Window Cleaning News & Videos

Residents warned over bogus window cleaners, Gloucestershire: Police in Bishop's Cleeve are warning residents to be on the lookout for bogus window cleaners. PC Phil Groom, from the Safer Community Team, said the bogus callers had been reported as operating in the area last week. “On Tuesday, January 27, we received two separate reports of people purporting to be window cleaners in the neighbourhood," he said. "They were using ladders to access peoples property, and giving a story that they had been asked by their neighbours or family to clean the windows. "We ask residents if they have any doubts regarding anyone’s identity to ring the police immediately”. One of the males was described as white, 5ft 11 to 6ft, aged in his early 30's, of medium build with short dark hair, sporting a small goatee beard and wearing a dark hooded top and jeans. It is believed he was accompanied by an older male, together with a female and driving a red coloured estate car. PC Groom added: “We are anxious to speak to these people as quickly as possible and would be interested to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience over the last few days or may have seen these individuals.” Anyone with any information about these incidents should contact police on 0845 090 1234, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting incident number 215 of January 27.

Web Hosting News, LONDON, United Kingdom - Telnic Limited, the registry operator for the new .tel top level domain (TLD), today announced that small businesses and owner-managers around the world can now get their own domain name which can be used to be found online without the need to build, maintain and host a full Web site. Dubbed the “Webless Web,” .tel domains are set to open up Internet publishing to everyone, regardless of budget or technical expertise. “Small businesses have been caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to getting benefit from the Internet,” said Khashayar Mahdavi, CEO of Telnic. “Until now, they either needed the skills in-house to develop and maintain a Web site, or pay for others to do the same, all without knowing whether or not the site was of interest to their customers. Now, with .tel, small businesses get a presence online akin to a listing in a directory service but under their own brand and their complete control, at a fraction of the cost of a listing in a traditional directory service.” “Plumbers, dry cleaners, chauffeurs, window cleaners, actors, fitness instructors and interpreters, to name but a few, can all take advantage of consolidating their costs in directory listings, saving money on customer communications and benefitting from free SEO built in the .tel domain,” added Mr. Mahdavi. “At a time of economic pressure, there’s a huge opportunity to improve customer communication and access whilst consolidating costs.”

In Energy Management, 3M received the very first window film patent in 1966 and continues to be a world leader in window film technology over four decades later. Today, 3M’s window film portfolio has grown to include solar management, safety and security and decorative technology platforms that are sold in the Automotive, Commercial Building and Residential market segments throughout the world. The Prestige Series, one of 3M’s innovative lines of window film products, are the first clear and non-metal based window films to significantly reduce heat and ultraviolet rays entering a building. These films block up to 66 percent of heat penetrating the window, resulting in less stress on air-conditioning and lower energy costs. 3M continues to break new ground with innovative products and services in the ever-changing, and rapidly expanding energy management market to meet customer needs.
The company’s uncanny ability to mix and match seemingly unrelated technologies plays out time and again to create state-of-the art solutions. For instance, 3M pioneered solar films 25 years ago, when scientists first developed solar energy and mirror films. The company also has significant experience in developing products for long-term exposure to outdoor environments and has unmatched capabilities in weathering. 3M’s 106-year history with established coatings, film, tape, adhesive and optical technologies continues to spur breakthrough innovation with new products and applications in renewable energy to meet ever-changing demands in the marketplace.

Tests on brain of man killed at pub: Tests have been carried out on the brain of a man who died following a row outside a pub in Armoy, the High Court heard yesterday. Amid claims that Darren Murphy (pictured), 32, may have fallen earlier on the night of his death, lawyers also disclosed that post-mortem results will be available in two weeks’ time. The developments were confirmed as a man accused of his manslaughter in December 2007 was allowed to return on bail to his home address. Raymond Hamilton, 37, of Travers Place, Dervock, near Ballymoney, was charged after Mr Murphy, a father of two, was fatally injured outside a bar a few miles away. Hamilton had been staying at an address near Strabane due to fears of tension if he was allowed back to the area where the incident took place. With the arrangements said to be causing him financial problems and labouring and window-cleaning work available closer to home, Mr Justice McLaughlin agreed to let him return to Dervock.

The ladder of the law: A Romanian judge has ruled a man must use a ladder to get into his first floor flat - because his neighbour owns the ground floor entrance. Eugen Dumitrescu, 70, from Pitesti, had been using the entrance for years until he fell out with the family living downstairs.
Now following the ruling he has to climb 15ft up a ladder to get into the sitting room window of his apartment - but is preparing an appeal. "I will take this to the very top," he vowed. "I am talking to my lawyers because I cannot go on living like this. Passers-by see me on the ladder and think I'm either a window cleaner and ask me if I can come and clean their windows or that I am a burglar and call the police.


Vitro launches in Europe its new line of self cleaning glass ECOPURE®: Vitro, announced today the launching of its new product line ECOPURE®, its new self cleaning glass, through its European affiliate Vitro Cristalglass.
• ECOPURE® improves visibility through the glass when it rains.
• Expenses related to window cleaning are reduced considerably.
ECOPURE® is a glass called hydrophobic that is very resistant and colorless which substantially improves visibility during and after it rains. Its exclusive coating destroys organic contaminants on its surface and increases the sliding action of the water over the glass thus allowing for easy elimination of dirt and reduces considerably the frequency of manual window washing. The self cleaning window works thanks to the combined action of two natural elements: sunlight and rain. Sunlight, even on cloudy days, decomposes dirt and grime on the glass. Later when it rains on the window’s surface, without forming drops, the rain completely rinses the residues previously decomposed by the UV sun rays. In addition to the advantage of time savings and maintenance expenses is added the feature of improved visibility through the window when it rains and also, very importantly, it helps the environment by reducing the use of detergents. ECOPURE® is a glass that can be combined with other products from the product selection of Vitro Cristalglass as the treatment is applied on just 1 face of the glass surface.

Last June I hired a company to clean my home's windows (inside and out). A few days later I saw that several windows had some hazing on them. I attempted to clean them again, and the results were the same haze. Then in August I noticed condensation and more hazing on my sunroom window, the biggest in the house. The company was not responsive to my repeated calls to come back and repair the damage. Any suggestions?
Call a different window cleaner or a window-glass fabricator and ask for an assessment, suggests Sam Terry (pictured), the immediate past president of the International Window Cleaning Association, an industry group. Terry, who owns Sparkling Clean Window Co. in Austin, says there are numerous possibilities, so you need to have someone take a look.
If the hazing is between panes, the desiccant incorporated in the edge material is probably spent, and you'll need to replace the glass units. If the windows are still under warranty, the manufacturer should pay some or all of the cost.
If the haze is on the interior or exterior surface, the glass could have microscopic scratches that might or might not be the fault of the window cleaner. One possibility, Terry says, is a phenomenon known as tin-etch hazing. When the glass was made, the manufacturer poured the molten glass onto a large tin tray, so one side of the glass wound up with a microscopically thin layer of tin. An acidic window cleaner or even acid rain could have etched that layer, leaving the glass looking cloudy. The remedy would be to polish the glass with a special buffing machine.
The previous window cleaner didn't necessarily cause the problem, Terry says. "If the windows hadn't been cleaned in a while, the dirt could have been covering a haze that's now visible."


First video: Mr Squeegee (aka Tony Evans) of New View Window Cleaning in Wellman, Iowa gives us a taste of the weather & cleaning windows in cold weather. Second video: Sean the salesman, from window cleaning resource gives us an update on the inititive program for the window cleaners.