Window Cleaning News Update

On the job (Perth, Australia)- Samford Housewashing: Name: Rowan Macaulay
Business: Samford Housewashing
Based at: Samford
What services does your business offer? Machine exterior house washing, window and machine cleaned insect screens, concrete and paving machine cleaning, tiled roof cleaning.
What areas does your business service? Samford, Highvale, Wights Mountain, Camp Mountain, Mt Nebo, Mt Glorious, Dayboro, Mt Mee, Closeburn, Mt Samson, Cashmere and Eatons Hill.
What was your first job? Working in a supermarket in Rockhampton at age 13.
How did you get into your current line of work? In March 1988, I asked Mrs Bev Austin from Mt Nebo if she wanted her windows cleaned as I was thinking of starting a window cleaning business. If she had said no I would have left it at that. Fortunately she said yes! Soon after, Mrs Hilary Harley of Samford asked me if I would wash her house which was a challenge but achievable. 5000 homes later I am still cleaning!
Why is a business like yours so important? As a service industry, housewashing evolved in the late 1980s with the need to present homes for sale and preserve their original cleanliness, largely affected by the humidity of Queensland. Windows and screens have become predominant features of homes as people embrace views, breezes and bug prevention which has led to an increase in the window/screen cleaning business. Water saving cleaning machines evolved and became mandatory in the past two years in South East Queensland’s water crisis, allowing our industry to continue to function.
Before your current job, what were your previous occupations? I worked 15 years in various retail management roles with retailers Myer, Norman Ross and as a store manager of Waltons Fortitude Valley department store. This latter store closed in 1988 and, along with 30 of my staff, I was retrenched. It was time to take my future into my own hands and start a window cleaning business.
What do your customers most appreciate about your services? Returning their phone calls, punctuality, proudly aiming to be a perfectionist with my work and presenting their house as clean as I would want my house. Also, to take an interest in them as individuals as well as clients! I find having a web site is of benefit to them as well.
What is the best part of your job? Looking back at the end of the day and seeing how I have transformed a tired looking house into something fresh, as though the house has been repainted, with the resultant praise from the owner. And, to top it off, being paid!
What advice would you give to anyone considering becoming a house washer? Be prepared for hard work but if you want to grow the business, you will need to achieve the holy grail of receiving referrals from people you have just worked for.
If you didn’t work in your current job, what job would you like to do? Having an events management company.

Window cleaner just hanging around: Sebastien Kazimierski, who has been working as an abseiler/cleaner for close to 10 years, could imagine doing any other job. “This is the first job I've ever had that I will never get bored of,” Mr Kazimierski said. “I like the heights, working on my own, having to look after my own safety and the beach views.” Mr Kazimierski, who was cleaning the Tweed Ultima apartments yesterday with three of his fellow workmates at All Industrial Abseilers, began abseiling in his native Poland and has loved the job ever since. “I started out rock climbing before one of my friends asked me to do some abseiling for his business,” he said.
“I had a break from doing it when I came to Australia and I really missed it. “I really couldn't wait to get back up here. “It's the best thing that I could ever do.” Mr Kazimierski has worked up and down the Gold Coast, but especially loves coming to the Tweed to work. “I love working anywhere near the beach.” His workmate Tom Kane said the weather had been a small issue yesterday, with the early morning rain halting their progress before the wind caused them to be very cautious. “It's pretty hard working when it's windy like this,” Mr Kane said. “You definitely can't work when it's too windy, otherwise your ropes end up getting tangled with the other guys and you can get dragged. It's too dangerous.”

Nuneaton cleaning company boss nominate for award: A Nuneaton businesswoman, who set up a cleaning company with her husband, has been nominated for a top award. The managing director of Reflekt Cleaning, Helen Quinney, of Stockingford, is shortlisted in the Business Person of the Year category for the Midland Business Awards. Reflekt is a commercial window cleaning company based at Haunchwood Park Industrial Estate, in Galley Common, which offers services across the Midlands. Helen set up the company three years ago with her husband, Wayne, a former window cleaner. Both work as joint directors in operations and business strategy. The company has seen tremendous growth. She is among three finalists in this category: “Its a real honour to have been nominated and then shortlisted for the award. I am proud of our achievements so far and excited about what the award will mean to us.

Window cleaning with a difference: Glaziers have restored one of the most important pieces of medieval stained glass in the world. It's taken ten years of painstaking work to clean and reveal the beauty of the St William Window in York Minster. "The huge window, as restored, is amazing" says the Dean of York the Very Reverend Keith Jones. Over the centuries the St William window has been mended many times, using lead that has gradually obscured the beauty of the window. "St William Window." One of the most important pieces of medieval stained glass in the world. Found in the North Quire Aisle of York Minster. Window finished in 1414. Shows the miracles of St William of York. Restoration carried out by York Glaziers Trust.

Bowls, an Algarve invite for Hickey: SIDDAL bowler Graham Hickey (pictured) has been given the perfect tonic for a troublesome knee problem - the offer of a free trip to Portugal in March to launch crown green bowls on the Algarve. Twice Yorkshire Merit winner Hickey is one of 16 top players who have been invited to take part in a five-day tournament to celebrate the opening of the Amendoeira Bowls Club near historic Silves, a 35 minute drive from Faro airport. Elland-raised Graeme Wilson, Brian Duncan, Noel Burrows, Gary Ellis and Lee Lawton are among others who have been given the chance to compete for £5,000 in crown and flat green competitions running from Monday, March 16 to Friday, March 20. Window cleaner Hickey is determined to have some spring sunshine after having to cope with an increasingly painful right knee during the last year.

Gun gang members face long jail terms: Five gang members are today facing jail terms for their roles in a double shooting case which rocked Preston's Callon estate.Until today, the Lancashire Evening Post has been prevented from revealing the full story behind the street shooting which took place almost exactly a year ago today. It can now be revealed that gang members Lee Walsh and John Paul Newsham were convicted of wounding with intent after blasting Mark Whittle and Christopher Ianson at 2.30am on January 26, last year. The pair were acquitted of attempting to murder the two men in October but Newsham, of Devonshire Place, Fishwick, pleaded guilty to two counts of wounding, and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. Co-defendant Walsh, of Willow Crescent, Ribbleton, was found guilty of two counts of wounding with intent. He was cleared of the attempted murder of Mr Whittle and of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. Mr Whittle, 29, a former window cleaner, was blinded in his right eye, while Mr Ianson, 27, received 40 pellet wounds. The incident is said to have arisen from a feud between Walsh and Newsham's gang and Mr Whittle and Mr Ianson after alleged name calling relating to the former girlfriend of one of their associates - Mr Whittle's sister.

Plain abseiling at the town hall: BOLTON Town Hall is not your everyday abseiling venue. But a team of stone masons are using ropes to explore every nook and cranny of the building. They are scaling the heights to check the brickwork — which has not been examined for a number of years — ahead of possible improvement works at the town hall. Staff from specialist abseil firm Russell Finney Industrial Abseiling Services are supervising while inspectors from masonry company Stone Central, who have been trained in abseiling techniques, check the town hall for any wear and tear or damage. Bolton Council says the move will save money too as the alternative to abseiling would be the erection of scaffolding — expensive, time-consuming and unsightly by comparison. The work started on Saturday with five men scaling the clock tower over the weekend to start the inspection. Russell Finney, managing director of Russell Finney Industrial Abseiling Services, which is based in Warrington, is used to working on oil rigs across the globe. He said: “This is the first time I’ve done Bolton Town Hall but we do all sorts of inspections, window cleaning, signage and more.

A BURGLAR who tricked his way into the homes of two elderly men in Warsop has been jailed for three years. Garry Chadwick (28), of Nethercross Drive, Warsop, stole money to feed his drug addiction, spending it all on heroin. Chadwick told his first victim, an 81-year-old man on Sherwood Street, that he was doing a college assignment on pit closures. Prosecutor Sarah Knight told Nottingham Crown Court on Monday how the man invited Chadwick into his house because he recognised him from window cleaning he had done with his father. "He asked for some writing paper then some tissues but both were at hand," said Miss Knight. "So he said he was allergic to tissues and needed some toilet roll." When the elderly man returned, he found £240 of his pension money missing. Then in November of last year, Chadwick stole £40 from and 84-year-old man on Old Hall Close.

This picture appeared on the BBC News Site this week, with a few comments on what size squeegee should be used!