Water fed brushes are an important piece of your window cleaning arsenal, so make sure you treat them right so they can keep cleaning for a long time. Brushes come in a variety of bristle types, but they only vary slightly in the best practices for caring for them.

Why Proper Brush Care Matters

Time is money, as the old saying goes. If you’re wasting time on the job dealing with streaks and inconsistent results, and your brush is to blame, it’s time to take action. Spending a few minutes at the end of the day to ensure that your brush is maintained can keep you moving faster and leaving spotless results the next day.

Properly caring for your brush also helps extend its lifespan. When brushes aren’t well-maintained, they can wear faster leaving you with damaged bristles that aren’t able to clean effectively.

How to Store Your Brushes

The path to the least maintenance for your brushes is to treat them right from the beginning. For storing brushes, it’s best to hang them from the hoses on the back of the brush block so that the bristles do not get bent like they would when resting on a surface. If the bristles ever do get bent, soak the brush in a bucket of pure water and then let the brush hang dry. If using Boar’s Hair bristles regularly, it’s a good idea to rinse the bristles out from time to time since they hold on to more dirt than a nylon bristle.

Common Mistakes that Ruin Water-Fed Brushes

Avoid these missteps with your water fed brush to keep it in great condition. 

• Leaving brushes in direct sunlight for extended periods of time

• Storing the brush with weight on the bristles

• Using brushes on surfaces other than windows 

• Letting grime build up on the bristles or in the jets

My brush is looking pretty gross, what should I do? 

Clean it or replace it! You don’t want to be adding dirt to windows when you’re trying to clean them. Make sure you are starting with a clean brush for spotless windows. Nylon bristles are more likely to let the dirt slide right off so they shouldn’t need as much attention, but boar’s hair likes to hold onto debris which can cause spottiness if it’s left on the glass when rinsing. 

My bristles got bent, can I fix them?

Some brushes can be revived with a nice bath of warm water. Bristles will relax so the bend straightens out if you let them hang out in hot pure water. Sometimes in the shipping process they can get a little wonky. Always be sure to keep your brushes stored properly to ensure bristles stay straight. 

Pro Tip: Warm baths are a great option for when brushes are looking a bit tired.

How to tell when it’s time to say good-bye

Has your brush seen better days? Are bristles missing, broken, or bent beyond repair? Is your block looking chewed up, jets clogged, and generally just a sad sight? Then it might be time to let your brush take its well-deserved retirement. 

Brushes aren’t designed to last forever. Depending on how often you use them and how you treat them, you might be able to get a few seasons out of them, but eventually, the day will come when it’s time to set it on a shelf (or in the garbage bin) and pick out a new one. The best way to tell when your brush is ready to call it quits is when windows aren’t getting as clean as they used to. If you’re having a hard time reaching corners or agitating up the dirt, look to a fresh brush. 

Brushes used heavily every day are going to wear down faster than those that are just used occasionally. If you are regularly using a brush, it might be useful to keep a more frequent inspection schedule. A visual inspection can help you identify any damage to the brush block or bristles before you run into a problem on the job. 

Under regular use, expect to change brushes:

• Hybrid: 1 - 2 Years

• Boar’s Hair: 6 - 8 Months

Pro Tips for Extending Your Brush’s Life

• Be sure to rotate your brush from time to time to ensure even wear on both sides. Just be sure not to strip the block when removing and replacing the screws.

• Allow your brushes to dry completely when storing them - don’t store them in an air-tight tote.

• Keep your brushes away from the sunlight when you aren’t using them to help prevent UV damage.

• Ensure your jets remain unblocked and free from build-up.

I hope those tips help you get the most from your water fed brush and keep you cleaning windows like the pro you are! Just like any other piece of your equipment, your brush needs the proper care to last, but it’s easy to do. 

Meet the Author: SteveO is loved by his fans on YouTube where he demonstrates new tools and how to clean windows. He's continuing to share his wealth of knowledge for both aspiring and seasoned water fed window cleaning professionals.