Kit · Roles, not shopping
Window cleaning tools
This is a map of tool roles, not a shopping list — there are no product comparisons, no prices and nothing for sale here. The useful question is never “which tool is best?” but “which method am I using, and what does that method need?”
Cloths, scrims and detailing towels
Cloths do three different jobs and mixing them up causes streaks: an applicator cloth (or sleeve) wets and loosens soil; a drying cloth — traditionally scrim, now usually microfibre — polishes off residual moisture; and a detailing cloth tidies edges and sills. Keep glass cloths away from anything oily or fabric-softened, and wash them separately. General method context: Kärcher’s window-cleaning guidance describes the same division of labour.[K]
Squeegees
A squeegee is a straight rubber blade in a channel on a handle. The blade matters more than the handle: it must be undamaged, unrounded and the right length for the pane. Small nicks leave tram lines. The classic pattern — wet the glass, then draw the water off in overlapping strokes, wiping the blade between strokes — is covered in the flagship method guide.
Brushes and applicators
Scrubbing brushes and non-scratch pads shift heavier soil before the water stage; on filmed or coated glass they can be exactly the wrong tool — see cleaning tinted windows before using anything abrasive on a surface you have not identified. Water-fed pole brushes are a different tool again: they scrub and rinse at the same time through jets fed by the pole.
Telescopic poles — anatomy, and the length that actually matters
A water-fed or extension pole is a set of nested tube sections with clamps, a hose running through or along it, a gooseneck and a brush at the head. Two lengths appear in specifications and they are not the same thing: advertised or nominal length (often the fully extended tip height in ideal conditions) and the manufacturer’s stated working length — what you can actually control from the ground with the pole at a working angle. Plan with the manufacturer’s working figure, never the marketing number, and enter that value in the pole reach planner to compare it with your geometry.
The HSE/FWC best-practice guide for water-fed pole work treats pole handling as a real hazard in its own right: longer poles mean more leverage, more wind load and more fatigue, and a defective pole — damaged sections, slipping clamps — is a stop condition, not an inconvenience.[HSE/FWC]
Pure-water systems
A pure-water setup adds: a purification stage (DI resin vessel or RO membrane) producing low-TDS water, a pump and controller, and the hose runs linking tap, purifier, pump and pole. Pure water dries without spotting, which is why these systems skip the squeegee stage. The planning cost is on the ground, not in the water: hoses cross walkways, connections leak, and the working area needs managing so that neither you nor a passer-by meets a charged hose or a wet path. The HSE/FWC guide lists hose management, slips, manual handling, overhead electrical lines and weather among the operational hazards of pole work — ground-based does not mean risk-free.[HSE/FWC]
Method selection
HSE’s window-cleaning guidance puts the order of work plainly: avoid work at height where reasonably practicable — clean from inside, or from the ground with a telescopic pole, before anything else is considered.[HSE] The table maps tools to that order.
| Situation | Method to plan first | Tools involved |
|---|---|---|
| Glass reachable from inside or from the ground | Bucket-and-squeegee, hand work | Applicator, squeegee, drying cloths |
| Outside faces above comfortable hand reach | Ground-based pole work — check the geometry | Telescopic pole, pole brush; pure water if spot-free drying is wanted |
| Filmed, tinted or coated glass | Manufacturer-led care | Soft cloths, clean water — see tinted windows |
| Glass that no ground or inside method reaches | Stop — this is an access decision, not a tool choice | None yet: run the access decision sheet |
Check reach before buying anything
Two planning sheets on this site exist precisely so that kit follows method: the pole reach planner compares an entered pole length with the geometry of your building and returns hard stop states for electrical, weather, visibility and control hazards; and the high-window access decision composes a conservative plan when ground and inside methods run out. Neither sheet recommends equipment, and this site sells nothing.
Sources used on this sheet
- Health and Safety Executive / Federation of Window Cleaners — Safety in window cleaning using water-fed pole systems · Best-practice guide, amended 2026-03-31 · Accessed 2026-08-20
- Health and Safety Executive — Working at height whilst window cleaning · Publication date not stated · Accessed 2026-08-20
- Kärcher UK — Cleaning windows: tips for a streak-free view · Publication date not stated · Accessed 2026-08-20
This URL has carried a followed topical citation for years; the referring page is listed as referring context on the sources sheet — evidence of the address’s history, not a source for the guidance above.
Correction and version note: rewritten for content contract 2026-08-21.1; sources accessed 2026-08-20. Corrections are recorded on the methodology sheet.