There are a wide selection of professional squeegee handles to choose from.
Looking over our website and/or catalog, I realized how many choices window cleaners have when looking at squeegee handles! Even if you, as a professional window cleaner, have a favorite brand there are still multiple choices available within each manufacturer. Why are there so many choices? Over the years, we have come to love the phrase, “the right tool for the right job.” In the landscape of window squeegee handles, this is definitely the case.
To help make sense of the choices, let’s break the handles down into the major features and the window cleaning challenges that the features can help with. The squeegee handles can be broken down into three main types:
- Standard stationary handles
- Pivoting squeegee handles
- Adjustable and pivoting squeegee handles
STANDARD STATIONARY HANDLES:
Standard squeegee handles have been around since the original design of the professional window squeegee was patented by Ettore Steccone over 80 years ago. Today, there are many varieties of the stationary style of squeegee handle available from the industry leading manufacturers of Ettore, Unger, Sorbo, Pulex and Moerman. These handles are very durable as there are minimal moving parts. Featuring a very natural angle, the standard handles are easy to use. Simply hold the squeegee handle with the channel in place up against the glass and slide.
In the last decades, there have been new varieties of the standard handle introduced on the market. The new engineering created handles with a longer “neck” or distance between where the bend of the squeegee handle is and the point where the channel is held. Think of a window that has a brick surround or that is deep set with a pronounced ledger. These handles have a bit of “neck” which allows the squeegee to project into the set-in glass and provide a great, accurate clean swipe by holding the squeegee properly.
The Ettore Ledge-eze is a great example of one of these. There is an entire line of tools called The Ledger made by Companion Tools that have been a main fixture of the window cleaning world for years now. Inspired and designed by a frustrated window cleaner in the field, Jerry Rigdon created these sturdy handles to help himself service window accounts better. Read our blog post and product list of the Ledger handles here. The tool is designed and refined to solve most all different types of challenges involving recessed window frames.
PIVOTING SQUEEGEE HANDLES:
Pivoting squeegee handles were another innovation by a window cleaner. This feature basically puts a pivoting point at the spot right below the spot where the squeegee handle starts to “bend” towards the glass. When looking at the squeegee handle face on, the pivot feature allows the squeegee channel to pivot left to right. Think of the ability to hold the stem of the handle upright, but to be able to squeegee a window from side to side.
The window cleaner in the field designed this to help do just that, among other things. This pivoting design allows the squeegee to be adjusted to clean side to side, to help with lower windows, and to clean uniquely shaped windows. With the slip on design, each feature applies to windows cleaned with a pole as well as hand level windows. For most professional window cleaners, pivoting squeegee handles are used every day. There are a variety of them available from Ettore’s super system, to Unger’s swivel loc and Ninja, to Sorbo’s swivel handle, and including Pulex’s pivot as well. Match up the manufacturer to your preferred brand and it will be clear that pivoting handles are essential!
ADJUSTABLE AND PIVOTING SQUEEGEE HANDLES:
In the window cleaning supplies world, that mantra of the “right tool for the right job” is truer in the world today than it has ever been. This is a GREAT time to be out there cleaning windows professionally! If you look at the three main categories of function of a squeegee handle, you might see that having a variety of handles in your tool box is the way to go.
Keep up to date with the newest products and innovations on our site and in our store. You never know what window cleaning innovation will be created next!