Guides
New vs Used Window Cleaning Equipment, by Class
A class-by-class verdict on new vs used window cleaning equipment, with a usable cost-per-working-day test, seller questions, and safety checks.
What to take away
- Decide new or used for new vs used window cleaning equipment by item class, never as a company policy. The right answer for a van is the wrong answer for squeegee rubber.
- Use the cost-per-working-day test below. It settles most arguments in one line of arithmetic.
- Never buy safety-critical equipment used unless its full inspection and service history comes with it.
- Used equipment is worth most where parts are common and the failure mode is gradual. It is worth least where a failure stops a job.
- No prices appear here. The test uses the quotes you obtain yourself, which is what makes it yours.
Ladders, harnesses, lifts and pressure equipment carry serious risk. Take qualified advice on inspection and certification before buying any of them secondhand.
The test
For any item, gather four things:
- P:The purchase price for each option.
- U:Expected upkeep and repair costs over the remaining ownership period.
- X:Expected cost of downtime from failures over that period, including lost work or emergency replacement costs without double-counting.
- D:Expected working days remaining before replacement, based on the item's condition and manufacturer guidance.
Cost-per-working-day inputs
- Ppurchase price, new or used
- Dworking days before replacement
- Uupkeep parts, servicing, consumables
- Xdowntime cost revenue lost
For each option, compare (P + U + X) / D. Use the same assumptions for both options: P is purchase price, U is expected upkeep and repairs, X is expected downtime cost, and D is remaining working days. Gather current quotes and estimate the remaining days for the specific item; the result is a cost per working day, not a universal price.
Two things happen when people run this. The used option often wins on P and loses on D, because a shorter remaining life divides the price over fewer days. And X, which nobody estimates, decides the outcome for anything that stops a job when it fails.
Estimate X honestly. If a tank pump failing costs you a day of route work, that day belongs in the calculation.
Class by class
| Item class | Buy used? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Squeegee handles and channels | Rarely worth it | Cheap new, and worn channels ruin the edge |
| Rubber, sleeves, cloths, blades | Never | Consumables; a used one is a worn one |
| Extension and pure-water poles | Sometimes | Check for section wear, clamp condition and internal hose |
| Filtration vessels | Yes, with care | Simple hardware; the media inside is a consumable you buy new anyway |
| Tank and pump systems | Yes, with care | Common parts, gradual failure, big price gap |
| Van | Usually | The largest price gap in the trade, and service history is checkable |
| Ladders | Only with full history | Safety-critical; damage can be invisible |
| Harnesses, lanyards, anchors | No | Safety-critical, life-limited, and history cannot be verified from a photograph |
| Lifts | Rent instead | Certification, siting and operator qualification dominate the decision |
| Pressure washers | Yes | Mature market, parts everywhere |
| Screen and rescreening tools | Yes | Simple, durable, low consequence of failure |
Examples to compare, not endorsements: Ettore and Unger for squeegee tools; Unger nLite and Gardiner SLX poles; Tucker, IPC Eagle, and Xero for pure-water filtration and system equipment; Ford Transit vans; Werner ladders; Guardian Fall Protection harnesses; Genie lifts; and Kärcher pressure washers.
Check the exact configuration, condition, parts availability, and service support. A maker's name alone does not establish that a used item is suitable.
The three questions to ask any used seller
Ask them in the same words every time and write the answers down.
Three questions for any seller
- Why are you selling it, and what replaced it?
- What has been replaced or repaired, with receipts?
- Can I see it working, under load, before paying?
- Why are you selling it, and what did you replace it with? A straight answer here predicts the condition better than any photograph.
- What has been replaced or repaired, and do you have the receipts? Records turn a guess into a valuation.
- Can I see it working, under load, before I pay? For a pump, a tank or a vehicle, this is not optional.
A seller who answers all three plainly is worth a higher price than one who does not.
Where used equipment goes wrong
Parts availability. A discontinued model at half price is a full-price problem the first time a seal fails. Check that the parts exist before you check the price.
Where used equipment goes wrong
- Parts availabilitycheck parts exist before price
- Hidden hoursask for meter and service log
- Safety-critical itemsunverifiable history fails
- Chemicalsnever take unlabeled containers
Hidden hours. Pumps and vehicles have a working life that a clean exterior hides. Ask for the meter, the service log, or both.
Safety-critical items with no history. A ladder that has been dropped can look perfect. OSHA does not set one universal calendar service life for every harness, so follow the manufacturer's retirement instructions and inspect equipment as required. The fall protection guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration includes 29 CFR 1910.140 for personal fall protection systems; other relevant standards include 29 CFR 1910.23 for ladders, 1910.67 for vehicle-mounted elevating and rotating work platforms, 1926.1053 for construction ladders, and 1926.502 for construction fall protection. OSHA is the federal safety authority, not a general equipment-certification register for ladders, lifts, or pressure washers. Check the applicable requirements and the manufacturer's inspection instructions for the specific equipment.
Chemicals and unlabeled containers. Never take these with a used van or trailer. The cleaning industry hazard material from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration sets out why identification of what you carry is part of working safely, and an unlabeled drum is a liability you did not price.
The maintenance decision that follows
Buying used shifts money from purchase to upkeep, which only works if the upkeep actually happens. Put every used item on a written schedule the day it arrives: what gets checked, how often, and by whom.
Written schedule on arrival
- What gets checked
- How often it is checked
- Who is responsible for checking
- One page and a calendar reminder
That schedule belongs inside a written program rather than in somebody's memory, and the safety and health program guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration describes the shape it should take. The practical version at one van is a single page and a calendar reminder.
When new is clearly right
Three situations, regardless of the arithmetic.
When the item is safety-critical and its history cannot be verified. When a failure stops the route rather than delaying one job. And when you are buying your first of something and have no way to judge condition, because the discount is real and so is your inability to see the problem.
The reverse also holds: for a van, for filtration hardware and for a pressure washer, paying new for a mature product with a wide parts market is usually the most expensive way to solve a solved problem.
Fitting it into the wider setup
Whether an item belongs on the van at all is the prior question, and it is answered in the window cleaning equipment and setup guide rather than by a good deal appearing. The minimum starting inventory sits in the equipment checklist for new owners, and anything not on that list should wait for a reason.
Two conditions apply on top of the arithmetic. Some equipment affects what your insurer and your local authority expect, which belongs with the licensing and compliance requirements where you operate.
Nothing bought secondhand should reach a job before somebody is competent on it. That is a matter for structured hiring and training, not for a demonstration in the yard. It is also where hiring reliable staff starts to interact with equipment decisions, because a crew that does not maintain a used pump will consume the saving inside a season.
Common questions
Is a used van a false economy?
Usually not, provided you buy on service history rather than on appearance and you have somewhere to get it repaired quickly. The van is where the largest price gap sits in this trade.
Can I buy a used pure-water system?
The hardware, yes, with care. Inspect the vessels, the fittings and the pump under load. Buy the filtration media new regardless, since it is a consumable and its remaining capacity cannot be seen.
What about buying a whole company's kit at once?
Attractive and risky. Value it item by item using the table above, discount anything safety-critical to zero unless the history comes with it, and be honest that you are also buying somebody else's maintenance habits.
How do I know when used has cost me more?
Track downtime. If an item has stopped a working day more than once, the arithmetic has already answered, whatever the purchase price said.
