Ask a Window Cleaner By THE NEW YORK TIMES
This week: Andrew Horton,
who has been a window cleaner for more than two decades and knows the secrets of the trade and safety practices, responded to readers’ questions about his career. Mr. Horton, 54, has worked on landmark buildings all over the city, including the Empire State Building, the Twin Towers, the Hearst Building and dozens of others. He said he was always content with his job until one day, hanging off the 86th floor of the Empire State Building with just a belt tying him to a window, he decided that he should rethink his livelihood.
Mr. Horton now runs New York City’s main safety training program for window washers at the building service workers union 32BJ, teaching future window washers how to reduce risks and promoting safety while working a thousand feet up in the sky. “What’s more important up there?” he asks. “Prevention, prevention, prevention!” Mr. Horton was born and raised in New York City. He is married, has two sons and lives in Queens. He enjoys fly fishing and is a youth basketball coach at his parish.
Answers From a Window Cleaner: Following is the first set of responses from Andrew Horton, who has been a window cleaner for more than two decades and knows the secrets of the trade and safety practices.
Do you avoid looking down at the street far below?
The scaffolding is my office. As with any job, I get caught up in my daily work, so I don’t have time to look down. My job is to clean windows, not look at pedestrians.
What is the scariest experience you have had?
Back in 1993, I was up on a building on 72nd Street and the scaffolding dropped about 15 feet. Before I realized what was happening, it was over. They say that you never hear the sound of a bullet coming at you, but what I heard that day was my heart pounding in my chest.
What is the most important safety tip for the individual window cleaner?
Inspect your equipment daily. We have a saying: Respect yourself and your equipment, inspect yourself and your equipment and protect yourself and your equipment.
What was the most interesting thing you witnessed happening inside the space you were cleaning?
When I first started my career, there was a large party taking place in one of the penthouse apartments on 72nd Street on the East Side. As we came down on our scaffolding and into sight, everybody there started taking pictures of us. My partner and I didn’t even know that we were witnessing a wedding until everything was over. We didn’t get cake, but I guarantee you that it stuck in their minds, as it did in ours. Strange things happen when you work outside!
What’s the highest window you have ever cleaned?
The 102nd floor of the World Trade Center and the 82nd floor of the Empire State Building.
How did you start washing windows in the first place?
I was a painter looking to change professions and I found an ad and thought it would be interesting. But once, hanging off the 86th floor of the Empire State Building with just a belt tying me to a window I said to myself, “There’s got to be a better way to make a living!”
Did you listen to music or radio while washing, or do you listen to the birds and the wind? Did you ever answer your cellphone when you were up there?
For safety reasons, music and cellphones are not allowed up in the scaffolding, but some of us listen to our own music in our heads.
Who trained you, and what was the most valuable lesson/advice they shared before you began work?
I learned from an old window cleaner who’s still alive today, Dimitrius Ganadakis. He still calls me student, and he will consider me his student for the rest of his life. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have continued window cleaning. He showed me to be proud of my trade.
Please tell me the basic supplies I need to clean the inside and outside of my home’s windows. By supplies, I mean squeegee, applicator, brush type, cleaning solution (commercial or homemade) and any secret ones you have.
Hire a professional window cleaner so we can stay in business. Just kidding! It’s important to wash it with cold water, not hot water, to get the best shine. Hot water, especially in the winter, can break the glass. Mix any kind of dish detergent with a little ammonia and scrub with a camel hair brush. Use an 18-inch squeegee to clean it off. Your windows will come out spectacularly clear.
Answers From a Window Cleaner, Part 2: Following is the second set of responses from Andrew Horton, who has been a window cleaner for more than two decades and knows the secrets of the trade and safety practices.
Which building did you enjoy being outside of the most? I bet though the views from all of them must have been amazing.
The observation deck of the old World Trade Center was amazing. I especially loved the view from up there in the mornings. It was absolutely beautiful. Being up there alone — before the tourists arrived — was something special. I’m hoping the new World Trade Center will bring smiles to people’s faces again.
In our apartment building, the windows are cleaned professionally once per year. According to the window cleaners, if you don’t do this, the windows could brown. Is this true? Or was this just a sales tactic?
It is true. If your windows are not cleaned often, at least an average of four times a year, the sun will bake the dirt onto the glass and ruin them.
What is the most common mistakes people make when cleaning their windows?
Error No. 1 is soap. People tend to put too much soap in the water because they think it will be easier to clean the windows. But it actually makes it harder because too much soup greases the glass. Less is more.
Are there any women window washers in the city that you know of? I always see men.
Yes: Carol Alvarado, who was an apprentice of mine. She is now a journeywoman.
What is the most dangerous thing about the job?
Wind. We have to get down off the scaffolding if the wind is above 25 m.p.h., but even 15 m.p.h. is dangerous.
Answers From a Window Cleaner, Part 3This week: Andrew Horton,
who has been a window cleaner for more than two decades and knows the secrets of the trade and safety practices, responded to readers’ questions about his career. Mr. Horton, 54, has worked on landmark buildings all over the city, including the Empire State Building, the Twin Towers, the Hearst Building and dozens of others. He said he was always content with his job until one day, hanging off the 86th floor of the Empire State Building with just a belt tying him to a window, he decided that he should rethink his livelihood.Mr. Horton now runs New York City’s main safety training program for window washers at the building service workers union 32BJ, teaching future window washers how to reduce risks and promoting safety while working a thousand feet up in the sky. “What’s more important up there?” he asks. “Prevention, prevention, prevention!” Mr. Horton was born and raised in New York City. He is married, has two sons and lives in Queens. He enjoys fly fishing and is a youth basketball coach at his parish.
Answers From a Window Cleaner: Following is the first set of responses from Andrew Horton, who has been a window cleaner for more than two decades and knows the secrets of the trade and safety practices.
Do you avoid looking down at the street far below?
The scaffolding is my office. As with any job, I get caught up in my daily work, so I don’t have time to look down. My job is to clean windows, not look at pedestrians.
What is the scariest experience you have had?
Back in 1993, I was up on a building on 72nd Street and the scaffolding dropped about 15 feet. Before I realized what was happening, it was over. They say that you never hear the sound of a bullet coming at you, but what I heard that day was my heart pounding in my chest.
What is the most important safety tip for the individual window cleaner?
Inspect your equipment daily. We have a saying: Respect yourself and your equipment, inspect yourself and your equipment and protect yourself and your equipment.
What was the most interesting thing you witnessed happening inside the space you were cleaning?
When I first started my career, there was a large party taking place in one of the penthouse apartments on 72nd Street on the East Side. As we came down on our scaffolding and into sight, everybody there started taking pictures of us. My partner and I didn’t even know that we were witnessing a wedding until everything was over. We didn’t get cake, but I guarantee you that it stuck in their minds, as it did in ours. Strange things happen when you work outside!
What’s the highest window you have ever cleaned?
The 102nd floor of the World Trade Center and the 82nd floor of the Empire State Building.
How did you start washing windows in the first place?
I was a painter looking to change professions and I found an ad and thought it would be interesting. But once, hanging off the 86th floor of the Empire State Building with just a belt tying me to a window I said to myself, “There’s got to be a better way to make a living!”
Did you listen to music or radio while washing, or do you listen to the birds and the wind? Did you ever answer your cellphone when you were up there?
For safety reasons, music and cellphones are not allowed up in the scaffolding, but some of us listen to our own music in our heads.
Who trained you, and what was the most valuable lesson/advice they shared before you began work?
I learned from an old window cleaner who’s still alive today, Dimitrius Ganadakis. He still calls me student, and he will consider me his student for the rest of his life. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have continued window cleaning. He showed me to be proud of my trade.
Please tell me the basic supplies I need to clean the inside and outside of my home’s windows. By supplies, I mean squeegee, applicator, brush type, cleaning solution (commercial or homemade) and any secret ones you have.
Hire a professional window cleaner so we can stay in business. Just kidding! It’s important to wash it with cold water, not hot water, to get the best shine. Hot water, especially in the winter, can break the glass. Mix any kind of dish detergent with a little ammonia and scrub with a camel hair brush. Use an 18-inch squeegee to clean it off. Your windows will come out spectacularly clear.
Answers From a Window Cleaner, Part 2: Following is the second set of responses from Andrew Horton, who has been a window cleaner for more than two decades and knows the secrets of the trade and safety practices.
Which building did you enjoy being outside of the most? I bet though the views from all of them must have been amazing.
The observation deck of the old World Trade Center was amazing. I especially loved the view from up there in the mornings. It was absolutely beautiful. Being up there alone — before the tourists arrived — was something special. I’m hoping the new World Trade Center will bring smiles to people’s faces again.
In our apartment building, the windows are cleaned professionally once per year. According to the window cleaners, if you don’t do this, the windows could brown. Is this true? Or was this just a sales tactic?
It is true. If your windows are not cleaned often, at least an average of four times a year, the sun will bake the dirt onto the glass and ruin them.
What is the most common mistakes people make when cleaning their windows?
Error No. 1 is soap. People tend to put too much soap in the water because they think it will be easier to clean the windows. But it actually makes it harder because too much soup greases the glass. Less is more.
Are there any women window washers in the city that you know of? I always see men.
Yes: Carol Alvarado, who was an apprentice of mine. She is now a journeywoman.
What is the most dangerous thing about the job?
Wind. We have to get down off the scaffolding if the wind is above 25 m.p.h., but even 15 m.p.h. is dangerous.
How long does it take to wash all of the windows of a typical office building?
The Empire State Building takes forever! It takes about four months to complete with only three full-time men. And once the guys finish the job, they have to start all over again. Can you imagine? But the average New York high-rise building, let’s say, a 50-story building, takes about 30 to 40 days, with one drop per day from the roof to the ground. Of course, it also depends on the type of scaffolding you are using and how many windows there are.
Do you rinse the windows?
Absolutely, we rinse the windows.
You mentioned using cold water in one of your responses – how do you get the water up there on tall buildings?
Each roof has a water outlet, so we don’t need to transport it from an inside source. But we have to make sure that we have enough water with us on the scaffolding to finish the job. If you’re about to finish a job and you run out of water, you need to go all the way back to the top, which is a waste of time and energy. So when you fill up your bucket on the roof, you have to make sure you put enough water to do the whole drop. It’s like measuring ingredients for baking. No union window cleaner runs out of water on the scaffolding.
How do you have to carry the supplies up the scaffolding to the high floors?
We bring everything up on an elevator. But on the roof, we have an area with lockers where we keep our equipment, such as harnesses, life lines, hard hats, window-cleaning tools and anything else we need to do the job.
How long does it take to erect the scaffolding?
Most New York high-rise buildings have permanent scaffolding, so to set it up can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes.
What’s the best way to wash indoor windows?
Pretty much like washing windows outside. Same technique, but you need to be much more careful and cleaner. You have to use less water than outside. Make sure that you have clean water and clean tools and you are good to go.
Do you use a different mixture on windows that face the river? Just wondering if being by the water impacts how dirty the windows get and if you need to change the cleaning formula?
Yes, definitely. Any windows facing the water are going to get filthy, so we use a heavier dose of soap and ammonia.
Have you met window washers from other countries? Are their jobs different in any ways that surprise you?
Yes. They may speak different languages, but they use the same techniques. As a New Yorker, I should point out the difference between New York State and everyone else. We have the only approved apprentice training program in the country, at union 32BJ’s training center. We also have the strictest rules in the country. Rule 21 of the state law is specifically for window cleaners’ equipment and the protection of the public. New York has the highest buildings and the highest standards.
No comments:
Post a Comment