Window Cleaning Hall of Fame & Scratched Glass

Two new websites you should be aware of & read for your own information: The first website is from Window Cleaning Resource - Fabricating Debris & how to protect yourself from the terrors of clients that have poorly manufactured glass & what to do about it! This is one issue that is slowly raising it's ugly head in Europe as glass manufacturers are turning out poor quality glass for the quick buck leaving window cleaners holding the rag. Also a 'biggie' for window cleaners in the USA that can make or break your business in what is becoming a frequently discussed topic. Educate yourself, knowing that once you detect it, you may be too late. Above is the much celebrated DVD available from the store by the credited expert in the field of fabrication debris, Dan Fields. More information on this topic in this blog is collated here.

The Window Cleaning Hall of Fame started by Jack Nelson of the MWCoA, this website has been established to set up "to Honor the men and women who made what we do for a living easier and a more honorable profession." "Each year on April 10th we will add more members." "April 10 was picked because of the passing of Jim Willingham." "Jim never forgot where he came from he remained true to his roots." "He was both respected and revered." "Each person named here brought something unique to the window cleaning profession." "Because this is the first year for the list, there is no way we can honor everyone who was vital to the industry."

Fabricating Debris on Glass

The sound (Gary Mauer) of fabricating debris on glass (video courtesy of window cleaning resources).

I've been putting off the subject of fabricating debris for quite a while now, as its such a body of work that needs addressing and is coming to the forefront in the window cleaners world, although the problem has been around for much longer. If it hadn't been for the work of Gary Mauer & Dan Fields, more window cleaners would probably have gone out of business by now.

Gary Mauer runs a widely respected network & has educated window cleaners worldwide on the problem of fabricating debris & Dan Fields educates via his website, tapes & DVD's.

If you are not familiar with the problem, I urge you to sign up now to the discussion group or get the information from the websites concerned, click on Gary & Dan to take you straight to their respective sites.

The issue here is why some uncoated tempered glass (but not all) may be so laden with abrasive fabricating debris that it will scratch when you clean it with a standard window cleaning scraper. Fabricating debris is an inherent problem with tempered glass, but clearly some temperers do a good job of minimizing it, while others do not.

Lately a war of words has broken out between GANA & window cleaners in the USA. With GANA contradicting themselves by saying scrapers shouldn't be used, but.......a small scraper could be used???

More links from the AUWC with their defective glass bulletin & an open letter to GANA from the IWCA. The MWCoA also put out a great pdf file with some excellent pictures. Make sure you have a waiver in place before attempting any builders cleans, some window cleaners reserve the right for a signature before any window cleaning is attempted on any glass. Another video below of a window cleaner explaining fabricating debris.