The most recent edition of the European Cleaning Journal (ECJ) contained an article of the challenges of window cleaning today. Michelle Marshall, Editor of the European Cleaning Journal was kind enough to provide the full print copy to read below.
Cleanable windows - What are the most difficult cleaning challenges that a professional window cleaner has to face? And what equipment has been developed to cope with such tough challenges? Ann Laffeaty looks at aspects of the industry such as high-rise cleaning, large areas of glass and difficult-to-reach areas and discovers how window cleaning is being adapted to make all windows cleanable.
Photo courtesy of Unger
Window cleaning used to be a relatively simple process. One window was much the same as another, after all, and window cleaners required very few tools to carry out their trade successfully. In most cases a ladder, a bucket, a squeegee and a chamois would be sufficient. Where the building was particularly tall, a rail-like structure would be fitted around the top of the building and a cradle would operate from this. But various factors have conspired to complicate the window-cleaning task. On the one side, stringent new health and safety laws have outlawed the practice of cleaning from a ladder above a certain height. Cradles are no longer always a viable alternative either, mainly due to the escalating cost of insurance but also because the shape of modern buildings sometimes makes a rail impossible to fit.
Meanwhile, the fact that architects are becoming increasingly ambitious in their quest for that unique, award-winning design means they are building highly creative structures whose windows are often difficult to clean. Vice-president of Ettore Products Europe Niels Ysbrandy confirms this. “We find that about 10-20 per cent of buildings these days have freaky architecture that looks fantastic and the architects are applauded for it – then six months later the building manager finds it is impossible to clean, or the cleaning cost is 10 times what it should be,” he said. “For example there are buildings that are very difficult to access because they are in a car park or surrounded by hedges or trees. Sometimes it is practically impossible to get to the glass area because it is curved or set at an angle. This can occur in any type of building whether it is an office block, a school or an airport.”
Leaded light windows in historic buildings, pubs and churches also present a problem since these have to be cleaned by hand with a sponge and then a chamois, he said. “Large areas of glass are also a challenge,” added Ysbrandy. “If you have a smooth surface you can clean it very fast and efficiently, but any obstacle will slow down the process.”According to Ysbrandy water-fed poles have greatly improved the situation. “These can be used from the ground and will clean the windows using pure water, which means there are no mineral deposits on the glass,” he said. “It is not rocket science, but water-fed poles have been the biggest breakthrough in the industry for some years.”
Ettore also offers various tools for hard-to-access cleaning. These include Reach poles that have an angle adaptor claimed to be particularly effective for use on solarium glass. The company also offers telescopic squeegees that combine an absorbent sponge head with a metal handle that extends up to seven feet.
According to Unger’s marketing co-ordinator Alex Droste, one of the major challenges facing today’s window cleaners are the large, high buildings whose entire roof is made of glass. These are often encountered in new train stations and big industrial buildings, for example. “It means you have to walk over the glass in order to access and clean the central areas, which is very hard to do.”
Unger’s answer to high-level cleaning is the HiFlo CarbonTec water-fed pole. This uses aluminium and lightweight carbon tubing to allow the user to customise the length up to 50 feet. “But in terms of height it is limited,” said Droste. “If you have a very complicated job you may need a crane, but then it becomes expensive. Sometimes buildings are cleaned by teams of abseilers but this is not very common in Europe. There is always a high cost and safety factor when dealing with high-rise, complicated buildings.”
He said the growing problem was a by-product of modern building design. “Architects are creating buildings that look very nice, but they don’t ask the window cleaners for their suggestions on how to clean them. Sometimes they are consulted but often they are not – and many window cleaning companies would like to be involved.”
This is exactly what a UK organisation is trying to achieve through the Building Cleanability Awards (BCA). This annual event encourages architects to consider how new buildings are to be cleaned by presenting an award to those designers who create the most 'cleanable' buildings.
The importance of building cleanability is greater now than ever according to BCA chairman Paul Taylor, who is also director of cleaning and facilities management contractor Incentive QAS.
“About 25-30 years ago everything was cleaned by ladder or cradle, but today’s designers have gone mad with their pencils and between them and EU legislation it is very rare that a building these days can be cleaned by ladder,” he said. “Cradles are not always viable because insurance is so expensive and if you look at modern buildings such as the Gherkin in London, where do you fit a cradle?
Another British building that must be a challenge for window cleaners is the Spinnaker Tower that overlooks Portsmouth harbour. It is a 170 metre high structure but the glass doesn’t start until 20 floors up - and then it is in the shape of a sail. You wonder how they clean buildings such as this - as well as other modern structures such as the newest hotel buildings in Dubai. It must be a nightmare.” He says the problem arises from the fact that building owners are increasingly demanding that their buildings should stand out, and architects are keen to deliver on this. “In the US and Australia, building designers consult with the cleaning bodies when designing a building. But in Europe we tend to build to be pretty rather than functional.”
However, this year the BCA has achieved a breakthrough in terms of dialogue with building designers. “For the first time in 16 years, the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists have come on board and are helping to promote the Building Cleanability Awards to their architect and design members,” said Taylor. “This will hopefully lead to a new period of co-operation between designers and cleaners.” Director of the Building Cleanability Awards Richard Chisnell added: “We don’t want to cramp the designers’ creativity and make every building a square box, but we would like to encourage them to think how their creations are going to be maintained after the construction team has moved off the site. “Sometimes it is only once that has happened that the penny drops and they think: 'How are we going to clean this?’”
He said factors that should be considered in the design stage were that no trees, hedges or grass were planted too close to the building and that space for parking cherry-pickers was provided. Sometimes windows should be capable of being cleaned from the inside to make life easier for the window cleaners.
According to Chisnell, incorporating cleanable design features into new buildings would go a long way to facilitating the cleaning task while also ensuring the safety of the workforce. “In recent years a whole generation of abseilers have come on to the scene whose task is to clean the highest-rise windows,” he said. “That is fine as long as they comply with health and safety regulations – in fact, it shows that the cleaning industry has done its bit to move with the times.
“But we want to raise the profile of cleaning within the building industry and we are very encouraged by the fact that the designers have said yes, you have a point, we would like to support it.
“In the meantime the window cleaning industry has been sufficiently flexible and adaptable to rise to any challenge. In fact, that’s why we are the thriving industry we are today.”
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