Safety Precautions While Cleaning Solar Panels with Trevor Steiner

Duration: 4:34 902 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

In this episode of the Ask a House Cleaner show, host Angela Brown welcomes Trevor Steiner, the owner of Pristine Clean Solutions, to discuss the often-overlooked topic of cleaning solar panels. Trevor explains that his expertise was developed through extensive self-research and by learning from others, including family members who are firefighters. He emphasizes that the safety awareness honed in firefighting is directly applicable to roof work, as it requires a constant 360-degree situational awareness regarding one's position on a ladder or roof, the weight of equipment like hoses, and potential environmental hazards such as wind. This mindset is crucial when working on roofs where a single misstep could lead to falling, making the firefighter background an invaluable asset for navigating dangerous heights. A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the specific challenges posed by different roof types, particularly Spanish-style roofs with clay tiles. Trevor notes that these tiles are brittle and prone to breaking under pressure, requiring workers to move slowly and deliberately rather than rushing to complete the job quickly. He shares an anecdote about a homeowner who was twice his size and managed to break ten tiles while hanging Christmas lights, whereas he was able to walk on the same roof without causing any damage, attributing his success partly to his lighter weight but mostly to his careful technique. This highlights a key safety lesson: productivity should never come at the expense of caution, especially when dealing with fragile surfaces or severe roof pitches that may require sitting down to clean safely. Beyond physical precautions, Trevor stresses that true safety comes from taking one's time and utilizing the right tools and techniques for each unique situation. Factors such as weather conditions, the angle of the roof, the time of day, and the position of the sun all influence which cleaning method is best suited for a specific job. For instance, on roofs with steep pitches, he sometimes has to sit directly on the surface while working to maintain stability. The discussion concludes that whether cleaning standard roofs or specialized solar panels, success depends on being armed with knowledge, choosing appropriate methods based on environmental variables, and maintaining a patient approach that prioritizes safety over speed. For those interested in learning more about professional solar panel cleaning services, Trevor directs listeners to his company's website, pristine cleansolutions.com, as well as their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram. The episode serves as both an educational resource and a reminder that specialized tasks like cleaning solar panels require specific skills and a heightened sense of caution. By combining the discipline learned from firefighting with practical experience on various roof types, professionals can ensure they complete their work safely while protecting both themselves and the property they are servicing.

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hey and good afternoon you are on the ask a house cleaner show I'm Angela Brown and I'm here today with Trevor Steiner and he is the owner of pristine clean Solutions and I am so excited that he's here today because he's going to tell us something that we have never talked about on this show before and that is how to clean solar panels solar panels on the top of your roof and you say what I got to clean them well maybe you hire Trevor and he cleans them for you but how do you clean them it's a really good question and I know now that I brought it up you're probably wondering how do you clean solar panels so now today we have the expert himself to explain to us how you clean solar panels please help me welcome Trevor Steiner how are you today doing good thank you so how do you train to learn to become a solar panel cleaning expert so a lot of it was just uh doing my own research being around other people and learning from them there's a few for people that I learned from I actually have some people on the family that are firefighters so they taught me all the ladder safety and as far as that goes and then everything else you know I just learned on my own I love the fact that you learned from firefighters because there is a lot of situational awareness that comes from being a firefighter where it's not just trying to put out a fire but you have to know ladder safety and you have to know the weight of the hose you're carrying and you have to know where your body is in relation to the ladder or what's behind you and what's in front of you and you have to be aware of literally everything that's around you 360 and I would imagine it's very similar being on a roof especially where you have a hose and you have a brush and you have wind and the elements around you making sure that you're cognizant of the fact that if you take one step backward you go falling off a roof some roofs are definitely a lot trickier than others especially when it comes to walking on them some people like to charge more for Spanish style roofs the clay tiles are a lot more brittle easier to break you have to know how to walk on them and really take your time fortunately I've never broken a tile and I'm pretty sure it has to do with my weight so I've gotten on roofs right after the homeowner did the homeowner was twice my size and he managed to break 10 tiles while he was up there and he was hanging Christmas lights and I got up there and didn't break any so you win yeah good so this is a very interesting conversation and it's an interesting type of business and I'm really curious are there any safety precautions that you would take that you maybe didn't know about in the very beginning that you are like you said now you know how to navigate Spanish bartile are there things that you do now that make you more safe than when you started things that you've learned yeah definitely I'm always getting more and more safety equipment CU like I said I'm real big on that anything I can do to make my job safer but really it comes down to safety equipment or not it just comes down to you it comes down to being careful taking your time don't rush anything no matter what industry you're in there's always that need to kind of want to get the job done quick and be productive but when it comes to getting up on roofs you can't do it you just have to take as much time as you need if it takes three hours then it takes three hours you know well and I love that because even with regular cleaning it comes down to the techniques that you know you got to have the ER tools and you got to know the techniques and I would guess it's a lot the same in cleaning solar panels because there are just differences like you said in cleaning a solar panel and cleaning a regular roof and so once you know those now you have choices and you're armed and then based on the weather and the pitch of the roof and the time of the day and the where the sun is then you can choose which technique is going to be best for that particular job yeah there's always little differences you have to keep in mind you know I've been on uh some roofs where the roof pitch is pretty severe and I have to sit on top actually sit down on top of the roof while I clean them so there's just little differences with every job so in closing and I've Loved loved loved this conversation where can our listeners go to find you you can check us out on our website it's pristine clean solutions.com you can check us out on Facebook Instagram I think that's roughly about it right now now thank you for joining us today Trevor Steiner