is under your windows!

Ionics Systems at the Federation of Window Cleaners Show

Just over 12 years ago, Ionic systems Ltd launched the revolutionary system Reach & Wash ® in 1997. Since then, the Ionics system range has become a global brand, and the industry standard for window cleaners worldwide. Ionic global systems, exports to 18 countries. When a customer invests in a system, they are not just purchasing a piece of equipment, they are accessing a global network of support which is built on reputation, quality & safety and an approach of "no-compromise". Ionic systems believe in safety testing in accordance with an internationally recognized standard. Today, Ionic systems continue to support events and exhibitions in the window cleaning industry including the federation of window cleaners show in Blackpool - not just in Britain but in Europe, USA and beyond. Currently they are touring the UK with the Reach & Wash roadshows. Below are just some of their recent videos from the products seen at the FWC show.

You Tube Window Cleaning Videos

Another installment from Mark Strange of "Beautiful View" from Toronto, Canada gives us a few more unbiased reviews of products in the window cleaners workplace. This time his opinion on tips for Ettore & Unger poles in this weeks edition of "Tool Talk."

The King of Squeegees, Sörbo otherwise known as SPC in Europe has a video out that I guess was made by Sörbo Samuelsson? The Sörbo Docket reduces the cost of squeegee rubber and silicon squeegee blades by 93%. This ingenious device doesn't only cut your expenses, it makes you more efficient too. The Docket increases your earning power by giving you a sharp, straight edge every time you trim your squeegee blades. A sharp edge glides over glass more easily and cleans windows streak free. Docket allows you to trim your squeegee blades to perfection up to 12 times. Grooves in the Sörbo channel let you reposition the blade every time you sharpen, so the blade maintains correct firmness.

The Ionic system QuattRO is shown here in what looks like a video made for the American market. "The new Reach & Wash QuattRO trolley mount system is a revolution among mobile systems, bringing the benefits of spot-free pure water cleaning to a wider range of cleaning and maintenance applications than ever before possible. The QuattRO can easily feed waterfed poles up to 45 feet using water pressure alone - NO electrical supply needed! Comprising activated carbon filter, a water softener, reverse osmosis filter and finally a colour-change DI filter to produce water of exceptional purity. Perfect for using waterfed poles where there is a supply of water available on-site even in hard-water areas. The QuattRO is powered by water pressure and does not require electrical power. However, to use with waterfed poles in areas with low pressure we recommend the use of the optional pressure booster pump."

Previous information & video on its release can be found here.

AquaGo!

The AguaGo! allows rapid filling of a bucket without having to lift it into the sink. Simply attach the rubber cap & the bucket can be filled safely on the ground. Another initiative from Ionics. Its ideal for filling at a small basin (that won't fit the bucket) without having to lift it into the sink.

Ionics & Fish window cleaning?

Could Fish window cleaning & Craig Mawlem of Ionics UK be forming a partnership? Nah, Craig has naturally followed through in the filter & water purification area to follow on with his passion in Koi carp. KingdomKoi is the new venture for the Ionics based group. Perhaps when Craig goes fishing he remembers to take the right pole?