If your window cleaner has switched from a bucket and squeegee to a long pole and a hose running from a van, you have seen the shift to pure water window cleaning in action. It is now the standard method across most of the UK, but traditional cleaning still has a place, and understanding the actual differences helps you judge whether you are getting a good service.
The short version: pure water cleans the frames as well as the glass and leaves no residue to attract dirt back, while traditional squeegee cleaning gives glass a fast, sharp shine but leaves frames untouched and cannot easily reach upper storeys without ladders.
How each method actually works
Pure water cleaning uses water that has been filtered and deionised to remove all minerals, applied through a long carbon-fibre pole with a brush head, then left to air dry. Because the water has nothing dissolved in it, it does not leave the streaks or mineral spots ordinary tap water would, and the glass dries completely clear without a squeegee needed.
Traditional cleaning uses a soapy solution applied by hand or mop and then removed with a squeegee blade, working from a ladder for anything above ground floor. It gives an immediate, glossy shine that some customers prefer visually, but it only cleans the glass itself, not the frames, sills or surrounding brickwork.
Reach and safety: the biggest practical difference
Pure water poles reach up to around 20-25 metres from the ground, meaning most two and three-storey homes can be fully cleaned without anyone leaving the ground. This removes the fall risk that comes with ladder work, which matters both for the cleaner's safety and for reducing the chance of damage to guttering, render or plants from a ladder being propped against the house.
Traditional cleaning on upper floors requires ladders, which restricts what can safely be reached, particularly on properties with conservatories, sloped ground or planted borders close to the walls that make ladder placement awkward or impossible.
Frame and sill cleaning, and why results last longer
A genuine advantage of pure water systems is that the brush head scrubs the frames, sills and rubber seals as it goes, not just the glass. Grime and algae that build up on UPVC frames get cleaned at the same time, which traditional squeegee methods simply skip since a squeegee only works on flat glass.
Because pure water leaves no soap or chemical residue behind, dust and dirt are slightly slower to re-stick to the glass afterwards, so windows often stay visibly cleaner for longer between visits compared with a soap-and-squeegee clean.
Cost and which to choose
Pricing is broadly similar between methods for a routine visit, typically £15-£30 for an average semi depending on size and frequency, since the time taken is comparable. Traditional squeegee work can occasionally undercut this for ground-floor-only jobs where a ladder or pole is not really needed at all.
For most homes with any upper-storey glass, pure water is the more practical and thorough choice, and it is what the great majority of UK window cleaners have moved to. Traditional squeegee work still suits small, ground-floor-only jobs, shopfronts, or situations where an instant streak-free shine on a single pane matters more than an all-round clean.
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