Window Cleaning News & Photos

A window washer does his best to clean up the view of Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

THE PANES OF HALLOWEEN SPIRIT: Window cleaners from World Wide Window Cleaning Inc. wore hockey masks just like the character Jason of the "Friday the 13th" movies in observance of Halloween yesterday while cleaning the Century Square building in downtown Honolulu.

The heights some go to for sake of clean windows: My mom was a clean freak. I mean that in a nice way. She kept her floors so clean you could eat off them. We used to joke — if only Mom cooked well enough that if something did drop, you'd be willing to eat it off the floor. OK, we weren't really joking. Her real pride, though, wasn't her clean floors but her clean windows. She was fanatical about them. Smudges and smears didn't have a chance. I'd come home and find Mom hanging out the window, cleaning the outside. She'd be sitting on the window frame, her red head and upper torso outside and her legs dangling inside. No straps or hooks. Nothing to hold on to but a rag and some cleaning solution. The only thing that kept her from falling out head first was the window that she had closed on her mid-section. This maneuver would be a neat trick and a bit dangerous if the window was just a few feet off the ground. But we lived on the third floor of an apartment building. If the window had moved up or she reached too far, Mom would have created her own smudge marks on the second- and first-floor windows. Or if she leaned too far back, Mom would be left hanging upside down until one of us realized she wasn't just cleaning the window below.

You gotta be a real neat freak to risk your life for clean windows. That's what I told myself as I reached for a smudge on the upper corner of our living room window, gingerly standing on the top rung of a ladder that had taken me 17 feet up to the second story of our house. I thought of Mom and the sense of security she felt by having that strong, sturdy window pushing down on her midsection to keep her safe. Mom had a sturdy window.

I had my twin sons, whom hours earlier I had awakened, yelling at them for not cleaning the kitchen, leaving their clothes around and ignoring chores. Note to self: Don't yell at sons for frivolous things and then ask them to hold your life in the balance — literally. "I love you guys. You know that, right? You're holding the ladder tight, right?" I ignored the boys' laughter, focusing instead on the window. I saw Bonnie in the kitchen and remembered that she asked me to clean the windows so she could see the snow better when it falls. That made no sense when I was inside sitting on the couch. It made even less sense to me as I tried to find the smears. I tightened my grip on the ladder and knocked on the glass, yelling for her to get me more paper towels. She yelled back about having to stay by the stove to stir chili. I yelled back with a suggestion on what she could do with the chili and to get me some paper towels. I ignored the boys' laughter, quickly explained to Bonnie it was the altitude talking, and finished cleaning the window. Many of you, including my friends who used to regularly use a tight rope between skyscrapers, are thinking, "He's scared being up 17 feet?" Let me tell ya, reaching daring heights in order to earn a living is commendable. Reaching for a smudge at any height in order to see the snow fall is crazy.

President Obama took a hammering in the US mid-term elections this week - largely due to the Tea Party, the political movement which opposes "big" government and high taxes. In view of the current US Tea Party's success, we decided to hold our own tea parties around the UK to see what issues Sun readers would like the British government to address. Here Jenna Sloan highlights the views that emerged from our chats over cuppas and slices of Victoria sponge - the opinions which David Cameron really needs to pay attention to. Director Mark McClure (pictured center), 47, runs a window cleaning company in the nearby village of Bursledon. He said: "People are being squeezed very hard by the Government. That is having a knock-on effect for people such as me who run small businesses. "Next year VAT will jump to 20 per cent and I don't understand why I should be hit with more taxes when I will be creating jobs for people. "If I had my way I would not be punishing the businesses who need to prop up the economy."

About the owner Phil Humphrey: In October, Phil Humphrey celebrated his third year in the commercial business cleaning service. It was a pretty good decision actually. You see, Humphrey doesn’t just clean; he embraces the growing green concept and cleans with green cleaning supplies, equipment and methodology. A former insurance man, Humphrey retired after 20 years in that career and, with the “economy in the tank,” decided to move back into something to carry him through. He chose green cleaning.

“I believe it was a good decision,” he said plainly, adding that he has been living the “green lifestyle” for several years. Based in his home, EcoClean’s mission is twofold: clean for the sake of cleaning and clean to increase employee morale and overall health. “There have been studies that show, mainly through the Environmental Protection Agency, that some of the basic cleaning supplies used in offices are some of the worst in quality and safety,” he said. “My business aims to address that.”

When he started the business, Humphrey consulted the U.S. Green Building Council’s methodology, an often used “bible” among green believers. From there, Humphrey purchased inventory, including floor care equipment that is certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute for HEPA filtration. By cleaning green, Humphrey aims to eliminate as many volatile organic components in the workplace as possible. “I wanted to get into this business a few years back, but the timing just wasn’t right,” he said. Now having chosen it, Humphrey joins one of the fastest-growing markets in the country.

What’s unique about the business: Beyond regularly scheduled janitorial duties, EcoClean provides services in upholstery and carpet cleaning; window washing; floor stripping and refinishing and providing dispenser supplies. The company also provides recycling services by helping companies implement its own waste reduction and recycling plan. If you go and special deals: If your company decides to use EcoClean as a cleaning service, all new accounts will see 15 percent of the bill used for the Haitian Relief Fund. “It’s a cause that’s special to me because I’ve been there,” Humphrey said.

Pest control and cleaning company Rentokil Initial Plc (RTO.L: News ) Friday reported a rise in pre-tax profit for the third quarter, despite tough market conditions. The company also said it expects full-year performance in line with current market expectations. In its third-quarter update, the company said that on a continuing operations basis, pre-tax profit in the period increased 31% to GBP 39.3 million from GBP 30.0 million reported in the prior year. On a currency-neutral basis, pre-tax profit increased 33.9%. In Initial Facilities Services, revenue grew 6.9% from last year. Adjusted operating profit advanced 19.3% owing to actions taken in the second half of last year to streamline the business as well as the turnaround in the Retail and Window Cleaning businesses.

In January 2004, Jeanie Crumpton of New Albany was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a weakening of the heart muscle. She was placed on a heart transplant list. For five years, Crumpton sat by the phone with a bag packed, waiting for the call that would change her life. In 2009, she decided to start living again. "For a long time, I wasn't allowed out of a two-hour radius of Memphis," said Crumpton, 58. "Finally, last year they let me travel to Seattle to pick up my granddaughter and I've been going ever since. But I know my limitations." Crumpton had a commercial window-washing and chalet-cleaning business in Gatlinburg, Tenn., before retiring in 2003 and moving to Northeast Mississippi.

Tipton Town aiming to dump Carlisle Utd out of FA Cup: “We’ve got two carpenters, two scaffolders, a window-cleaner, a roofer, three salesmen, and an IT technician,” says Tipton Town’s captain, who sounds like he is offering to build you a school but is in fact talking you through the bunch of non-league players who bring their aspirations to Brunton Park this weekend. Carlisle United’s opponents on Saturday practically form a Yellow Pages of professions. This is nothing new in the Cup’s long history of pitching expensively-prepared professionals against enthusiastic amateurs..... Carlisle United  6 - 0 Tipton Town.

R.I.P. Mary F. Barnes, 94, of Wellsville, left this planet, whose joys and losses she celebrated during all of her life. Mary was born in Buffalo, at her grandmother’s house, on Aug. 4, 1916. She was the daughter of John H. and Mary F. (Vetter) Perry. After graduating from high school during the Depression, disguised as a boy, she worked as a window washer with her father.

How much should you plan to tip your housecleaner, child-care provider, or hairdresser this holiday season? The Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a nationally representative survey early this year, when memories of holiday tips were fresh, to find out. Despite the recession, respondents who did tip spent at about the same rate as in years past. The highest median tip was $35, for the category of cleaning people, with a few service providers receiving thank-yous as high as $500. If you plan on offering gifts of thanks this holiday season, take these tips from Consumer Reports: Give cash equal to the value of one session or a week’s wage to self-employed or lower-wage earners.

Asia-Pacific represents the largest as well as the fastest growing market for flat glass, as stated by the new market research report on Flat Glass. The industry is also deriving growth from new smart-glass products such as electrochromic, switchable glass, self-cleaning window glass and heads-up display windscreens.

Cape business reports theft by window washer:  A money bag was reported stolen from Blind & Shutter Gallery on Del Prado Boulevard, according to a Cape Coral police report. A store worker told police a man washed their windows for $5, and allegedly took the money bag while she was helping a customer, according to the report. She discovered the bag was missing from a file cabinet after he left. The bag held $385 cash, along with a customer check and credit card number, according to the report. Other businesses in the area use the man to wash windows and did not know his name, according to the report, which lists no arrests.

A major event on the Tunbridge Wells calendar has been cancelled for next year – and could face being permanently scrapped. Organisers of the Hawkenbury Allotment Holders' Association show said the popular Dunorlan Park event was costing too much and have cancelled next September's show. The association's committee said the decision was taken "with great regret". Acting chairman Janet Sturgis warned the show was losing up to £4,000 a year and revealed almost half the entrance fees for the family extravaganza were used to hire a main marquee. She said: "It will not happen next year at Dunorlan Park, although we are not ruling it out for the future.

Mr Blake, of Southview Road, Tunbridge Wells, said people in the town had a "huge feeling for the show". He said: "The public are losing something they really love. Families come to the show to see the quirky side of gardening, to find out who has the biggest carrots or who has grown the largest pumpkin. They come to laugh at the ugly vegetables and watch the donkey derby. "It's one of the few things left in this town where young and old people mix together, which is affordable for everyone." The 45-year-old window cleaner said the committee didn't realise the affection the show had in the town. He said: "I'm damned if this is going without a fight."

Cleaning Shower Doors: In a recent article, we talked about the cleaning of shower doors, due to soap scum and calcium buildup. We received several comments and suggestions from readers that I thought I'd pass along. Marge Meyers uses a cleaner designed for smooth-top ranges. She finds it cleans not only the glass, but the chrome as well. She then follows this up with a regular window cleaner to prevent the stains from building up. Al B. finds that using an SOS pad works well, as it is inexpensive, quick and rinses fast. He also uses this on the shower floor.

Vandals hurl paint at Norwich pub: A Norwich pub which has recently been given a facelift has been targeted by vandals who have thrown pots of red and pink paint at the building. Part of the front of the Heartsease pub has been cordoned off with police tape to stop people from accessing the area where paint has been splashed up the window and recently-painted white walls of the building. Police are investigating the vandalism, which is believed to have happened at the Plumstead Road pub at about 11.45pm on Tuesday. People living in the area were shocked to discover the state of the pub, which had just been given a fresh lick of paint a few days ago. Steve Moy, 52, a window cleaner, said he was told last week to come clean the windows on Wednesday as they would have finished painting the pub by then. He said: “I came up in the morning and it was a bit of a mess. It shocked me, They’ve only just painted the pub,”

What do AYI's (local maid in China) talk about when they get together, we wonder? “We make payment comparisons and gossip about clients.” So what is it that makes a good client? “Someone who speaks their mind; I’m not afraid to get feedback. If I make a mistake, let me know. I hate those who are picky but only say bad words behind an ayi’s back.”What about the most unusual request she has ever had? “Another of my clients wanted me to climb outside of his window and do cleaning. He lives on the 8th floor – he’s crazy!”

Meanwhile, the Country Music Association has named Dewey Twiddle, an unemployed Nashville window washer, as its preseason Songwriter of the Year, even though Twiddle has never written a song. "I can't sing, read music, or play an instrument, so this is quite an honor," said Twiddle.