Australia Cleans Up + More Scaffolding Woes

As reported yesterday on the blog - seems like window cleaners in Australia could become very busy! Picture shows Sydney Harbour Bridge during the day.

Sydney Braces for More Dust Clouds as Authorities Clean Up City: Sydney may be hit by more dust clouds at the weekend when strong winds blow in from the Australian Outback, forecasters said, as city authorities cleaned up from yesterday’s choking storm. The Bureau of Meteorology said winds as fast as 65 kilometers (40 miles) an hour may whip up more dust and top-soil in Australia’s dry interior tomorrow and cause a haze in Sydney on Sept. 26. “There is another strong front moving across,” said meteorologist Rob Webb, adding the dust cloud expected in Sydney at the weekend is “unlikely to be as bad” as yesterday.
About 75,000 metric tons of dust an hour was blown over the city during the peak of the storm yesterday morning, according to the New South Wales state government. More than 100 sweepers took to the streets of central Sydney early today to brush away the dust residue, the City of Sydney council said, adding it has put more cleaners on duty over the next few days to help with the effort. The dust storm, more than 500 kilometers wide and 1,000 kilometers long, was the largest to hit Sydney since the 1940s and was driven from the drought-stricken Outback by gale-force winds, according to the weather bureau. Air pollution readings for the region were the highest ever recorded and the state Health Department reported a spike in the number of people needing medical attention for breathing problems. Paramedics treated 218 people in Sydney yesterday for respiratory complaints, it said. Phil Costa, the state minister for water, eased restrictions on hosepipe usage and said people wouldn’t be fined for washing down their driveways and homes in the aftermath of the storm. With office tower windows smeared with orange powder and cars coated with a film of dust, cleaning firms are reaping the benefits of the storm. Sydney-based Clear Choice Window Cleaning, whose clients include the Westpac building on Kent Street, is expecting a surge in demand, director Ben Hay said. “People are still a bit wary about the weather,” he said by telephone today. “We are expecting when it does calm down it is going to be crazy.”

Hold your breath, more dust coming: Don't get out the hose and bucket just yet to clean the car and the windows because more orange dust is coming our way this weekend. Martin Tanner of MJ’s Window Cleaning however, was blessing the fine orange powder. Martin had his mobile phone buzzing all morning. “I have had seven calls this morning from people wanting to get their windows cleaned others wanted quotes,” he said.“It is not just the glass but the window frames that are covered in thick dust. I have found that when I come to the bottom of the window it is like mud, so I have been brushing it of first before I wash. On the framework you have to wipe it up – it is a sticky sort of dust,” he said. Mr Tanner said some of the worst hit businesses were cafes and restaurants on Mooloolaba Esplanade and shops on Brisbane Road. The Sunshine Coast council on the other hand has decided not to clean up the dust in public spaces but instead wait for nature to wash it away. Communications manager for Sunshine Coast Water Helen Mohr said the council would not have additional cleaning services because of the dust.

North Carolina Window Washer Workers Stuck: Two window washers were stuck on scaffolding equipment on the side of a Charlotte, North Carolina high-rise building Wednesday afternoon. The incident happened at a residential and commercial building located at the corner of West Trade Street and North Poplar Avenue around 6 p.m. ET. The scaffolding appeared to be about 6-8 stories off the ground of the Trademark Condo building as it became stuck. The men could be seen trying to operate and lower the equipment manually as firefighters were below.