How to choose a window cleaning bucket for your round

Below is how to work it out for your round, and which of our buckets fits which job.

Start with the width of your T-bar and squeegee

Window cleaning buckets are long and narrow for one reason: the washer has to go in flat, soak evenly and come out loaded across its full width. A round mop bucket won’t do that.

The common widths are 14 inch (35cm) and 18 inch (45cm). Our Easy Grip Applicator T-Bar Plastic comes in both, at £7.25 for the 14 inch and £8.50 for the 18 inch. Squeegee channels follow the same sizes: a 35cm channel suits a 14 inch handle and a 45cm channel suits an 18 inch.

Most domestic and small shop windows suit a 14 inch washer. Big shopfronts and office glazing go quicker with 18 inch. If you work with 18 inch kit, check that the bucket’s inside length takes the T-bar lying flat before you buy. If you’re unsure, bring your T-bar to the trade counter and try it.

Capacity versus weight

One litre of water weighs about one kilogram. That makes the maths simple:

• A full 15 litre bucket carries around 15kg of water.
• A full 24 litre bucket carries around 24kg of water, plus the bucket.

You rarely need to fill to the brim. Half to two-thirds full is usually enough to dunk a washer and it keeps the weight down and the water off your trousers. The point of a bigger bucket is not to carry more, but to have more in reserve so you go back to the van less often.

If the round involves stairs, steps into precincts or carrying the bucket any real distance, the 15 litre is the easier option. If the bucket mostly sits on the ground and moves a few metres at a time, the 24 litre saves refills.

Wheels and hooks

Castors change the weight question. A 24 litre bucket on wheels can be pushed along a flat pavement, a shopping centre walkway or a school corridor instead of lifted. Hooks give the squeegee and cloths somewhere to hang, so they’re not left on sills or dropped on the floor.

Wheels are no help on stairs, gravel or kerbs. If parts of your round have steps, keep a plain bucket for those jobs. And before you reach up to the glass, make sure a wheeled bucket can’t roll off on a slope.

Belt bucket or floor bucket?

They do different jobs and most window cleaners use both.

A belt bucket clips to your waist and holds a small amount of solution plus the squeegee and T-bar. It’s for ladder work and for moving pane to pane without bending down: both hands stay free to climb and hold on. You refill it from the main bucket at ground level.

The floor bucket is the base: it holds the bulk of the water and is where you rinse the sleeve. A full floor bucket should never go up a ladder.

Matching the bucket to the round

Shopfront parades on foot. You walk from unit to unit with everything in hand. A 15 litre bucket plus a belt bucket keeps the carry light. On a long, flat parade, the 24 litre on castors saves lifting altogether.

Van-based rounds. The van is never far away, so refilling is easy. A 15 litre bucket is enough for most stops, and lighter to lift in and out of the van all day.

High street work with long walks between jobs. This is where the castor bucket earns its money. 24 litres of reserve water and nothing to lift between stops.

Offices and large glazing. Long runs of glass at ground level, often inside or in atriums, with 18 inch kit. A 24 litre bucket, with or without castors, gives fewer refills. Check your 18 inch T-bar fits flat.

How much water, and when to change it

There’s no reliable figure for how many panes a bucket will do. It depends on the size of the glass, how dirty it is and how wet you keep the washer. What matters more is the colour of the water. Change it as soon as it looks grey or cloudy, because dirty water puts the dirt straight back on the glass and shows up as streaks.

Go easy on the solution, too. Too much makes foam that hides the squeegee line and leaves a film. You want water that feels slippery, not suds sitting on top.

Keeping the squeegee and sleeve in the bucket

Plenty of cleaners keep the sleeved T-bar soaking in the bucket between panes. That’s fine for the sleeve. The squeegee is different: rest it on the rim or hang it on a hook, never blade-down in the bottom, where the rubber gets nicked and bent.

Pick the sleeve for the job. Our Standard Window Wash Sleeve (8, 14 and 18 inch, from £3.69) covers routine work. The Microfibre Window Cleaning Sleeve (14 and 18 inch, £4.60 and £4.95) holds plenty of water. The Scrub Window Wash Sleeve (14 and 18 inch, £4.50 and £5.50) is for marked glass. Match the sleeve length to the T-bar.

Durability and care

Empty and rinse the bucket at the end of every day and store it upside down to dry. Standing water goes stale and leaves scum on the sides. Check the rim for cracks now and then, as that’s where buckets usually fail. On the castor bucket, clear hair and grit out of the wheels and check the hooks haven’t bent.

When a squeegee starts leaving lines, the rubber is usually the problem, not the handle. A replacement Window Cleaning Squeegee Channel & Rubber only costs £4.65 at 35cm (14″) or £5.55 at 45cm (18″).

Which bucket to choose

If you only buy one, the 15 litre bucket suits most mixed rounds. Add the belt bucket if you use ladders. Step up to the castor bucket if you push a bucket further than you carry it.

For the rest of the kit, the Window Cleaning Squeegee Complete – Silver is £6.50, and the T-bar page lists a window cleaning kit with the T-bar, standard sleeve, silver squeegee, 15 litre bucket and chamois together. You can see the full range of window cleaning buckets online.

If you’d rather see the buckets before you buy, or check your own T-bar against them, call in at our trade counter in Liverpool.