Window Cleaning News

The twice-yearly cleaning will take three weeks, weather permitting.

Williams Tower Window Washers View Tulsa from Above, Oklahoma - It's a very big job to wash the over 5,500 windows on the Williams tower. The tallest building in Oklahoma contracts Budget Glass to do the job. 'It takes an experienced crew like the one we have here today right around three weeks to clean it,' said Williams Company's Jeff Pounds. The two-man team descends in a gondola 32 different times to cover the building, each 'drop' taking over an hour to complete. Although busy, window washer Stephen Hulsey admits to taking an occasional break the appreciate the view. 'The best view is at 5:30 in the morning,' he said, 'right before daybreak and the lights are on downtown, it's just gorgeous.'

Congratulations to Chris Lambrinides & Kate of Window Cleaning Resource who decided to tie the knot after a brief meeting among the squeegee channels in the WCR store room. The happy couple will take their honeymoon in Jamaica whilst Alex Lambrinides runs the show from New Jersey.

Gecko-inspired water-powered robot scales glass, washes windows (sort of): We've seen some pretty impressive Spidey-like robots in our time, but honestly, crawling walls isn't always enough to pique or interest. A robot that can scale buildings and wash windows -- now that's something to get excited about. Like this little wall climber, the gecko-inspired machine enlists the Bernoulli principle, using the flow of water through fluidic vacuum generators that allow the reptilian robot to get a grip on smooth surfaces. Next, the water is directed through a solenoid valve to a piston in the robot's spine, and finally, the excess liquid is expelled and used to get glass gleaming. Currently, the little machine is capable of carrying twice its weight, and uses a small battery to power a "wireless communication system" and the servos used to control its direction. We're definitely intrigued, but judging from the video (after the break), we're pretty sure it's no match for flesh and blood window washers.

PVCWizard will clean-up: Specialist conservatory cleaning company PVCWizard will launch a UK-wide roll-out of its franchise network at the exhibition. Headed by founder John Feeney, it will be the first specialist conservatory and PVC cleaners to exhibit there. John said: “There is a gap in the market  and our eye-catching brand offers a unique window of opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to join us. Based on the excellent trading figures of our existing franchise operations, we’ve developed a very attractive package with strong support.” John, who previously designed and built conservatories, set up his business eight years ago in Bartle, near Preston. It now has two franchises. He said: “I was seeing conservatories installed every day, but there was no thought given to how they might be cleaned. “I realised the potential of setting up a professional conservatory cleaning company in a field that traditionally has attracted ‘here-today gone-tomorrow’ operators. It’s a service rarely offered by window cleaners and can be a dangerous and messy job for home owners.” Initially run under the name of Specialised Conservatory Cleaning, the company has re-branded as PVC Wizard as part of its franchise roll out.

Window washer says he is once again touched by an angel: When I wrote recently about Sean Welby’s encounter with “an angel,” I hardly expected a Chapter Two. Welby is the Clairemont window washer who was at a check cashing agency paying his overdue water bill when a woman simply handed him two $100 bills, and said: “I’m your angel today,” and “Pay it forward.” That act of kindness transformed his life. He brought his truck payments up to date and handed out money to strangers. Well, he recently received a touching letter from his anonymous benefactor, to whom he’d given his business card. Having read about him in my column, she wrote, in part: “Angel acts don’t need to be recognized, and it’s not expected, but it sure felt good.” Her only signature was an angel figure. His spirits buoyed, on a whim he bought three $5 lottery scratch tickets and won $500. Two days later, he bought five scratch tickets and won $10,000. “I thought he was going to have a heart attack right there,” said Tom Romaya, owner of Del Mesa Foods & Liquor off Friars Road. “I’ve never seen him in here before.” “I’m guessing she sent me some more luck,” concluded Welby, who will invest his windfall in his business and his church and help a few more strangers. “I’d sure like to know who she is.”

Images of dead bees are being used in a campaign encouraging Londoners to help save urban bees by behaving in a "bee-friendly" way. Seven million Londoners are being urged to buy and grow bee friendly food and do bee-friendly gardening. Pledges of support for London's bees can be made on the Capital Growth website. The visuals and video clips will be used on billboards across the Tube, from Friday. They are based on work by cult artist Magnus Muhr's "dead fly" images. A 'bee-movies' show depicts bees taking part in everyday London-based adventures such as cleaning a window or travelling on the Tube.

Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia: You've seen them still happily going about their daily labours in bone-chilling Goulburn winter winds, rain and sleet and seemingly impervious to the elements. Men and women who make you shiver just to see them at work, and positively shudder when you realise they look dressed for summer even when the June wind chill says it feels like -6 c outside. So how do they do it? Rum fortification, perhaps? Some form of masochism, or example of where there’s no sense there’s no feeling? None of these, apparently. They just don’t feel the cold like most other people. What about cleaning windows outside Auburn Street shops that have their interior central heating set on high? Husband and wife, Christian and Julie Leupin, have been Goulburn’s champion winter tag team at this game for nearly 20 years and laugh off suggestions they might ever cry “foul” in a wintry blast. They, too, say they don’t notice how cold it is out on the street side of shop windows - although Christian does admit to using warm water. Boiling, even. The Leupins have four kids, with the oldest now living in Christian’s native Basel. They bought a couple of Goulburn window cleaning runs after Christian gave up working in Australia as a mainframe computer technician for one of the Swiss pharmaceutical giants. He says the secret to staying warm is always to wear thick warm socks below a flouro jacket and warm shirt. And also coming from a warm house to start work at 7.30am. Coming from Switzerland has nothing do with it.

A watch recovered from the Lockerbie plane bombing is at the center of a legal battle set to play out in Lucas County Common Pleas Court this summer. Cherry Peirce, the widow of Perrysburg architect Peter Peirce, is suing two employees of Estate Jewelry Buyers in Sylvania, alleging that they bought and sold more than $150,000 worth of jewelry that was stolen in 2008 from her Catawba Island home in Ottawa County. One of the pieces was a wristwatch worn by Mr. Peirce, who was one of 270 killed when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December, 1988. Mr. Kerger said two window washers who had entry to Mrs. Peirce's home stole several pieces of jewelry that were hidden in the back of a dresser drawer. The items included her wedding rings, a 3.5-karat diamond ring, an emerald ring given to her by her late husband, and a watch that was retrieved from the plane wreckage after Mr. Peirce died in the Lockerbie crash.

The New Employment Relationship: Workers Bear All the Risks while Employers Keep the Profits: Luis (pseudonym) worked for a suburban window and gutter washing company for 8 years. Though the company had forced him to sign a contract stating that he was a contractor, and had forced him to incorporate, he was indeed an employee of the company: he reported to the same manager and same office day-in and day-out, he could not set his own hours or take on his own clients, and he could not bid out his own jobs. One day, he fell off of a roof two stories high. Luis was injured badly, but thankfully survived the fall. Though the company had forced him to sign contracts saying he was not an employee, the company knew that these contracts may not hold up throughout the workers compensation process. Thus, the company settled out of court. The settlement was not large, but at least covered the cost of his medical bills. Another worker had a very similar experience at this company, falling off a roof and then winning a settlement out of court.

Upon Luis’ return to work after an extended recuperation period, rather than providing workers fall prevention training and safety equipment, instead the company forced workers to sign even tighter contracts, and to purchase their own workers’ compensation insurance (conveniently deducted from their paychecks). Workers get to keep 50% of the cut, but must also provide their own transportation, pay for their own gas, cover any damages to homes, pay twice as much in tax as employees, and pay out their assistants (the company insists that all workers hire assistants, again violating the autonomy of a truly independent contractor). At the end of the day, sometimes workers barely make enough money to cover their expenses. Luis reports that oftentimes he shows up to a job, only to find out that the company has improperly bid out the job. For example, clients have more windows than reported, or different types of windows that take many hours to clean. However, Luis is forbidden from charging clients more for this extra work. Additionally, the company provides clients with coupon promotions–promotions that come out of workers’ paychecks, even though they have no say in how and when these promotions are given. Finally, since Luis is classified as an independent contractor, he is not entitled to breaks or overtime wages even though he regularly works 12 hour days.

But perhaps most disturbingly, workers are not provided with fall protection gear and safety training by the company. In fact, Luis reports that when a worker on Luis’ team fell off a ladder and grabbed onto a gutter to hang on for dear life, the company’s response was to charge Luis for the damage done to the gutter. And, while workers have received settlements in the past for their injuries, now that they are forced to buy their own workers’ compensation insurance, it’s unclear that the company would pay for the cost of these injuries. More importantly, these injuries are preventable, but workers are not trained properly, nor can they necessarily afford the cost of the protective gear, given their meager wages.

Classical economic theory presumes that if these contracts were really such raw deals, workers would seek work elsewhere. However, classical economic theory does not take into account the power differential between workers and employers. Workers are told that they will not be given any more jobs if they do not sign these contracts, incorporate, and purchase their own workers compensation insurance. They are also forbidden from taking independent clients. In today’s economy, workers who are often recently-arrived immigrants, often lacking knowledge of English and US labor law, feel that they have no other choice but to continue in an abusive employment relationship, especially as more and more employers catch on to this new trend of passing market and health safety risks on to the worker, while they collect all the profits.

Recently the company has fired Luis, ostensibly due to client complaints, though the company refused to give him the names of said clients. Luis believes that the company is actually retaliating against him for pursuing his workers compensation claim. To whom can Luis turn? As an “independent contractor”, he does not even have a right to unemployment insurance–yet another way that his employer has passed precarity on to those most vulnerable, the workers. The Illinois Department of Labor has recognized the severity of the problem of misclassifcation, however, the Employee Classification Act only covers workers employed on construction sites. Here at Arise Chicago, we are attempting to pursue other strategies; but without stronger laws regarding the misclassification of all types of workers, workers are left unprotected and even more vulnerable.

READING, Pa. -- It could take more than a year to find all of the problems plaguing the Berks County Services Center, county officials said Tuesday. With the addition of the new facilities director, Ryan Hunter, last year, the county started a comprehensive survey of the services building. But it could take another year before they get a complete to-do list. "There definitely is going to be a big bill," said Leinbach. "How big? We don't know." The county is currently bidding out contracts for much-needed repairs to the parking garage under the services building. "Water has gotten behind the concrete, in some places has popped concrete off," Leinbach said of the garage. Leinbach pointed to the building's window washing system as another example of lagging maintenance. "The anchor system that was used for window washing has not been maintained and hasn't been used, I think, for maybe 10 years or more," Leinbach said. "We weren't even aware of that."

Mexia stage 2 water rationing: The city of Mexia is under a stage 2 water rationing plan effective immediately. City officials insist that no nonessential water usage be done.  Examples being street washing, water hydrant flushing, filling pools, and athletic field watering should be done at this time. The rationing plan limits residential car washing, window washing, and pavement washing unless a bucket is used.

When a company is struggling, the last thing it wants to do is admit it to its suppliers. Everyone from your stock supplier to the window cleaner will want his money upfront. Who’s going to give you nice credit terms if there’s any chance they might not get paid? Large scale suppliers normally insure themselves against a big customer going bust. But in January this year, many of HMV’s suppliers were told that they wouldn’t be insured against HMV not settling its bills. “Right, say the suppliers. “It’s cash upfront for this job.” And if you’re already struggling, that’s the last thing you need. The second reason bad news is held off is to do with sales. When you buy your groceries, you probably aren’t too bothered about the financial position of the store. But large corporations certainly do mind. Usually there’s a dedicated purchasing department, staffed with hard-nosed dealers that extract the best terms with suppliers. If you’re the buyer and you want to renegotiate terms with your supplier, you’ll be in a much stronger position if he’s on the ropes.

The first profit warning probably won’t even look like one. In fact, to the uninitiated, the phrasing of the news release will probably look like a jolly good little story. But there’ll be a sneaky little sentence tucked away somewhere – a phrase laying the foundation for the second profit warning further down the road. I’m talking about a small suggestion that a cost is going up, or a particular market is ‘tough’ or ‘challenging’. It may be a technical issue that’s causing some difficulties and delays. ‘Not to worry’ is the message – ‘we’re on top of things. Look at all this other good news!’ The point is that, in the release, there’ll often be more good news than bad. It’s the same strategy that got two of Downing Street’s spin-doctors sacked; ‘a good day to bury bad news’ and all that. That’s why you need to read company announcements at source and not via newspapers – you may miss the ‘real’ story.

Another new business promotion involves the city's service industries, including those without a store front. "We want to help them establish a connection to the community," Morris said, explaining that the idea stemmed from a request for Chamber window decals by Sunshine Cleaning Service. Through the new program, special window decals will be provided to service-related Chamber members to show they are part of the community. Morris said the chamber is happy to provide information to residents about companies doing business in Plainview regarding chamber membership status. "We're not intended to be the Better Business Bureau, but we can let residents know there is a connection to the community," she said, adding that the chamber gained three new members as a result of an initial contact letter explaining the program.

Judgement Day: As the curtain opens on today’s drama, three men are standing at the pearly gates seeking admission to heaven. The first to plea his case is dressed in a three-piece suit and he tells St. Peter that he lived a good life and treated his wife like a queen. “We lived in a penthouse flat, I took her out almost every night and bought her whatever she wanted, so when I realised she had been with another man I kind of went crazy.  You see I forgot my wallet one morning and had to come home for it at about 10 o’clock but when I got there my wife was naked in bed and there were two burning cigarettes in the ashtray.

“I saw two hands on the windowsill so I smashed the window down and the bastard fell to the ground. When I looked out, though, I saw he had landed in a dumpster and was still alive so I picked up the refrigerator, carried it to the window and pushed it out.  Unfortunately, it was a lot heavier than I expected and the effort gave me a heart attack, so here I am.” “In you go,” says St. Peter.

The next man is dressed in overalls and he tells the gatekeeper he was washing windows on the 20th floor of an apartment building when his scaffolding broke. “I just managed to grab onto a windowsill and I was starting to pull myself up when some bugger slammed the window on my fingers and I figured that was it; but no, I made a soft landing in a load of rubbish and I was okay, but then this fridge comes out of the sky… and here I am.” “Right, you’re in.  Next,” says the saint.

“Yeah, Pete, those were pretty good stories,” says the third man, “but compared with what happened to me they’re nothing. “There I was sitting in a refrigerator, minding my own business…”

Apple's proposed new "spaceship" building in Cupertino features curved glass and an engineering challenge that makes solving the antennagate and white iPhone problems look cinchy. Apple's proposed new "spaceship" building in Cupertino may be made largely of huge sheets of curved glass. It's an aesthetic choice, and a very expensive one. But not too tricky for one of the world's experts in huge glass architecture. But Jobs is insistent on the curved glass model--despite the expense--and it's probably for two reasons. A large curved sheet of glass doesn't flex as much as a flat one, and has added structural strength compared to a flat one--meaning you could clad more frontage with a curved glass sheet than a flat one. And it's an aesthetic choice, since a flat, segmented window facade would need more joins and supporting substructure, each element of which would interrupt the otherwise sleek look. With a curved glass "face," Apple's new building would thus ascribe to the smooth, sleek design aesthetic of Apple's products.

Steve Wilson, President of The Service Companies (TSC), was promoted to Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. The Service Companies' portfolio consists of JRS International (JRS), Southern Service Corporation (SSC) and Full Service Systems (FSS), three of the most well-known outsourcing providers exclusively dedicated to the hospitality, casino and vacation ownership industries. The Service Companies operate in 38 states, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The Company provides services ranging from turn-key housekeeping and stewarding services to public areas, kitchen, window and chandelier cleaning services. Led by an executive team with more than 200 years of combined experience at AAA Four Diamond hotels and casinos, The Service Companies have an impressive track record, serving a variety of exclusive clients such as Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Caesar's, MGM, Loews Hotels, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, and Wyndham Resorts.

The former chairman of a residents’ association this week warned that lives may be put at risk if sliding windows on his estate are not switched for a hinged model. Residents of Bayswater’s Wessex Gardens estate are to be balloted on what type of window they want to see installed in their homes when refurbishment works take place later this year. CityWest Homes, the arm’s-length management organisation responsible for maintaining the borough’s housing stock, said it wanted to give residents a choice of window. But former Wessex Gardens Residents’ Association chairman John Brett branded the current windows “unsafe” and said they had been responsible for a death 16 years ago on the neighbouring Brunel estate. Mr Brett, a pensioner who formerly worked in the housing sector, said he was unable to clean the outside of his windows and that a health and safety expert had concluded they were a risk as residents needed to lean out of them or balance on a ledge when washing them. He said: “Two weeks ago I learnt that in 1995 a resident cleaning the same window in Keyham House on the 11th floor fell to her death. “I told CityWest Homes about the incident and requested that the said windows be removed. Our residents’ association also got in touch with an independent health and safety officer who deals with industrial window cleaning, whose view was these windows above ground level are a risk. “Leaning out, one could drop whatever is being used to clean, thereby injuring someone passing underneath, and there is always the risk of a person falling out of the window.”

Pushed Her Husband out a Window: Amber Hilberling, a young 19-year old wife, is charged with the murder of her 23-year old husband, Joshua Hilberling. It seems this girl has one helluva temper and it isn't safe to be around her and an open window. Some might blame it on pregnancy hormones, but it's obvious that isn't the case with what investigators have found. Amber Hilberling shoved her young husband out the closed window of their 25th floor apartment. The glass shattered as the Joshua Hilberling plunged several feet to his death. Joshua Hilberling was apparently visiting the pregnant Mrs. Hilberling during a leave from his Military airman gig. He was happy to be soon welcoming his new child into the world. It's unclear what happened, but an argument ensued before Amber Hilberling shoved him with her hands out the 25th story window. Witnesses claimed to have heard a loud banging noise, which was Joshua landing on top of a parking garage belonging to the apartment complex.

Shaker Heights Police Blotter: BURGLARY, CLAREMONT ROAD: On May 27 a woman claimed window washers at her home stole jewelry. She reported $2,400 in jewelry wasstolen, including two gold necklaces and a 3-inch pendent.

DIY homeowners look for a fix: Dear Reena: We have a huge mirror in one of the washrooms in our new home, and I've tried cleaning it with Windex and other window cleaners but after it dries, there is a white haze on the mirror. I was thinking maybe the previous owners had sprayed something on it but I can't seem to get it clean. Any suggestions or ideas as to what it is? -Thank you, Maria A:  -

This may be the result of cigarette smoke or furniture polish or some other chemical settling on the glass. Begin by scrubbing the mirror with rubbing alcohol. Or try non-gel shaving cream or vinegar and wipe with crumpledup newspaper. If this is not effective, look for a product in your dollar store called Amaze. It does wonders on mirrors. But if the back of the mirror is damaged, nothing can be done to fix the haze.

Three Chelsea Pensioners visited a Hyde Heath pub to celebrate the 90th birthday of a former Chesham window cleaner, George Bayliss. One of the Pensioners, chose The Plough pub as the location for marking the milestone. The former Chesham resident, who now resides at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, was joined by two other Pensioners, Fred Walker and Arthur Barrow, and more than 40 friends and family on Saturday for the big occasion. Pub landlord Chris Herring said: “We at the Plough were amazed to see George and two of his colleagues from the Royal Hospital turn up in full dress with all their medals on.” Pictured: Chelsea pensioners (from left) Fred Walker, George Bayliss and Arthur Barrow at The Plough in Hyde Heath with landlord Chris Herring.

A man who shot his pal in a booze-fuelled row at a north Dublin apartment is unlikely to face a murder charge, sources have revealed. The 51-year-old suspect, who lived in the apartment at Larch Hill in Santry, has admitted shooting Ned Flanagan (50) on Wednesday night and was still being questioned at Ballymun Garda Station today. The Herald understands that he has told detectives that the shooting was a tragic accident and that he panicked and fled the scene shortly after shooting his friend twice in the head with a handgun. Despite having a heavy drinking problem, Mr Flanagan had never been in trouble with gardai and has been described as a doting father to his son Conor -- who he had planned to go on a camping trip with him. "They were very close -- Ned lived for Conor and absolutely loved every second he spent with him," said Grace, who added that Mr Flanagan worked odd jobs, such as window cleaning. At one stage, he lived in a caravan behind Belcamp College. The suspect handed himself into Coolock Garda Station before midday yesterday after consulting with a local priest.

A bit of window cleaning: Or is it, er, a spot of therapy?

The education of Bobby Prier, Jr. As an Ottawa high school student in the '90s, he didn't care much for the classroom. Now, he's Princeton's hockey coach. His mother, Debbie, remembers her only son struggling with his schooling in Grade 11 and, being the caring mom she is, threatening to take away what was most important to him at the time: hockey. He holds a master's degree in education obtained in 2004 at St. Lawrence University, where he starred as an undergraduate hockey player for four years, from 1995 to 1999, before signing with the Ottawa Senators.

It's a remarkable career path that also included a short stint as a window washer and co-owner and operator - with now Ottawa 67's coach Chris Byrne - of Squeegee Clean Windows. (To hear both tell it, the other just held the ladder while they did all the work.) "It's cool to be intelligent now," says Prier. "But I've got to be honest, I wasn't a great student. We were moving around and I went to three different high schools. "But I certainly understand the value of education now. And Princeton is the most difficult school to be admitted into. It's rated No. 1 ... with Harvard and Yale right there."

Egyptians aren’t early risers, A curfew empties the streets for five hours each night. London brings quite a bit more early bustle to its day. In a downhill mile to the river, still padding in my Egyptian slipper-sandals, I passed four window cleaners. Goza and his helper had barely a moment to chat as they prepared to shuttle from an upscale restaurant to their last client near Piccadilly. His job each day is to be done before others have begun.