Window Cleaning News

Window cleaner in parking row UK: A Shropshire window cleaner embroiled in a row over parking enforcement was handed another ticket today - despite being told he was exempt while he waits for an appeal hearing. Kim Downer, of Weston Lullingfields, near Baschurch, vowed that he would not pay the fine after he was ticketed while working in Roushill in Shrewsbury this morning. The 62-year-old said he was angry the ticket had been issued as he had been given a waiver by ParkRight ahead of his appeal. The county council, which works in partnership with borough and district councils across the county on the ParkRight scheme, apologised for the ticket being issued and said it would be “automatically revoked”. Mr Downer’s appeal is against a ParkRight ruling that he must pay waiver charges of £5 a day or £40 every 10 days if he is to continue using a van for his work, as he has done for the past 30 years.
This follows on from Mr. Downer's previous parking problems here.
Campbell closure hurting business, shop owners say. Construction work and closed-off streets in downtown Springfield have brought some businesses to a near halt. Business has been so slow at places on Campbell Avenue that shop owners are picking up second jobs, selling items online and even relocating in attempts to save their stores. Jo Warren, who owns "Guess Who Window Cleaning", is one of those people. "I have lost a lot of income," she said Saturday after washing storefront windows. Warren said it's been months since she washed windows of businesses on Campbell Avenue and McDaniel Street. And if she doesn't wash, she doesn't get paid. Businesses are reluctant to have their windows washed on a regular basis while construction is ongoing and dirt is everywhere, she said. "It's affected my business a lot," she said. Warren also said she's frustrated with the traffic the construction and the closure has caused. Although business owners are understanding about the delays, they are looking forward to things getting back to normal. Warren, of Guess Who Window Cleaning, summed it up best when she said: "I just want it to be done - get it over with."

A POLICE pup at the centre of a religious storm was back on the beat yesterday. Six-month-old Rebel unwittingly sparked a row after he was used to highlight a new emergency number. The ad campaign was withdrawn and police apologised after complaints by some Muslims who consider dogs to be unclean. Now the Record can reveal it's not the first time Rebel has been the centre of attention for the wrong reasons. The trainee police dog shut down the firearms section's computer system in March after chewing through a cable. An entry in April reveals: "At home a few weeks ago, Mike had let me out into the back garden to get some fresh air. "Little did he know his window cleaner had just arrived and was preparing to climb his ladder to wash the windows. "That's when I spied the cleaner's magnificent chamois leather. "Before the cleaner could even fill his bucket of water, I was off with his chamois and feeling proud as Punch. He tried to chase me, as did Mike, but you have to be quick to catch the Rebelmeister. "Mike eventually got hold of me and gave me a gentle telling-off. "But he was understanding because I am being trained using a leather chamois at the dog section." Rebel proved he was still popular with the public when he was snapped by passers-by as he returned to the streets of Dundee yesterday.

GLENDORA - Jack and Nikki Hoar's cleaning business has gone Hollywood. The couple, who own a Southland franchise of the MTOclean residential and commercial cleaning service, have joined the set of Country Music Television's "Mobile Home Disaster" show. The program rewards deserving families with a free makeover of their mobile home, drawing upon the services of a contractor, designer and two carpenters. Led by comedic host John Caparulo, the Mobile Home Disaster team surprises a family, sends them on a journey and in just four days completely revamps their home. When the heavy work is completed, MTOclean swoops in to do a final cleaning of countertops, windows, carpeting and other areas. MTOclean offers its services for free and in return gets product placement on the show, according to Nikki. "They'll have a shot of our van pulling up and maybe a window cleaner doing windows with our logo showing on his uniform," she said. "We did their last two homes. They're on break now, but we'll be working with them all next season." Nikki, a former Los Angeles Police Department dispatcher, owns the Glendora-based MTOclean franchise along with her mother, Lynette Turkel. Jack, who previously worked as an LAPD sergeant, helps out with much of the work. The franchise - which employs 25 workers and performs about 100 jobs a week - offers its services throughout Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties. used to be Maids to Order," Nikki said. "But that was bought out by Merrymeeting Inc. When they bought it, they wanted the service to become one-stop shopping, so we added pressure washing, carpet cleaning and floor care and construction service." Jack said the brand transition wasn't exactly smooth. "It was almost like having to start over, because we had people calling every day asking if we were Maids to Order," he said. "We finally had to add that to our advertising." But doing the business' involvement with the show has been rewarding, he said. "Cleaning is not a glamorous industry, but our staff takes a great deal of pride in what they do and they really did a great job helping these families and the CMT staff," he said. The couple's involvement with "Mobile Home Disaster" began when Product Placement Coordinator Clara Haight called after seeing their MTOclean Web site. "She asked if we'd be interesting in donating our services for deserving families," Nikki said. "They weren't happy with the cleaning services they'd tried, and the directors and producers didn't want to have to do it themselves." A representative for Country Music Television offered a statement about its affiliation with MTOclean. "It's worked out great," the statement said. "The show has been really well received." MTOclean is a wholly- owned subsidiary of Merrymeeting Inc., a Cleveland based investment firm specializing in the acquisition and development of franchised brands.