The Ultimate Univalve Review

Along with a lot of the window cleaning industry, the univalve by Exceed Innovations is an indispensable part of our daily set-up, both saving us water and completely changing our working experience.

We remember back in the day when the best way to control the flow to your brush was to kink the hose. This was especially difficult when working on high-up windows. In reality, we would connect the rectus fitting at the start of a job and not cut the flow until we had finished.

The univalve replaced the aquadapter and has become a staple of the window cleaning community. Here is what makes it so good.

Simplicity

The univalve is beautifully simple in design.

You simply pull on the pole hose to start/stop the flow. The univalve itself sits inside the body of the pole and is hidden from view.

It is a very intuitive way to work. You don’t need to start the flow of water until your brush is on the window, and you can stop it as soon as you are done rinsing. Even when working at 3 or 4 storeys it is easy to use.

It provides an almost instant response. Water is immediately cut off rather than it slowing to a dribble.

A univalve requires no maintenance and it very durable.

Installation

Nowadays many poles come with a univalve pre-installed.

Adding a univalve to an existing pole is not difficult. Usually, hot water to soften the pole hose and o-clip pliers to snug up the o-rings are all you will need.

The barbs on the ends of the univalve are very effective and secure, it is very difficult to remove the hose from them. These are made from plastic so be careful to aren’t so rough as to break the barbs off.

You should have a way of fixing it at the point where it exits the gooseneck so you have something to pull against. Common solutions are o-rings or straight JG fittings. This is clearly shown in the videos below.

Also, remember that the univalve is one-directional. Make sure to the instructions that show the direction of flow.

With some poles, the first section needs to be slightly shortened to allow enough space for the univalve to fit inside. Check out these videos from Squeaky Clean Dave and AE Mackintosh for their guides on how to install a univalve.

Because it is inside the body of the pole you will need one univalve for each pole that you have.

There is no maintenance required. The univalve is known to be very reliable and will often last the life of the pole.

It is important to note that you need to use PU pole hose with the univalve. This is a less stretchy type of hose that is needed because you will be pulling on it.

Value for money

The univalve costs £32.95 + vat at the time of writing.

There are certain options such as an extended warranty or discounts for buying 3.

Since this is only just over double the cost of a rectus fitting with a valve on it, we think this is great value for money. It should last a long time and should quickly pay for itself. You will use less water meaning that you have to pay less to filter water. Also, your water will last you for longer o you can get more jobs done in a day.

Usefulness

Originally designed to save water when window cleaning, especially when working from a car or with a small tank, it has changed the working experience.

We will soon be reviewing exactly how much water it saves in a day, but we can say right now that you only use water when you are actually cleaning the windows. All the rest of the time you can easily cut the flow of water.

It is very difficult to quantify how much of a difference it makes to your working day, but there is no searching around on the floor for the hose to kink in your hand, no scrambling around for a rectus fitting to disconnect, no cold and wet hands from picking up wet hoses and connections off the floor, no tripping over pole hoses that are looped back to a tap, and no wet patches on your leg from carrying a tap on your belt.

It makes the working experience very comfortable and natural.

Downsides

There are very few downsides to the univalve. In general, the downsides only come if you try using it for something beyond what it is made for.

Firstly, it is not designed for hot water. The Exceed Innovation website makes it clear you use it with hot water at your own risk. Personally, we have been using it with hot water for years without any issues.

Also, Exceed Innovations are clear that it is not designed to be used with chemicals, only with pure water.

Again, in our personal experience, it works well with chemicals but it will wear the uni-valve out significantly faster (especially if used with a sodium hypochlorite based chemical). For us, it is worth replacing it more often for the extra safety it offers if using it with a chemical. You can make sure that you are only applying chemical where it needs to go, and you can avoid overspray.

Failure to comply with the hot water and chemical warning is at your own risk and responsibility, so you can make your personal choice.

Finally, as mentioned above, the first section of your pole may need to be shortened to make room for the uni-valve. This can reduce the length of your pole by about 8 inches. In our opinion, this is not a big issue.

To make the Univalve even better, it is now a serviceable item! Watch the video below to learn how.

Who is the Univalve good for

We think the Univalve is good for everyone.

It is especially important for people just starting out, perhaps working out of a backpack with barrels or a very small tank. It will really help to save water.

But it is valuable to all water fed pole window cleaners. We put it on our essentials list.

Final thoughts

We love the uni-valve and rate it really highly. Please share your experience with us, and tell us whether you agree or disagree in the comments below!