Latest Window Cleaning News & Photo's

A worker cleans the exterior windows of an office building in Munich, southern Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011.

Window cleaners retrieve ropes on top of a skyscraper in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011.

Plea after vehicle arson in Billingborough: A Business owner has appealed for witnesses after one of his vehicles was stolen and set fire to. A car owned by Billingborough-based window cleaners Sparkles was taken from the road in front of the firm’s office in Vine Street between 8pm and 9pm on Monday, August 22. The vehicle, which contained about £500 worth of cleaning equipment, was found on fire at Thorns Wood, off Mareham Lane, at about 9.15pm. Owner David Manning, 40, was at a loss to explain why the car was stolen. He said: “I was gutted when I found out. The people who did this are very vindictive, I don’t understand why they have done it. “You don’t expect things like that to happen living in a small village. “We are a very small family-run business and it meant my staff couldn’t work for a few days, which is bad enough on the financial side.”

The company owns another vehicle but was unable to complete scheduled jobs in the days following the theft and Mr Manning had to pay his four part-time staff out of his own pocket at a further cost of £500. Mr Manning is urging anyone who saw the silver Vauxhall Zafira, registration DV52 0AL, to come forward. He added: “Because the vehicle is well known and is very distinctive with two ladders on top, we are hoping that someone will have seen it and will come forward.” Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue confirmed that two crews from Sleaford had attended the blaze, and were on the scene for two hours. The fire also damaged about 160 sq ft of scrub around the car. Police spokesman James Newall said no arrests had been made so far, and investigations are ongoing.

A Scarborough woman rescued from a burning flat has admitted deliberately setting fire to the property. Elaine White, 42, pleaded guilty to being reckless after the fire in Northstead Flats, in Long Walk, Northstead, earlier this month. White, who was dramatically rescued by two eye-witnesses, was originally charged with arson but admitted the lesser offence when she appeared at York Crown Court. The court heard White set fire to her home after locking herself in. She was dragged to safety by window cleaner Ryan Burns, 27, and Jim Murphy, 58, who used a set of ladders to get into the property through an open window. They then help fire crews carry the woman to safety. Prosecuting, Alan Mitcheson, told the court White had been sent by Scarborough magistrates on the original indictment, but, after reviewing the case, he felt that the only life which she had intending harming was her own. White was remanded in custody with the case adjourned until October. Speaking after the incident, Paul Burnett, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue crew manager, praised the actions of Mr Burns and Mr Murphy. He said: “It is very commendable that they have gone and acted the way that they have.

As they dangled four stories in the air, the new Tulsa Fire Department recruits didn't have to worry about whether the apparatus would hold. Forty-nine recruits are less than a month away from completing their training, which began in May. Once they graduate, some will start work the very next day, Smallwood said. When they do, they need to know how to meet the challenges firefighters face on emergency calls of all types. "You've got to prepare for every eventuality, which is extremely difficult," said Capt. Lee Horst, one of the training captains teaching the recruits. Tuesday's training focused on rescues where the victim was in a precarious situation and needed to be hoisted to safety, Horst said. The recruits all learned how to set up the hoisting apparatus and use it to lift someone. The procedure could be used if someone has fallen into a ravine or if a window washer gets stuck on a high-rise building and needs to be brought back up, Horst said.

Toxins Lurk in Cleaning Supplies: Inhaling even small amounts of bleach can damage your nervous system, and children are particularly at risk. Did you know that bleach often hides in products such as Drano, Tilex and Cascade, which don't say "bleach" on the label?  Bleach isn't the only chemical that is hazardous to our health. The kitchen harbors several toxic substances. Ammonia (in window and all-purpose cleaners) is an eye irritant that can also cause headaches and lung irritation. Petroleum distillates (metal cleaners and polishes) can damage the nervous system, skin, kidneys and eyes, and there is bleach in dishwasher detergent. In the laundry room there are petroleum distillates in spot removers, the ingredients in mothballs (naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene) are suspected carcinogens, and residues from fabric softeners can cause allergic reactions. Toilet bowl cleaners contain hydrochloric acid, which can burn the skin or cause blindness if splashed in the eyes. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services website has more scary information.

Transguard takes bigger slice of $8 billion UAE FM market: The Transguard Group, an Emirates Group company, is targeting new potential business within the retail sector through its rapidly expanding facilities management (FM) division, after a raft of new contract wins awarded to its Cleaning and Hospitality teams. According to the MasterCard 2011 Worldwide Index of Global Destination Cities, both Abu Dhabi and Dubai report impressive growth rates for inbound tourism this year against 2010 figures, at 15.5% and 17.3% respectively. “Tourism and retail go hand-in-hand, and the UAE’s commitment to driving inbound visitor numbers is key to creating major business potential as we move forward,” added Hall. The company has also been awarded a contract for exterior window-cleaning services at the Marina Quays residential development in Dubai and the Park Hyatt hotel in Abu Dhabi.

New and not improved: Remember the Assembly bill that would require companies that provide building security, maintenance, window cleaning or food services to retain the employees of the previous service contractor for 90 days? Well, AB 350 has been amended. Which is to say it has been made worse. The new version exempts a new contractor from being forced to hire an employee of the previous contractor if said employee has been convicted of specific violent crimes. That makes perfect sense until one considers that, by listing specific crimes that free the new company of such hiring obligations, AB 350 implies that the contactor must hire felons convicted of other offenses -- say, embezzlement, grand theft or arson. At least that's the reading of the California Chamber of Commerce's legal staff. Is that a justifiable take-away? Hard to say, but our original objections stands: Newly hired contractors shouldn't have to take on the problems of their predecessors.

Landscaper falls victim to own success - Too many customers sign up for online deals. Merchants shouldn’t make online group-buying offers unless they can deliver, says the owner of an Eastern Shore landscaping company that’s having trouble doing so. Rob Monk, who owns Roscoe’s Landscaping, said Tuesday he’s been overwhelmed by the number of customers who signed up for the three daily deals he offered on Dealfind and Kijiji in the spring. "It seemed like a good idea at the time but I’d never do it again," he said in an interview from Lake Charlotte. Monk said 38 people signed up for a lawn-care package he offered on Kijiji in April for $140. The following month, 169 people paid $69 for interior and exterior window washing and gutter cleaning on Dealfind.  Another 120 people bought a $60 voucher on Kijiji for power washing. The Roscoe’s owner said he can only work on three or four houses a day and has been hampered by the wet weather. "We’re trying to do the work and it just takes time to get to everybody; we’re working our butts off to get to it," said Monk, who started the business this year.

Roscoe’s had employees earlier this summer but Monk said he couldn’t afford to keep them. He and his son are now trying to catch up on the workload. The vouchers are good for a year and Monk is aiming to have most of them honoured by Oct. 31. Dealfind’s co-founder says there’s not much the company can do if a merchant overextends themselves. "Respectfully, I think it’s a mistake to run too many deals," Gary Lipovetsky said from Toronto. About 50 Roscoe’s buyers have received full refunds from Dealfind so far, which Lipovetsky called "a higher than average amount." As of Tuesday afternoon, the website says it has issued more than 1.2 million vouchers and saved consumers $260 million since it started last year.

"It is really a minority of the cases that it does happen," Lipovetsky said, referring to problems redeeming vouchers. He said the company has policies to protect consumers, including screening merchants and having customer service agents available. Dealfind says it issues full refunds if buyers can’t redeem the voucher or aren’t happy with the service. Ken MacKenzie of Dartmouth said he’s been trying to get Roscoe’s to clean his windows and gutters for four months. "The goal was to get our gutters done this summer and, of course, the summer is gone," he said Tuesday.

MacKenzie, who bought the voucher May 3, said he’s made four appointments with Roscoe’s since then but the company has failed to show each time. He said Dealfinders has been trying to help him. After Roscoe’s failed to show last Thursday, MacKenzie began asking Dealfinder for his money back. He’s also launched a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. A spokesman for the bureau couldn’t be reached Tuesday for comment. According to its website, the bureau has given Roscoe’s an F rating, on a scale of A-plus to F. The bureau says Roscoe’s failed to respond to two complaints filed against it in the last year.

Twit-tw-ouch! The lasting impression left by an owl after hitting window. Splat! An unfortunate owl has fallen fowl of a living room window after flying straight into it - and leaving this incredible outline. The poor beast left a near-perfect silhouette complete with wings, feathers and beak on glass in Glasgow earlier this year. It is one of a series of ghostly impact images collected online that show the last moment of life of these birds of a feather. Most of the birds are believed to have died - but miraculously a pigeon that hit a moving car and left a print on the side still managed to fly away. Exeter University post doctorate student Richard Heeks, 38, runs a group on picture sharing website Flickr where contributors from across the world submit their amazing bird-splat pictures. 'I first became aware of this phenomenon when I was having a weekend in Yorkshire,' explained Richard. To prevent birds striking windows the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds recommends fixing plastic stickers to windows. It says stickers shaped like hawks and other birds of prey are particularly effective at scaring away most other types of birds. It is estimated that thousands of birds die each year by flying into windows.

Belfast brothers Robert and Ian Stewart are the key witnesses in Northern Ireland's largest paramilitary trial for 25 years. In the summer of 2008, they packed one bag between them, drank a bottle of vodka, fled their homes in north Belfast and caught a ferry to Scotland. Between them, the two loyalist paramilitaries had £2,000 in cash, stolen from their disabled parents.  Much of it was later spent on alcohol. Robert Stewart, 37, has been an alcoholic most of his life and was a habitual drug user. He took ecstasy tablets, cocaine, cannabis, acid and glue. He also used to take 60mg a day of prescription valium. Robert Stewart joined the UVF in his early 20s. As a teenager, he was a keen Liverpool fan and worked in a butcher's shop. But he soon gave it up. Although he claimed unemployment benefit, he admitted to the court he "did the double" by working as a part-time window-cleaner. He usually worked three days each week, for just 3-4 hours and normally with a hangover.

Dear Answer Man, did you know that the window glass for 1WTC is being made by Viracon of Minnesota? — Art Reckinger, Rochester. I do now. Viracon, based in Owatonna, has been involved in a lot of high-profile projects, including the Comcast Cower in Philadelphia, another glass-skinned skyscraper that bears some resemblance to the New York project. According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the components of the 1 World Trade Center building, the major building under construction on the former site of the twin towers, are being assembled by Benson Industries, a curtain wall contractor based in Portland, Ore., with Viracon as contractor for the glass. The building will have 82 floors, but with its spire will be 1,776 feet tall, making it the tallest in the United States and reputedly the tallest all-office building in the world when it opens in 2013.

Putting Their Guard Up: In what City Council Speaker Chirstne Quinncalled an efort to make better use of city resoures, the council approved Intro 531-A, which would step up enforcement of city rules requiring that all apartments occuped by young children have guards on the window. Currently, only health inspectors have the authority to check for window guards. The bill would also allow housing inspectors to check for the window guards and to order owners to install them where needed. Owners who do not coply within 21 days face fines. Emphasizing the measure does not take any authority away from the health department, Quin said it "also gives that power to housing inspectors who are out there every day." In the city, Quin said, "The number of children who fall out of windows is not as high as it was at one time," but national figures indicate the need to make sure that window guards are in place.

18yo writes book about his $50k debt: While most 20-year-olds are busying themselves with plans for the weekend, Piers Elliot has completed his first book. Titled Poor Me! How I Stuffed Up By Getting Into Debt So You Don’t Have To, the book details the young author’s quick decline into fiscal fiasco. On his 18th birthday, Elliot was debt-free. A week later he signed a $15,000 lease on a shiny new Ford Falcon XR6. Now he faces a seven-year struggle to pay off an accumulated $50,000 debt. “I thought I knew best,” he said. “If I’d heard from other kids what it really means to owe a lot of money I’m sure I’d have thought twice.” The Breakfast Point resident, who works as a high-rise window cleaner and delivers pizzas at night to repay the debt, made his literary debut with the help of mum Domini Stuart, a freelance journalist. The book also includes accounts from other youngsters who have found themselves in financial strife.

Nick Petrovic, a psychologist and contributor to the book, said the instance of young people getting into debt may have a strong neurological underpinning. “Young people tend to be more impulsive as their brains are still developing,” he said.  An older and wiser Elliot hopes his book will help others steer clear of making bad financial decisions. “The trouble is that, when debt is a problem, you feel so ashamed and embarrassed you keep quiet about it,” he said. “Nobody gets to hear the bad news, so that’s why I’ve decided to speak out.”

Seven Peaks buys troubled CityDeals: The abrupt shutdown of CityDeals.com last week left merchants wondering if they would get paid and consumers questioning whether the certificates and gift cards they bought were worthless. The website sold coupons for goods or services from businesses that hoped deep discounts would attract new customers who would then return again and again. CityDeals owes Pleasant Grove chiropractor Geoff Moultrie about $1,700, said his wife, Mandy Moultrie. "We would just like to get our money back and we would be happy. We just don't know who is liable," she said. Seven Peaks has worked around the clock making arrangements to take care of merchants that have been waiting for payments from CityDeals, Law said. It also is working with businesses to ensure coupons sold on on the website to date are honored. "Most everyone is willing to deal and is anxious to move forward," he said.

But Seven Peaks is not paying cash. How it will compensate vendors is unique to each situation, he said. One approach is to offer credits to its water parks and fun centers. "I don't know what I'm going to do with $20,000 worth of credits to Seven Peaks over my lifetime," said Todd Elkins, owner of Sharper View Window Cleaning. CityDeals didn't pay him in June and July. "There's nothing besides them paying what's rightfully mine for me to have any interest in them."

UK based JV Price has ordered a new 38 metre Bronto Skylift S38XDT mounted on a highly specified Volvo chassis. The new unit, which the family owned company considers will be “the ultimate window cleaning machine” will join the company’s existing Bronto S37XDT. The company says it is also looking closely at the new Bronto S50XDTJ for a number of larger – higher contracts that it hopes to win.

Life in a Tudor home: One of Exeter's most famous Tudor buildings, this tiny house was moved in the 60s to make way for the inner-city bypass, but neither time or upheaval have diluted its charm. It's not necessarily the most viable space for a business because it gets bigger as it goes up – the ground floor is tiny. The beams are original but all the plaster was renewed when they moved it. The good thing with these old timber frames is that they are rock solid – English oak from that era is now so hard. The tiny leaded window panes have also been replaced, but kept in style. Maintaining them requires a window cleaner with a bit of nerve. None of the windows are the same size.

George with his wife Olivia who believes he had several affairs: It’s all rather extraordinary as, until now, it has always been thought that George Harrison’s love story with Olivia Arias was one of complete spiritual and emotional union. George quickly asked her to move into Friar Park with him, so she relocated to England. At first, she found it lonely. She added: ‘I organise everything in my house. I know each glass that is chipped, which window needs washing; I have the ironing board in my bedroom. I find housework therapeutic.’

Councillors clash over saving plans: A series of council savings proposals that caused controversy less than 12 months ago are back on the agenda. Councillors are currently being presented with lists of potential ways to save or make money for the local authority. The savings proposals which were before the committee to be noted by members also included staffing reductions, efficiency measures for items such as printing, window cleaning and travel, property rationalisation, increasing fees and charges and reducing libraries budget by 25 per cent.

Disturbance: On Sept. 2, a business owner in the 1800 block of Glenview Road reported a male began washing the business' windows without permission and demanded payment.

Carson City: A 24-year-old window cleaner from Carson City was arrested at 1:23 a.m. Sunday in the 1000 block of North Carson Street on suspicion of misdemeanor drunken driving, failure to obey a traffic signal and driving without a license. Bail was set at $1,401.