Window Cleaning News

Conman preying on elderly of Troon and Prestwick: Elderly people are being targeted by a vile con man. There have been a spate of sickening incidents in the Troon and Prestwick area. Police are appealing for any information and are urging elderly members of the community to be vigilant. At 4.15pm on Monday, November 9, a man called at the home of an 81-year-old female in Prestwick looking for payment for window cleaning. However, the genuine window cleaner had been paid earlier that day. The man managed to gain access to the woman’s home and stole her purse before making his excuses and leaving.
At 5pm the same day, a male purporting to be a window cleaner looking for new business called at the home of a 94-year-old lady in Prestwick, near to the first lady. The male eventually gained access to the house but did not manage to steal any property. Then between 6pm and 6.30pm, the same man called at three houses in Troon, where he spoke with three elderly residents aged 80, 83 and 88. The man was either seeking business for cleaning windows or looking for payment for windows that had allegedly been cleaned. The 88-year-old woman allowed the man into her home as he used the excuse of needing the toilet. It appears that nothing was stolen.
This man has previously visited Troon on Tuesday, September 29, when he gained access to the home of a 70-year-old female in Logan Drive pretending to be a window cleaner looking for payment. He made an excuse to gain entry to her home, where he continued to involve the occupier in inspecting possible areas that needed repaired. After making his excuses he left, and the occupier noticed that her purse containing a three figure sum was missing. The man is described as white, between 5ft 8ins and 5ft 10ins tall, aged approx 25 to 30 years old, of slim to medium build with short, dark brown, unkempt hair. He appears that he is unshaven with several days growth and has a local accent. He was wearing a high visibility jacket, possibly with a T-shirt underneath. He has always been polite and courteous when calling at the door.
Inspector Bob Smith, of Troon police office, said: “Bogus workmen routinely target the very vulnerable members of our communities, particularly the elderly, the infirm and those living alone. “I would urge those who receive unannounced workmen at their door seeking payment for work allegedly done or looking for work, to refuse them access, no matter the excuses made, and call the police immediately. “I am certain that someone in our community will know who this individual is, and I would urge anyone with information to contact the police.”
The public can contact the police at Troon on 01292 313100 or Prestwick on 01292 478587, or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.



Emprise Services has been awarded the contract to clean the entire Waitrose portfolio of 222 shops, as well as its warehouses and headquarters. Over 1,300 Emprise staff will work across the contract. A range of cleaning services will be provided including daily, early morning and periodical cleaning. Window-cleaning and janitorial services are also tied up in the package. Emprise staff will take responsibility for kitchen deep cleans and jet washing as well. In addition to cleaning responsibilities which form the core of the contract, Emprise will also take over responsibility for management of on-site paper, plastic and cardboard recycling at the retailer’s Bracknell distribution centre.
The contract was awarded by Maintenance Management, the company responsible for procuring services on behalf of Waitrose. Lesley Shearman divisional managing director at Emprise said: “We see this continued development of the contract as a credit to our staff and their work. Waitrose is our oldest contract, spanning more than 45 years. We are delighted to have successfully sustained and enhanced our long term partnership with Waitrose through MML and look forward to further developing it in the future.” Emprise won its first contract with Waitrose in 1961, when it was selected to clean its Dorking store. Since then Emprise has steadily developed its relationship with the retailer. It also holds a number of cleaning contracts at John Lewis department stores.

Matters of grave concern - part 8: I hope readers are enjoying this light hearted roam about the graveyards of the world as we search those old and ancient, more unusual and often amusing memorials. 'Here lies window cleaner Marcus Burke, Who alas stepped back to admire his work.'

The Tempification of the American Workforce: The tempification of the American workforce continues apace. While job losses make headlines, we don't hear as much about an equally insidious trend: real jobs with benefits are being replaced by "contracting opportunities" and temporary placements. In October, the U.S. economy created 34,000 new temp jobs, while posting a net loss of 190,000 jobs. Some media reports have hailed local upticks in temporary employment as portents of an improving job market. The idea is that employers are using temporary workers until they feel secure enough in the recovery to hire full-time workes back.
That's one hypothesis. The other possibility is that employers are ditching permanent employees and replacing them with long-term temps. The great Perm to Temp shift didn't start yesterday. From 1969 to 1993, the number of part-time workers in the American workforce nearly doubled. This surge in part-time employment accounted for a quarter of all growth in the labor market. From 1982 to 1990, the payrolls of temp agencies grew ten times faster than the workforce as a whole. By 2005, contingent workers accounted for nearly a third of the U.S. workforce.
Bosses like temps because they are "flexible," i.e., because they can be hired and fired at will. Temp workers tend to earn less and enjoy fewer benefits than their permanent counterparts. The tempification of the economy helps keep permanent workers' expectations low. Mixing temps with full-time staffers on the same jobsite is a time honored way to keep a workforce internally divided. From a union perspective, temporary workers are even harder to organize than the rest of the private sector because they are dispersed and highly mobile. They could use advocates: Temporary workers are more likely to be hurt on the job, according to a paper published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association. They are also less likely to have health insurance. Only 13% of temporary workers have health insurance, compared to 77% of workers with permanent jobs.
In her recent book, Wage Theft In America, Kim Bobo argues that a culture of temporary employment errodes employers' sense of responsiblity for the well-being of their workers. Daphne Dolan summed up that mindset in an interview with the Chicago Tribune last week, "[Employers] want a receptionist who's also an administrator and answering the phone and making the coffee. They want hybrid people." Pictured - June Beckman, a part-time worker with the cleaning contractor Scrub, cleans a window at O'Hare International Airport's Terminal 3 in Chicago, Ill.

Burnley family: We want justice for Sean -The family of a man who was found dead in undergrowth after going missing from his home have vowed to continue their fight for ‘justice’ for the 36-year-old. Following the discovery of window cleaner Sean Coupe in bushes near Lowerhouse Lodge, Burnley, in May 2006, his mother Kathleen has been critical of police investigations into his demise. An open verdict was yesterday recorded by East Lancashire coroner Richard Taylor, after a two-day inquest into Mr Coupe’s death , after he heard that a number of unanswered questions remained about his last movements.
Mr Coupe, a father-of-two, had left his home in Bear Street, Burnley, around 1am, after a disagreement with his on-off partner Katie Wakeford. He had taken a quilt, pillow and a number of insulin pens, which he used to control the diabetes he had suffered from since he was 15. He was found the following lunchtime after a search by his family and friends, Burnley Coroner’s Court was told.
The deceased’s mother, Kathleen, of Bath Street, Nelson, said she was unhappy about a number of aspects of the police investigation following his death. One of her chief complaints was about the log of her son’s property, particularly the number of insulin pens he was carrying and how many were found to be used at the time of his death. Dr Walid Salman, who conducted a post-mortem examination on Mr Coupe, gave the cause of death as ‘unascertainable’. But a further review by Dr John Grant showed the most probable cause was broncho-pneumonia. Mrs Coupe said: “There was never a proper police investigation in the first place and there has not been since. “He was a really good son and we just want justice for him. I am not saying he was perfect but he was a nice person. We just want answers because we don’t think the truth has come out so far.”
The family has complained to the Independent Police Complaints Commission over the police investigation. Retired police detective inspector Sam Birtwell, who led the initial inquiry, said that whatever obligations may have existed, regarding the deceased’s disappearance, no criminal offence had been committed. Mr Birtwell said that there was no evidence of foul play, regarding the death, whatever concerns the family may have. In his report into the death he concluded: “It is my contention that Sean took an insulin overdose as part of an attention-seeking exercise. “He reckoned that he would be found in time.”

UAE-based Transguard Group part of the Emirates Group Company, has today announced that is has signed a contract with The Radisson Blu Hotel and Park Inn on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, to supply housekeeping solutions at the newly opened hotels. Under the terms of the contract, Transguard will supply a team of 24 staff, to provide cleaning to the public areas throughout the hotel as well as window cleaning services. “Our discerning guests expect the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene - it is an integral part of our brand offering. Transguard understands our brand values and we are confident that they can deliver their promise,” said Mr. Torbjorn Bodin, GM, Radisson Blu Hotel, Abu Dhabi Yas Island.
“Although we have set an aggressive opening occupancy budget, we are aware that this will be achieved in peaks and troughs. Transguard can provide the right manning and flexibility needed at all times giving us an immediate and cost-effective option, in line with our operational requirements,” said Mr. Torbjorn Bodin, GM, Radisson Blu Hotel, Abu Dhabi Yas Island.

Growing the Arts - Lexington, KY - What began about 10 years ago as a way for Lexington's Living Arts & Science Center to help pay for its fundraisers has evolved into a successful corporate sponsorship program that touches the most important part of the center's mission: its educational programs. Sponsorships, which include cash contributions as well as in-kind donations of goods and services, account for about 20 percent of the Living Arts & Science Center's annual budget, or about $90,000, said Heather Lyons, the center's executive director.
"Our sponsors enable us to do the work we do. We cannot survive on grants." Michael T. Stuart, owner of Fayette Window Cleaning and a corporate contributor to the Living Arts & Science Center, said he values the center's commitment to a broad cross-section of Lexington's youth while keeping expenses under control. "As a business owner, one of the most important things to me is investing and spending my company's money wisely," Stuart said. "The Living Arts & Science Center works very hard to keep costs down and to solicit donated items for programming and classroom needs. I know that when Fayette Window Cleaning invests in the Living Arts & Science Center, we will have a positive impact on the education of Lexington's children through the arts and sciences."

While his current teammates competed in the 2008 season, Florence went to the Summer Olympics in Beijing with an evangelical group and made some extra money by working as a window washer around Waco. It gave him the opportunity for another year of maturity before his chance to play arrived this season.
Florence set the Baylor single-game passing record last week, blistering Missouri for 427 yards and three touchdowns passes. Coming into the game, Florence had thrown only two touchdown passes in his previous 147 attempts in his career.

Exclusive Jaret Premiere + Other Window Cleaning Videos

The New Star of WCR - hot off the press: 11 year old Jaret of "Jarets Window Cleaning" from Akron, Ohio maybe the youngest window cleaner going! This Video can be watched in high resolution from tomorrow at the Window Cleaning Resource website.
Video1, Video2, Video3.

Some professional window cleaning gear might be needed in Chong-ro in Seoul, Korea. Still not had enough? Watch speed cleaning in Sweden with Ivan Bengtsson at the squeegee speed comps'.

Homeowners with garage squeegees & pipe..

Health & safety at it's worse "just to keep you on your toes" & quite seasonal as well for this time of year! - Count the mistakes..

Mark Strange of "Beautiful View" from Toronto, Canada gives us another installment with a few more unbiased reviews of products from Window Cleaning Resource in the window cleaners workplace.

Video of a story from yesterday featuring Tony Gonzalez of the Atlanta Falcons & Extreme Clean 88..

Intense training before gutter cleaning season at WCR..

A fascination for Unger window cleaning equipment...

Window Cleaning News + Video

Mongolian rally - The lengths some people will go to in order to help others. Next summer, Mike Ashton and his crew will drive nearly 10,000 miles and through 20 countries to Mongolia - and, once they've arrived, they plan to leave their car there. That's because they're competing in the 2010 Mongolia Charity Car Rally, in which entrants donate their vehicle, equipment and cash to suitable charities in the remote country. The Rally starts on July 11.
Mongolia is nearly five times the size of the UK but only has one major accident and emergency unit. Mike's team intends to contribute a four-wheel-drive ambulance that's fully equipped to save lives in Mongolia. He was inspired by the need for him to require emergency treatment at the A & E department at his local hospital, treatment that most of us take for granted. Mike's team is called NoMad Adventure. He will be joined on the drive by his son Callum 16, and Syd Wall, a friend. The team's first fund-raising event is on November 13 at Talton Lodge, Crimscote for a Mongolian-themed evening of food and entertainment with a lot of local companies donating the meal and drink.
The team is looking for main sponsors to cover the costs of the vehicle, fuel, equipment and visas, as well as the all-important vehicle preparation. A self-employed gardener/window cleaner and greenwood craftsman, Mike intends to make large quantities of charcoal for his wife to sell during next summer, in order to replace his income while he'ds off raising money. The rally starts in London on July 11 - after that, the crews are on their own. Sponsors for vehicles, equipment and general help can pledge their support on the Mongolia Charity Rally 2010 page on the Charity Rallies website where there's a wealth of information and pictures about previous rallies, the vehicles donated and the projects supported.

Record for pocket powerhouse Tommy: Pint-sized strongman Tommy Campion has broken the world record for being the lightest competing bodybuilder. The window cleaner turned muscleman entered the Guinness Book of Records after weighing in at 55.5 kilos – eight-and-a-half stone. Tommy, who lives in Presthope Road, Pennywell, travelled to Manchester this summer for an over-50s competition where he weighed in at a record light weight. Now the dad-of-three has received his official certificate from adjudicators. "It's a novel achievement, I know, but it's still something to get yourself in the Guinness Book of Records," Tommy said. "I've now got the certificate to prove it." The 51-year-old, who is also a keen runner, said his low weight, is not down to dieting, but to genes. At just 5ft 2in tall, Tommy said he takes after his "slightly built" mum. "I'm pretty sure that's where I get it from," he said. "She was this tiny, little person. "I was only six stone when I left school at 16 and I almost became a jockey at one point. Somehow I got into bodybuilding and I really took to it." Tommy began bodybuilding 25 years ago and for the past eight years has been competing as a member of the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation. In recent years he has been placed fifth and sixth in national competitions.

Who must clean windows (South Africa)?
Question:
In a sectional title complex or block of flats, is the body corporate responsible for cleaning the outside windows?
Answer:
At the moment the situation with regard to window panes is not clear, but there is an amendment to the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986 (the Act) in the pipeline. This will provide that the boundaries of sections go through the middle of window frames and it will then be clear that the exterior portion of windows is always common property.
The body corporate is responsible to repair and maintain the common property, including common property windows. However, common property maintenance would not normally be considered to include the cleaning of all exterior window panes, even once it becomes clear that these are all common property.
In a high-rise building where occupants cannot easily clean their own windows, the rules of the scheme may oblige the body corporate to employ window-cleaners. In schemes where occupiers can readily access the exterior of their windows, they will not normally be entitled to insist that the body corporate clean the outside of the window panes.
As the situation is currently not clear from the provisions of the Act, it is suggested that this issue be dealt with in a scheme’s rules so that all owners in the scheme are aware of what the position is for their scheme.

Gonzalez is still cleaning up here: Tony Gonzalez may not play football in Kansas City anymore, but a piece of him remains here. As everyone knows, Gonzalez now lives in Atlanta, where he plays tight end for the Atlanta Falcons. But Gonzalez still operates his business, Extreme Clean 88, out of Lenexa. While Gonzalez concentrates on football during the season, the day-to-day operations of Extreme Clean 88 are handled by Dennis Allen, Gonzalez’s cousin and co-founder and manager of the business.
Gonzalez calls Allen at least four times a week to offer advice or render suggestions. Gonzalez admitted Monday that this area holds special meaning to him. “I grew up in Kansas City,” he said. “Kansas City will always be my base. It’s where I started my career. And it’s where Extreme Clean 88 started.” In 2007, he bought into Rigdon Inc., a company that specialized in window cleaning. The name was changed to Extreme Clean 88. Gonzalez added services, including hood exhaust cleaning, gutter cleaning and janitorial services. Extreme Clean 88 now has about 40 employees.
A family connection sparked Gonzalez’s interest in commercial cleaning. He has an uncle that runs a similar business on the East Coast and in Tennessee. Gonzalez has been successful in snagging work around town almost as easily as he snags passes from quarterbacks. The company almost doubled its revenue in 2007, and this year business is up 50 percent.
The company cleaned the Arrowhead Stadium training facility and did the final cleanup on the Arrowhead Stadium improvements. The company also did the final cleaning on the glass of the Sprint Center before it opened to the public. “The business has been doing well despite the challenges with the economy,” said Kerry Rigdon, the other manager and co-founder. “We’re growing and looking to expand on our current services.” Depending on his health and the team he has in Atlanta, Gonzalez told his cousin that he plans to play only a couple more years. After he retires, he wants to expand the business.
With Gonzalez serving as the face of the company, its services have been easy to market. “There’s some credibility that goes with that,” Rigdon said. “Tony opens doors. He has a brand that gives people a level of comfort.” The company also has done work at schools such as Kansas State University and Johnson County Community College and at the four casinos in the area. “When the economy comes back, we’re going to be doing pretty good,” Rigdon said. Kansas City shouldn’t feel slighted by Gonzalez’s departure. He’ll obviously devote more time to his business once he hangs up the pads. Watch the videos.

OTTAWA, Canada — Mark Albert, a 45-year-old man killed in a rowhouse fire Saturday morning, lived on loyalty. Dave Stenson, owner of Howard’s Pawn Shop on Carling, said Albert had been cleaning his windows for the past 10 years. As kids, the two would go fishing together at Britannia Pier. But as they grew up, Albert grew apart from his friends and family. Through window washing, Albert relied on people like Stenson to keep himself financially afloat. He was a fixture in the Bayshore area, plying the streets looking for clients. “He’s a lifelong resident of the west end,” Stenson said. “All I was doing was giving him a couple of bucks to get by.” Albert died in Unit 13 at 2959 Penny Dr., in a fire that took 36 firefighters over an hour to bring under control. The fire broke out shortly after midnight in a second-floor bedroom before spreading to the roof, fire officials said. They estimated structural damage at $200,000 and contents damage at $250,000.

The body of an elderly man has been found in rural farmland between Burnley and Pendle. Police said they were investigating whether the body was that of Jessie Shaw, 83, who went missing three weeks ago. Although a formal identification has yet to be made, Jessie’s daughter, Julie Shaw, said she was ‘convinced’ it was her dad. She said a lifelong friend of her father made the discovery while out hunting in fields close to Higham on Saturday lunchtime. Despite having no official confirmation that it is that of her dad, she said she was ‘99.9 per cent sure’ it was him.
She said: “It’s our dad. He had the same clothing on that he was wearing when he disappeared. Jessie, who had suffered from Alzheimer’s for four years, spent all his life in Padiham and worked down the pits before starting his own window cleaning business.

"DIRTY JOBS" - Is there any job that is just off limits to the show or to Mike? Eddie Barbini (producer of "dirty jobs") - " Not really." "We haven't turned down a job yet." "Mike is always game for whatever is up as long as it's not dangerous but he walks that fine line putting himself in situations that you just think 'How is this guy going to do this?'" "Last week, what aired is the window-washing segment in Hawaii." "Mike washes windows on an over-400 foot skyscraper in Hawaii." "He washes it not in the traditional way on scaffolding but he's actually in a little swing seat that he goes down with pulleys along the side of the building." "I'll tell you that it's frightening." "Our cameraman wouldn't even go on and backed out of it." "Actually, it'll rank up there at the top as one of the dirtiest jobs even though it's not dirty in the sense of dirt but the characters are phenomenal and the experience is phenomenal and Mike is hysterical in it."

Window Cleaning Rounds For Sale

Membership site for window cleaners: Since October 2006 Window Cleaning Resources have been providing a free online service for window cleaners. The tips, articles, products and industry links have helped hundreds of window cleaners in the developing of their business. More recently Window Cleaning Resources developed a site for the purpose of buying and selling window cleaning rounds called "window cleaning round for sale."

With hundreds of rounds being advertised and sold in the past year or so, the site quickly became the UK’s marketplace of window cleaning rounds. “We’re working on developing the rounds for sale site so that it becomes an online marketplace not just for window cleaning rounds but second hand vans and equipment, job vacancies, subcontract work opportunities and more,” explains Mark Henderson, owner of the company.

“The site has a lot of potential but the development of it obviously requires a financial investment which meant moving to a subscription basis arrangement. I have a web developer working on the project at the moment and you can expect to see more features on the site appearing in coming weeks. The move to a subscription basis didn’t please everybody but the response from most has been acknowledgment of the fact that the new format brings with it a lot of benefits for serious buyers and sellers.” Recently an article ‘Good News and Bad News’ was posted on the new Window Cleaning Resources blog explaining some of these key benefits since the subscription arrangement was introduced.:

Good news for sellers:

• Now you don’t need to worry about posting details of your livelihood on the internet for the whole world to see. Only those that have paid a subscription fee will be able to see who you are.
• Previously it was not unusual for a seller to be contacted by literally 20 different interested parties wanting to buy the same round. Inevitably, among these there would be some time wasters. With 20 potential buyers you obviously don’t want to be messed about by a time waster. Now, the first ones to call you will likely be the ‘early bird’ Full Members that have paid for the privilege of receiving an email notification as soon as any rounds are added to the site. These callers have already shown a level of commitment having paid to be first in line to call you. Meaning, less chance of them being a time waster.
• You can now log into your account and mark the round as Sold as soon as it sells or update the advert if you sell part of a round.
• If you are selling up and want to sell your van, system or equipment separately then you can you can advertise it in the Equipment section.

Good news for the buyers:

• If you are the type that likes to be first in line at the sales to grab a bargain then you can opt to be an ‘early bird’ Full Member and receive email notification of new adverts as soon as they appear on the site.
• You are not going to be pushed out by someone that just wanted to have a nosey at the work and get an idea of how much they charge.
• You can now post an advert for Rounds Wanted so people come to you with work for sale. Once again these are people that have shown a level of commitment having paid the subscription fee in order to contact you.
• You only need to pay when a round comes up that you are interested in, unless you want to receive the email notification as soon as new rounds are added as a Full Member.
• It only costs £5 every 3 months to be a Basic Member (which allows you to place for sale adverts and to view contact details) or £10 every 3 months to be a Full Member (which allows you to place for sale and wanted adverts and also to be notified of new adverts.) Of course, you can cancel the subscription at anytime and still have full access until the account expires at the end of the 3 month period.
• Since there are loads of rounds for sale you can now search the site using a combination of criteria or keywords to quickly find what you are looking for.

“With more additions to the site coming soon included in the membership package, I’m determined to make the site even better and provide the industry with a site that plays a key role in the development of window cleaning businesses is the UK.”

Window Cleaning T.V.

Want to know what that window cleaning product does? All the different brands of window cleaning equipment? How to utilise it? Which soap or chemicals to buy? See those scrapers, gutter cleaning equipment & also water fed pole equipment before you buy. Maybe even watch a few shows & opinions on tools with Mark or grab a few tips from Mr. Sanchez? Tony Evans with his "weather or not" show & all the window cleaning nation episodes in one place. These videos & more can be found all in one place - Window Cleaning T.V. You'd be mad not to see it! Often imitated but never beaten - WCR has it all. Now with a new store! Bookmark it now & see it updated week in, week out.

Need more? - get your order in today & get a chance to win a new water fed pole here.

Window Cleaning News & Video

A window washer near the Oak Bay/ Victoria border narrowly escaped injury this morning when a car plunged through the second storey of a building. Around 10:30 a.m. a 79-year-old man drove his grey Toyota Matrix over two parkade curbs through the glass at 1625 Oak Bay Ave., a three-story commercial building, and onto the street, said Const. Peter Lane. The car plunged into a concrete wall and flipped onto its roof. A window cleaner was on the ladder cleaning third floor windows adjacent to the exit site. “Had he been positioned just a few feet over we would have had a fatality,” said Lane. The driver was taken to hospital with what police say appear to be non-life-threatening injuries. Police say it appears the accident was the result of driver error and confusion.

Halloween trick is no treat for shop owners left to clear mess: A West Port shop owner targeted by Halloween vandals has slammed a police campaign aimed at cutting down on anti-social behaviour, writes Kenny Paterson. Operation Gremlin was launched last week with Lothian and Borders police officers asking shopkeepers not to sell eggs or flour to youngsters. But despite this, six Selkirk shops on Market Place and West Port awoke on Sunday morning to find they had been splattered with both substances. And one of the victims, Hazel Cowburgh, owner of The Needle Point, believes the high-profile campaign had encouraged the attackers rather than scared them off. Mrs Cowburgh suggested footage from a CCTV camera situated on West Port should be used to expose the trick or treat culprits. She added: “Why hasn’t footage from the camera been circulated to newspapers by the police? I’m sure the people who threw the eggs and flour would not do so again if they knew they had been caught on camera.”
A police spokeswoman said they have received no complaints about the shop attacks in Selkirk, and labelled Operation Gremlin – which also covers Guy Fawkes celebrations – as a success. She said: “Obviously it has been distressing for the shopkeepers involved but this was a one-off and as it was not reported it must be regarded as a minimal incident. “The campaign was made high profile by the media interest, not by the police. Whether this triggered these attacks in Selkirk we will not know. “Police officers were able to positively interact with youngsters during the operation and although we can’t stop every act of anti-social behaviour, we believe the numbers of calls received will be fewer than last year’s Halloween period.”

Cheltenham regulars strip for charity: With only a carefully placed bar to cover their modesty, at least it's all for a good cause. Bar staff and drinkers at the Five Alls pub, in Bath Road, Cheltenham, are following in the footsteps of Calendar Girls and getting naked in aid of the Psoriasis Association. They have stripped off in memory of pub regular Martyn Holder who died from a psoriasis-related disease. Several pictures for the 2010 calendar have already been shot at the Leckhampton pub, with the final photographs being taken at the end of this week. Close friend Jonny Hart, 41, said he was quite happy to peel off his clothes for the cause. The window cleaner can be seen exposing his derriere as he stretches to clean the pub's windows. Jonny said: "It was a great laugh. I didn't feel nervous because it was just a bunch of guys doing something for their mate. Martyn was a very close friend of mine. I'd known him since I was 17 years old.

Mourning the loss of soaping: Three days after Halloween and around town the windows don't look any cleaner than they did the last day of October. I guess kids really don't soap windows anymore. As the owner of more windows than Gayle can get me to regularly wash, I guess I should be grateful that this is one Halloween tradition that's gone the way of the stolen outhouse and free candy X-rays at the local ER.
The soap had to be Ivory. Softer than Dial or Lifebuoy, when dragged across plate glass, even on a chill autumn evening, it left a nice, thick, legible white line with no crumbling. No question, if you were going to go window soaping, the soap of the pros was Ivory. And there was the memorable year when someone took time and effort to write out a description of a cheerleader's alleged indiscretion in some intimate detail across most of the bank window, a civic embarrassment that remained legible for several days since the chronicler chose to use paraffin wax. Paraffin, on the other hand, demanded hours of scraping with a single-edge razor blade and even then "yer dum" could be discerned in the frost and fog until it was finally vaporized by the July sunshine. Wiser than we usually credited them, grown ups took steps to defend themselves and their windows against the annual assault by canning wax.
Downtown, store owners slopped their windows with a rich soap solution that kept wax from sticking and washed off in a jiffy before the start of business the next day. Throughout October, Milton Graf simply wouldn't sell wax to kids - at least not to me. With a particular target fixed in my mind, I did once attempt the never fail "Mom sent me" end run ... What worked for cigarettes didn't make the grade when the grocer sensed his display window might be at risk. What kind of jam was she making, he wanted to know, just four months after the last strawberry had been picked? He took my money, put the Parowax back on the shelf and got me a double-size bar of Ivory with the suggestion I give it to my mother to wash my mouth out for telling fibs. I left with the soap, but he was on my list.

Hope fades of finding missing Padiham man alive: The family of an Alzheimer’s sufferer who has been missing for 19 days say they have all but given up hope of finding him alive. Jesse Shaw, 83, was last seen leaving his home of 18 years in Ingham Street at around 4.30pm on October 17. Only hours earlier he had been seen “laughing and joking” at his grandson’s 18th birthday party, the last time many of his family saw him. Police, family, friends, and even total strangers have all helped comb the countryside of East Lancashire over the last two-and-a-half weeks, but they have failed to find Jesse. Jesse, who has suffered from Alzheimer’s for four years, has spent all his life in Padiham and worked down the pits before starting his own window cleaning business, as well as playing for Padiham Football Club. Julie said: “He was really well known in the town, mostly because of his business.

Keeping it local could be key to surviving crunch in Ludlow: At a time when many shops and businesses are fighting for their lives in Ludlow, one of the town’s best-loved centres of entertainment is plotting a course for others to follow. Ludlow shopkeepers are in many cases looking for salvation from the run-up to Christmas, which for some may be a make or break time. Local tradesmen are also employed where possible to carry out work on the building and also for maintenance tasks such as window cleaning.

Pressure Cleaner Injured In Chemical Explosion: ROYAL PALM BEACH, Florida: A pressure cleaner was injured after some chemicals he was mixing exploded. The incident occurred at about 11 a.m. outside 128 Derby Lane. Fire-rescue crews inspected the chemicals that were used at the time of the explosion. Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue District Chief Robin Herring said the owner of Kevin's Pressure Cleaning was mixing chemicals in a 5-gallon bucket when he was injured. Herring said it was possible the man was smoking at the time. "We don't know whether the chemicals mixed caused the reaction or the actual fumes from the chemical, plus the smoking," Herring said. The man suffered chemical burns to his chest and a laceration to his cheek. He was taken to Palms West Hospital.

Rotarians inaugurate clean windows project: The Rotary Club of Hot Springs Village is about to "brighten a few days." Earlier this month, the club's board approved a new, hands-on service project called "Clean Windows for a Brighter Day." On a designated work day in late October, Rotary Club members and their families will tackle window washing for Village residents who can no longer accomplish that task on their own. The idea originated with Paul Coy, associate pastor of Christ of the Hills United Methodist Church. As voiced by Coy, "There is no greater need in our community than for someone to help house-bound Villagers see the outside world through clean windows." The project is being led by Rotarians Leona Hess and Craig Blackburn.

Custodial staff adapts to $1.25M cut: Drastic budget cuts occurred in waves during the last 10 years at the University of Cincinnati, and the custodial department received the brunt of it. Working around a $1.25 million budget cut for the 2009-10 academic year, the custodial staff is adapting to the increased number of students on campus with a decreased number of maintenance resources. “We have lost vacancies through budget reductions for almost every year for the past 10 years in our maintenance, housekeeping and grounds departments,” said Rick Wiggins, director of facilities management. “This results in the reduction of service frequencies and increased deferred maintenance.” All window cleaning is contracted outside of UC.

THE only possible downer to Cuci The Musical is that it threatens to be more of a lengthy stand-up comedy routine by the funny leading cast, who have set their reputations as people who are able to tickle the funny bone. Cuci The Musical, is based on the film. The musical still revolves around the dreams of their family business in the small outfit called Cuci-Cuci Services being the best to count the Petronas Twin Towers as one of their contracts. A chance meeting later, the quartet are invited to participate in the Window Washing Olympics (WWO) – a competition run by, Citi Jasmin. Who would have thought Cuci could be so much fun, despite not having wet t-shirts?

World's tallest building Burj Dubai is crane-free: The last crane was down by the third week of October. The building, when completed, will meet all four criteria listed by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) – the body that classifies the world's tallest structures.
CTBUH measures the height of buildings to the structural top, the highest occupied floor, the top of the roof and the tip of the spire, pinnacle, antenna, mast or flag pole. Emaar said last month that the Burj Dubai tower has accomplished a world record for the highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade. Keeping the tower façade clean will be the next engineering challenge, it said. "To guarantee that every corner of Burj Dubai sparkles, 18 window-washing units are built into the tower," said the statement.

Terry "turbo" Burrows gets interviewed by the "Good Morning" team on British T.V.

Here's George Muir from Glasgow emulating Terry..

Mark Strange of "Beautiful View" from Toronto, Canada gives us another installment with a few more unbiased reviews of products from Window Cleaning Resource in the window cleaners workplace, this week he is trying out Sham Wow as an alternative to the traditional window cleaners choice.

Tony Evans of "A New View window cleaning" gives us another episode in the weather or not summer edition.

Tom Snyder gained national fame as the host of Tomorrow with Tom Snyder (more commonly known as The Tomorrow Show), which aired late nights from 1973–1982. It was a talk show unlike the usual late-night fare, with Snyder, cigarette in hand, alternating between asking hard-hitting questions and offering personal observations that made the interview closer to a conversation. Here he is with RCA building window washer Milton Gross.

Window Cleaners Adapt to Architecture

The most recent edition of the European Cleaning Journal (ECJ) contained an article of the challenges of window cleaning today. Michelle Marshall, Editor of the European Cleaning Journal was kind enough to provide the full print copy to read below.

Cleanable windows - What are the most difficult cleaning challenges that a professional window cleaner has to face? And what equipment has been developed to cope with such tough challenges? Ann Laffeaty looks at aspects of the industry such as high-rise cleaning, large areas of glass and difficult-to-reach areas and discovers how window cleaning is being adapted to make all windows cleanable.

Photo courtesy of Unger

Window cleaning used to be a relatively simple process. One window was much the same as another, after all, and window cleaners required very few tools to carry out their trade successfully. In most cases a ladder, a bucket, a squeegee and a chamois would be sufficient. Where the building was particularly tall, a rail-like structure would be fitted around the top of the building and a cradle would operate from this. But various factors have conspired to complicate the window-cleaning task. On the one side, stringent new health and safety laws have outlawed the practice of cleaning from a ladder above a certain height. Cradles are no longer always a viable alternative either, mainly due to the escalating cost of insurance but also because the shape of modern buildings sometimes makes a rail impossible to fit.

Meanwhile, the fact that architects are becoming increasingly ambitious in their quest for that unique, award-winning design means they are building highly creative structures whose windows are often difficult to clean. Vice-president of Ettore Products Europe Niels Ysbrandy confirms this. “We find that about 10-20 per cent of buildings these days have freaky architecture that looks fantastic and the architects are applauded for it – then six months later the building manager finds it is impossible to clean, or the cleaning cost is 10 times what it should be,” he said. “For example there are buildings that are very difficult to access because they are in a car park or surrounded by hedges or trees. Sometimes it is practically impossible to get to the glass area because it is curved or set at an angle. This can occur in any type of building whether it is an office block, a school or an airport.”

Leaded light windows in historic buildings, pubs and churches also present a problem since these have to be cleaned by hand with a sponge and then a chamois, he said. “Large areas of glass are also a challenge,” added Ysbrandy. “If you have a smooth surface you can clean it very fast and efficiently, but any obstacle will slow down the process.”
According to Ysbrandy water-fed poles have greatly improved the situation. “These can be used from the ground and will clean the windows using pure water, which means there are no mineral deposits on the glass,” he said. “It is not rocket science, but water-fed poles have been the biggest breakthrough in the industry for some years.”

Ettore also offers various tools for hard-to-access cleaning. These include Reach poles that have an angle adaptor claimed to be particularly effective for use on solarium glass. The company also offers telescopic squeegees that combine an absorbent sponge head with a metal handle that extends up to seven feet.
According to Unger’s marketing co-ordinator Alex Droste, one of the major challenges facing today’s window cleaners are the large, high buildings whose entire roof is made of glass. These are often encountered in new train stations and big industrial buildings, for example. “It means you have to walk over the glass in order to access and clean the central areas, which is very hard to do.”

Unger’s answer to high-level cleaning is the HiFlo CarbonTec water-fed pole. This uses aluminium and lightweight carbon tubing to allow the user to customise the length up to 50 feet. “But in terms of height it is limited,” said Droste. “If you have a very complicated job you may need a crane, but then it becomes expensive. Sometimes buildings are cleaned by teams of abseilers but this is not very common in Europe. There is always a high cost and safety factor when dealing with high-rise, complicated buildings.”
He said the growing problem was a by-product of modern building design. “Architects are creating buildings that look very nice, but they don’t ask the window cleaners for their suggestions on how to clean them. Sometimes they are consulted but often they are not – and many window cleaning companies would like to be involved.”

This is exactly what a UK organisation is trying to achieve through the Building Cleanability Awards (BCA). This annual event encourages architects to consider how new buildings are to be cleaned by presenting an award to those designers who create the most 'cleanable' buildings.
The importance of building cleanability is greater now than ever according to BCA chairman Paul Taylor, who is also director of cleaning and facilities management contractor Incentive QAS.
“About 25-30 years ago everything was cleaned by ladder or cradle, but today’s designers have gone mad with their pencils and between them and EU legislation it is very rare that a building these days can be cleaned by ladder,” he said. “Cradles are not always viable because insurance is so expensive and if you look at modern buildings such as the Gherkin in London, where do you fit a cradle?

Another British building that must be a challenge for window cleaners is the Spinnaker Tower that overlooks Portsmouth harbour. It is a 170 metre high structure but the glass doesn’t start until 20 floors up - and then it is in the shape of a sail. You wonder how they clean buildings such as this - as well as other modern structures such as the newest hotel buildings in Dubai. It must be a nightmare.” He says the problem arises from the fact that building owners are increasingly demanding that their buildings should stand out, and architects are keen to deliver on this. “In the US and Australia, building designers consult with the cleaning bodies when designing a building. But in Europe we tend to build to be pretty rather than functional.”

However, this year the BCA has achieved a breakthrough in terms of dialogue with building designers. “For the first time in 16 years, the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists have come on board and are helping to promote the Building Cleanability Awards to their architect and design members,” said Taylor. “This will hopefully lead to a new period of co-operation between designers and cleaners.” Director of the Building Cleanability Awards Richard Chisnell added: “We don’t want to cramp the designers’ creativity and make every building a square box, but we would like to encourage them to think how their creations are going to be maintained after the construction team has moved off the site. “Sometimes it is only once that has happened that the penny drops and they think: 'How are we going to clean this?’”
He said factors that should be considered in the design stage were that no trees, hedges or grass were planted too close to the building and that space for parking cherry-pickers was provided. Sometimes windows should be capable of being cleaned from the inside to make life easier for the window cleaners.

According to Chisnell, incorporating cleanable design features into new buildings would go a long way to facilitating the cleaning task while also ensuring the safety of the workforce. “In recent years a whole generation of abseilers have come on to the scene whose task is to clean the highest-rise windows,” he said. “That is fine as long as they comply with health and safety regulations – in fact, it shows that the cleaning industry has done its bit to move with the times.
“But we want to raise the profile of cleaning within the building industry and we are very encouraged by the fact that the designers have said yes, you have a point, we would like to support it.
“In the meantime the window cleaning industry has been sufficiently flexible and adaptable to rise to any challenge. In fact, that’s why we are the thriving industry we are today.”

Photo courtesy of Mr Longarm