Pure Water Cleaning – The Facts

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How Pure Water Cleaning Benefits Window Cleaners

Pure water filtration systems offer several benefits for window cleaners, especially those working on high-rise buildings or in environments where spotless results are essential:

  • Streak-Free Cleaning: Pure water, free from dissolved minerals and impurities, evaporates without leaving behind residue or streaks on glass, ensuring a clear, spotless finish. This is a significant advantage over traditional tap water, which contains minerals that can cause spotting and streaks.
  • Reduced Need for Chemicals: Since pure water is highly effective at dissolving and removing dirt, window cleaners can minimise or eliminate the use of detergents and chemicals, making the process safer for both workers and the environment.
  • Efficiency and Productivity: With pure water systems, squeegees and cloths are often unnecessary, as the water itself does the cleaning and dries cleanly. This allows for faster cleaning, especially on large surfaces or tall buildings, and reduces labour and equipment needs.
  • Safer for Sensitive Surfaces: Pure water is gentle and non-abrasive, making it suitable for use on a variety of glass and window types, including tinted or coated windows that might be damaged by chemicals or hard water.
  • Sustainability: Using pure water filtration systems can reduce water waste and chemical runoff, supporting more sustainable cleaning practices.

Pure water systems typically use advanced filtration or deionisation to remove impurities, ensuring the water is as close to chemically pure as possible, which is ideal for professional window cleaning. While most recent research focuses on membrane technologies and nanocomposite filters for industrial or municipal water purification, the principles, removing ions and contaminants for superior cleaning, are directly applicable to window cleaning systems.

A TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter measures the concentration of dissolved substances, such as salts, minerals, and metals, in water, typically reported in parts per million (ppm) or milligrams per litre (mg/L). For window cleaners using pure water filtration systems, TDS readings are a key indicator of water purity.

How TDS Meter Readings Relate to Window Cleaning:

A TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter measures the concentration of dissolved substances, such as salts, minerals, and metals in water, typically reported in parts per million (ppm) or milligrams per liter (mg/L). For window cleaners using pure water filtration systems, TDS readings are a key indicator of water purity.

  • Low TDS (<10 ppm): Indicates very pure water. This is ideal for window cleaning, as it means the water will leave no residue or streaks on glass when it evaporates.

  • Moderate TDS (10–50 ppm): Still relatively clean for most cleaning purposes, but may occasionally leave slight marks on sensitive or large glass surfaces.

  • High TDS (>50 ppm): Water contains significant dissolved solids. This can cause spotting, streaking, and mineral deposits on windows after drying, especially in hard water areas.

Interpretation Example:

  • Drinking water quality standards often allow TDS up to 300 ppm or higher, but for window cleaning, much lower values are required for best results.
  • Desalination and filtration systems for pure water aim for TDS readings well below 50 ppm, and ideally as close to 0 ppm as possible for professional window cleaning.

TDS meters are therefore essential tools for window cleaners to ensure their water is pure enough to achieve a flawless finish. High TDS readings indicate that the filtration system may need maintenance or replacement to maintain optimal cleaning performance.

You can measure the TDS reading in your area using our online TDS calculator.