Window Cleaning Stories, News & Video

No time to be afraid of heights for window washer: It's a beautiful summer morning, and from atop the Calgary Tower you can take in a fantastic view of the city as it comes to life. Inside the circular observation deck, 160 metres above ground, about a dozen patrons have taken the first elevator of the morning up the tower. Within minutes, these strangers have all gathered at one spot, not to look at the ribbons of asphalt or antlike pedestrians below, but the man calmly standing outside the window, cheerily cleaning the glass with a squeegee. They're looking at Chuck Zemp, who for the better part of 30 years has been polishing one of the best views of Calgary.
"It's a great place, really enjoyable," the 65-year-old says. "And the best part for me is coming inside after and talking to all the people. It's surprising the number of people who come up the elevator petrified who you can talk into standing on the glass floor. "Simply because, if you're stupid enough to be on the outside, then surely it's gotta be safe on the inside!"
Zemp might hold the distinction of having the bravest job in Calgary, a title he's held for decades. When the tower was erected in 1967, Zemp's older brother, Alan, a local window-cleaner, put in a bid to clean its uppermost windows. He won. "I don't think anyone really thought of the significance of the tower. Back then it was just another job," Zemp says. "From then on, whenever the tower was due, the two of us would do it. And it was great, there's always that comfort factor in being out there with someone you know. We just went out, it would take two hours, and we'd do what had to be done."
Alan retired two years ago, leaving Chuck alone to assume the business. Because it's a two-man job, he takes up hired help every two months or so to clear off dust, bugs, spider webs and even the occasional stray bird. "Not too many helpers come back," he says. "The height scares a lot of people." In a small room below the observation deck, we strap on safety harnesses and fill a bucket with water. Zemp swings open a heavy steel door and outside it's a cloud's view of Calgary. We strap the harnesses onto the hanging steel platform and step on to it, 50 storeys off the ground. Zemp, who's done this hundreds of times, is as cool as the morning air.
"If something goes wrong," he says, "it's just five seconds to the ground. Then it's someone else's problem." Zemp wasn't always this confident. In his 20s, when he first began, he was terrified of heights. "I was working with my brother at the time and I had couple of accidents that just took my nerve for heights away," he says. "It was just regular window-cleaning stuff, I almost fell off a ledge, and then a week later, had a swingstage hook rip loose off a building on me. It caused . . . a little bit of terror in me. I couldn't do it." He never went back out on a swingstage. It took him a while to work up the nerve to get back up a ladder, but he did. And about 20 years ago, he convinced his brother to let him back out on the platform outside the Calgary Tower so he could face his fear.
These days he doesn't even think about it, calmly making his way around the tower to the sound of the street below him, completely at peace, as wide-jawed tourists inside snap away with their cameras. It's not everyone's cup of tea, Zemp says, but he loves it. Especially in the warm summer months. "The cold, bitter weather can be awful," he says. "You come around that corner and the wind gets a hold of you and, phew! Right to the bone! But on a summer day like this, you couldn't ask for better." Another Calgary Tower story here.

Friends and family of a teenager who died following an assault in an Eastbourne nightclub have paid tribute to a 'beautiful and gentle' person. Ben Lund, who lived in York Road, was attacked in the basement area of the Funktion Rooms at around 12.45am on Saturday. No weapon was used in the attack but Ben, a former Cavendish School pupil who worked as a window cleaner, died a short while later from his injuries. The post mortem was conducted at Eastbourne DGH and the cause of death was found to be a subarachnoid haemorrhage, bleeding around the brain.
A statement from Ben's family read, "Our family is utterly devastated at the senseless loss of our beloved son, brother, grandson, nephew and cousin. "Our beautiful, gentle Ben, who loved life and always had time and a smile for everyone. A fundamental part of our family has been torn from us and we will never stop loving and missing Ben. "We really appreciate all of the messages of comfort, condolence and support from his friends, lovers and acquaintances - all those who met Ben were brushed with his kindness, he meant the world to all of us."
One friend described him as 'a beautiful soul' and another said Ben would never be forgotten. Ben's brother Luke left a tribute at the scene which read, "I love you Ben. You will always be in my heart. You're the best brother in the world. Love you always and always."
Tributes have come flooding in for Ben and nearly 3,000 people have joined a Facebook group in his memory. "Unless the youngsters of today make a conscious effort to be kinder towards each other, Ben's death, like so many others, will have been in vain." Nicholas Sitko, of Mendip Avenue, Eastbourne, was charged with the murder of Ben Lund on Monday afternoon and appeared before Eastbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning. The 24-year-old was remanded in custody and will appear at the crown court on July 31.

Natalie and Ian Westwell had no intention of adopting a child when they wed after a whirlwind romance in 2005. Natalie had been a single parent to her daughter Megan and son Tristan for nine years before marrying Ian, who was divorced but had no children. Their plan was to try for a child of their own after a honeymoon in South Africa. But the trip changed everything. After the dream wedding, they decided to have a working holiday doing something to help others. On arrival in Durban, they were driven 30 miles to the Makaputu Children's Village, an orphanage which was home to a few of the estimated 3.4 million children who had been orphaned by AIDS in South Africa.
They spent their stay caring for and playing with children who had either been orphaned by parents dying of AIDS or by the death of parents whose neighbours had shot them on learning that they had the disease, sometimes in front of their children. Some of the children had a parent, both parents or other family members still, but the family could not accept the fact that the youngster had HIV. A small, overworked staff and a few volunteers ran the orphanage, which was surrounded by razor wire, not only to stop youngsters from running away but to prevent intruders from kidnapping and abusing the children.
The idea of adopting one of the South African children came to them, but initially they hesitated, because such adoptions seemed to be the preserve of super-rich celebrities like Madonna or Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – not a teacher and window cleaner from Yorkshire who both worked part-time in order to juggle childcare. "We were faced with fear and prejudice," says Natalie. "There are still people who don't understand that there is no risk of cross-infection through their children playing with Star or eating at the same table. Star is oblivious to those kind of feelings, but we made a conscious decision to educate people, printing leaflets for adults and children, for schools and playgroups. People just fear the unknown, but we have to help them to understand so that we can do our bit to make the world a better place for everyone with HIV." Full story here.

Albemarle Window Cleaning is helping homeowners make easy, cost effective, green changes. You hear a lot these days about "going green." Everyone's talking about it, but let's be honest, if you're not going to save money is it really worth it? There are a lot of small things you can do to your home to help you go green and save some green. "One of the easiest things that a homeowner can do themselves, but we also do it for some of our customers, is install weather stripping." said Jim Harshaw, owner of Albemarle Window Cleaning. Take a look at your windows and doors. Is air leaking in or out? The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that air leakage accounts for up to 10 percent of your energy bill. That's wasted energy.

"If you have an 1/8th inch gap under your door that equates to a 2 inch hole in your wall, so you might as well put something there. If you had a 2 inch hole in your wall you're certainly going to plug that hole up with something, so you should do the same thing whether it's a door or a window," said Harshaw. However, it's all about the return on investment. You may spend $50 to $100 to weather strip your whole home but you should see equal energy savings within the first year. Another easy green idea during the summer months is to install a rain barrel.
"It's guilt free watering and you can use this water for anything except for drinking. You can use it to wash your car or wash your windows," said Harshaw. We have had a good dose of rain so far this year, but water restrictions are a common thing during the summer and just a quarter inch of rain falling on an average size roof can give you about 50 gallons of free water in a rain barrel.
Harshaw adds, "So it makes a lot of sense in some areas financially. It makes a lot of sense for ev
erybody conservation-wise."

In these uncertain business times, Martin McDermott, owner of Sun Valley Window Cleaners and the Gutter Filter system, is offering his customers up to $600 on gas or groceries in a rebate offer for his Gutter Filter business. It’s a new loyalty program that is getting more and more popular with business these days. It’s a win-win situation if you need to by the product.

Club boss set to raise money with Shearer snap: The picture looks like any other snap of a high school group - except for the cheeky grin in the front row. A young Alan Shearer is instantly recognisable, even though he is only 13 and just starting out at Gosforth High School. And now the Evening Chronicle is asking whether any of its readers are in the picture alongside the future England captain. Or do you have any other schooldays snaps of the legendary number nine that you want to share? This photo came to light when window cleaner Neville Irving, of Bondicarr Place, was given a copy by a client. And now he intends to raffle it off to help raise money for the football club he helps to run – Seaton Burn.
Mr Irving, 50, is in charge of the under-13s and said: “I was given a copy of the photo by a retired teacher whose windows I clean. “I thought that I could just put it on eBay but really I want it to go to a good home. “I am open to offers, or we might just end up raffling it off to raise money for the club’s funds.” Mr Irving, a qualified referee, added: “Football clubs like ours are always in need of money.

There is no doubt the recession is having an impact both in Northampton and Northamptonshire. There have been high-profile job cuts leading to an increase in unemployment, and the unemployed in the county now outnumber the number of vacancies by nine to one. A stroll through Northampton's residential areas reveals a lack of 'for sale' signs and in the town centre, one in five shops are closed.
Brian Brock, aged 42, a window cleaner from Kingsthorpe, Northampton, said that, so far, he had been fine although he noticed there had been an impact. He said: "There have been a few cutbacks. Instead of people having their windows cleaned every month they're having them done every two months. "I feel like I've escaped so far and my family have been okay, but I know a few people who have lost their jobs or had cutbacks in their hours of work."

A resident on the 3100 block of Walden Lane reported that a stranger came to his door at 4:30 p.m. June 24 and said he had a work order to clean the windows on the home. The resident told him he did not schedule window cleaning for the house. The stranger was insistent he was supposed to wash the windows, but did not show the work order to the resident. Finally, the stranger left in a brown Ford sport utility vehicle with another man. A ladder was sticking out the rear of the truck, but the resident thought it looked too short for a legitimate window cleaning service. The resident noted the Ford's license plate number and reported it to the police. A police search revealed the Ford was registered to a man who had previous arrests for larceny, assault and drug charges.

Trimming fat on campus: If there were a national support group meeting for university officials facing tight budgets, we suspect the gathering would have to be held in a stadium. Or so we were reminded after reading a recent New York Times article about the cost-cutting going on at many universities across the country. “While colleges and universities slashed their spending this year with wrenching layoffs, hiring freezes and halts in construction projects, they whittled away at costs with smaller, quirkier economies, too,” wrote Times correspondent Tamar Lewin. At the University of Washington, communications department faculty members gave up their landlines, saving about $1,100 a month. Oberlin College in Ohio saved $22,300 by scaling back on window washing, and Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., is power-washing its sidewalks once a year instead of twice.

HK$6.7m to fix damage from Chanel logo stunt? A French artist who daubed a dripping, black Chanel logo on the outer wall of Chater House above the window of a Giorgio Armani boutique disagreed with prosecutors who said that part of the facade must be replaced at a cost of HK$6.7 million. Christophe Schwarz, who goes by the name Zevs, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal damage before acting Principal Magistrate Bina Chainrai in Eastern Court yesterday. A professional cleaner hired by Giorgio Armani Hong Kong to remove the Chanel logo was unable to wash it off, prosecutors told the court. The affected facade must be replaced at an estimated cost of HK$6,746,000. The 31-year-old graffiti artist expressed surprise at the cost and called it "surrealistic". He had taken special care to use children's water-based paint that was easy to wash off. He had painted on more delicate surfaces in other cities and been able to remove his works, he said. The court will tomorrow hear a police officer, an appraiser and a cleaner give evidence on the damage.
Mr Perregaux said he did not understand why police had arrested the artist. "I do not think it is a big deal. After all, he has performed such art forms in many places before, in Berlin, in New York and Paris," he said, adding that Zevs had used water paint, which could easily be removed.