The Best Window Cleaning Company In The World Is Up For Sale!

5 Star Window Cleaning employees are the only employees you’ve ever met that are paid on customer satisfaction.  Your happiness determines how big their paycheck is!  Just another way we prove that we are a customer service company… that just happens to do windows!

You may remember a blog on Curt Kempton & his window cleaning company; 5 Star Window Cleaning in a blog post a few years back? The time has come & a unique opportunity is waiting for the right person to own the best window cleaning company in the World!

You can own an incredibly unique and awesome business: An Amazing Culture... That Happens to be an Amazing Window Cleaning Business. Curt Kempton talks about selling his business & the reasons for doing so...

It's bittersweet to get to this day in 5 Star Window Care's history. When I first started the company I thought this would be the last business I ever worked at. I loved it, and because of that I built it to be exactly the kind of business I wanted to retire with. When I graduated from Arizona State University I took every bit of learning I had gained at the WP Carey School of Business and began building my legacy. And let me tell you, this is a sweet business. Really sweet. But in a world filled with hype, I feel like I need to explain what makes this company WAY different than any other window cleaning company you've ever heard of.
 

A really different (public) approach to selling the company 

• I have decided to open up the sale of the business to the public for several reasons:
• I don't have to sell it, but it's the best thing for the company.
• It's not about the money at this point, I need to find the person who can carry on the legacy and I think I am more likely to find the right person this way.
• I need to be able to determine if the new owner is going to be a culture fit.
• I will be sharing numbers down below, but you MUST understand the premise of this sale before even considering this sale.

A few things that make this a really a cool company

• What we are: "A customer service company... that just happens to do windows" a tagline that we live and breathe every day
• A company-wide vision: "The absolute best customer service to ever enter our customer's homes" And we purposefully improve ourselves each day for that.
• The best owner responsibilities ever: "To improve our people so that they can do their jobs better than anyone ever has"
• This commercial we made
• Our customer parties (celebrating our customers)
• Our incredibly awesome monthly team meetings
• Our certification program (the BEST and most competent employees you'll EVER find in the industry)
• Our unique pay system to incentivize employees just like owners
• The most pristine reputation of any company (We have a trove of internal and external reviews I can show you)
• Our company is just one big game for a greater good-- we are not simply window cleaners. We have a much higher purpose, and our culture proves it.

Not only do we live by the ’5 Star Standard’, but we were recognized by the International Window Cleaning Association.

Why would I sell such an amazing company?

  

If you're anything like me, you are reading this and thinking to yourself: "Whatever... if this company was so great, he'd keep it forever or just hire a manager and continue on with it indefinitely." I thought the same thing... I have tried that. For 3 years. I have basically given this company no more than 3 hours of my time per week for the last 3 years. And if you look at the graphs on the next page, you'll see what I mean. 

But before we get to the numbers of it all, let me explain why I have wrestled with this for so long, and why I am finally taking these measures. I have built a culture of responsible, incredibly competent, pleasant people who do what they do like true professionals. About 3 years ago my software product (built for window cleaning professionals) started taking a lot of my attention. I would spend hours a day polishing, building, and expanding a tool that originated on our website as an online bidding tool, and has transformed into much more. 

This software started taking over not just my attention, but as I started helping lots of business owners with the tools I was building and then consulting, I found that my heart was also being sucked into this new direction. I want to make it clear that even though I was running out of time in the day, my love for 5 Star never waned. In fact it started amazing me that the company was doing great things even with minimal input from me. I was really proud of what was being accomplished for the first time in spite of me... and not because of me. 

It was in some ways like watching a child grow up to be independent. But I felt guilty. I was noticing that even though the company was doing ok, it wasn't growing. If I was doing what I should have been doing, like going out and selling, networking, meeting with customers to collect referrals, energizing the community (as a company like this could) there should have been exponential growth.

We had an incredible base... in fact we grew right through one of the hardest hit economies during the big housing crisis. Our business' foundation was solid, but we weren't building anything new. We were just living comfortably in "the proverbial house" we built in 2011. And I was robbing the company. I was robbing the company of my time, but I was also using money from the window cleaning company to fill in the deficits we were facing in my software company... using 5 Star Window Care like a piggy bank. 

Everything I did was legal of course, but I should have been rolling the profits of 5 Star Window Care into mailings, online advertising, or whatever, but instead I was using it to make this new software venture keep it's head above water (Code is expensive, you know... and it's not like I was selling to a very large audience). So I had this constant guilt riding on my shoulder, but I was doing what I knew I needed to do in my heart. And I'm glad I did. 

But, it's now time. My software life is only getting more busy, and I am not on any trajectory to ever give 5 Star Window Care what it needs. Not to mention, that the software company is now cash positive and I don't need this "piggy bank" anymore. I need to set it free. Free to grow. Free to expand what it can do. Here are the goals I would like the new owner to be able to achieve that I personally should have over the last 3 years:

• A new truck should be going on the road every 6 months.
• Customer parties should be planned, marketed and made meaningful for months & years in advance.
• This company should be making $1mil in revenue annually. Easily.
• Employees should have cooler benefits. I have always given what I could, but I know that growth and focus could double anything I have done up to this point.
• The owner should be visiting job sites and shaking customer hands no less than 70% of the time.
• Safety training could be overseen more often (min 6 months, but probably more often) by the owner (we have pretty awesome stuff in place, but we could be better and more frequent)
• There is more, but I don't want to overwhelm you. Yet.

So you see, I'm doing what I know is best for the business. The business has firmly been planted on the figurative rails, but it's stagnant and the employees deserve to have an owner that is stoking the engine and barreling down the tracks to allow for growth. We are in an incredibly competitive market, and we stand out. Our employees deserve to feel progress and forward momentum. As the owner my job has been to be the best support to the employees that they could ever hope to have, and in turn be "A customer service company... That just happens to do windows." And our higher vision is simple: "To be the absolute best customer service to come into our customer's homes". It's time for an owner to come on board who will not have the paradox of saying one thing, but whose actions show another. I'm tired of the contradiction I have become (which I never meant to be) and my 5 Star family deserves better. 


Ready to learn more?

Do you want to learn more about the specifics of what makes this business so amazing? Are you interested in understanding more about what makes it such a wonderful opportunity, for the right person? Awesome! I would love to hear a bit more about you, as well. Please fill out the form below, and I'll share with you a whole bunch more information about our financials, services we provide, websites, company timeline, and the cost to make this unique business your own. In order to share more, I'll need you to to simply sign the following "Non-Disclosure Agreement" and I will contact you as soon as I can.

Click the picture to digitally sign the agreement.

Alcides Moreno - Window Cleaner Walks For Charity

HUMAN SPIRIT: Alcides Moreno, who survived a plummet at Solow Tower (left), walks in an Arizona fundraiser. Click to enlarge.

He survived 47-floor plunge — and now walks for charity: He’s a walking miracle. Alcides Moreno, the Midtown window washer who survived a terrifying, 47-story plunge when his scaffolding broke on Dec. 7, 2007, has made a stunning recovery.

Moreno, now 43 and living with his family near Phoenix, drives his kids to school and volleyball matches, works out at a gym — and finished a 3.1-mile walk to raise funds for a church food pantry. His time: a respectable 57:26, or 18.30 minutes per mile. “I don’t know why I’m still here, still alive, walking,” he told The Post. “Maybe it’s a gift God gave me. My kids think it’s because I never wished bad things to nobody else.”

Moreno, who settled a multimillion-dollar suit against scaffolding company Tractel Inc., said he’s taking life after the catastrophe — which killed his brother, Edgar, 30 — one step at a time. “I can’t complain. I have my kids and my wife around me. I’m happy — happy to be here,” he said. “I gotta keep going, live day by day. That’s the way I’m healing.”

Alcides Moreno “rode” the scaffold like a surfboard, an updraft slowing his fall. When the scaffold struck a fence, Alcides was thrown onto a pile of cables in an alley.

Alcides defied death on a cold morning six years ago last month. Then age 37, he and Edgar, sent to wash the dark glass face of Solow Tower at 265 E. 66th St., had just stepped off the roof onto the scaffold when it collapsed. Edgar toppled off the 1,250-pound scaffold, tumbling at a speed estimated at up to 124 mph. He hit the top of a brick wall and was killed. But Alcides clung to the aluminum platform, like a surfboard in the sky. It created wind resistance that — aided perhaps by a random air current rising between the buildings — slowed his descent, physicists surmised. It also blunted the force of crashing into a concrete alley.

But doctors and scientists were still stumped. “Fifty percent of people who fall four to five stories die. By the time you reach 10 or 11 stories, just about everyone dies,” Dr. Sheldon Teperman, director of trauma and critical-care surgery at Jacobi Medical Center in The Bronx, said at the time. “This guy absolutely should have died.”

The scaffold bounced on the ground and the twisted metal frame came to rest around a corner of the building.

Firefighters and paramedics found a bloody, banged-up Alcides atop a pile of mangled railings and cables after his 500-foot fall. He was breathing. They gingerly lifted Alcides and took him to New York-Presbyterian, where he received 24 pints of blood and 19 pints of plasma. That’s enough to replace all the blood in his body twice over. He underwent 16 surgeries to repair 10 broken bones, collapsed lungs, damaged kidneys and blood clots in the brain, among other injuries.

On Christmas Day, 18 days later, he spoke for the first time since the accident. “What did I do?” he asked his wife, Rosario. Moreno’s next stop: Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, NJ, to begin a long, bumpy road to recovery. “I do think it’s a combination of miracle, luck, hard work, great care and great family,” Kessler’s medical director, Dr. Steven Kirshblum told The Post. “What we see is the true triumph of the human spirit.”

Moreno would undergo a regimen of physical therapy to strengthen his legs and regain balance; occupational therapy — for relearning tasks like grooming, hygiene and dressing; speech therapy and mental exercises to rebuild thinking skills and memory. He also underwent psychotherapy to cope with his brother’s death. “I felt really depressed for years about the loss of my brother. He was so huge to me,” Moreno said, his voice dropping. “But I have my family, my kids. I had to let it go and continue with my life.”

KEEPING THE FAITH: Wife Rosario is in disbelief at the hospital days after the December 2007 window-washing horror.

The Morenos have three children: Andrew, 12, Mariah, 14, and Michael, 20, who attends a local community college in Arizona. Moreno, too, plans to take a course to improve his English, saying he never had the chance to go to college. “I finished high school in Ecuador, and there was nothing else to do. That’s why I emigrated to this country — to look for a job.” Moreno can’t work again, at least not in the foreseeable future.

A Manhattan Supreme Court judge found Tractel at fault for shoddily installed cables suspending the scaffold from the roof of the high-rise. Solow Tower was also found liable. The case was settled before trial for an undisclosed sum. A source said it was much more than the $2.5 million awarded for Edgar’s family in Ecuador — the brother “died instantly, leaving a wife, mother and father who were only minimally dependent on him,” court records state.

The Morenos, who lived in Linden, NJ, chose to move to Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix, after a Google search, Moreno laughed, for a community with good schools — and a warm climate. “This weather is good for my bones. My bones feel great,” he said. “Yes, I miss New York — not the weather, though, the people,” he added.

In his new routine, Moreno said, he stretches his muscles at the gym and walks one or two miles a day. He said he still walks slow but conceded that the Turkey Day 5K in 2011, to benefit a Catholic food pantry, was a big accomplishment. When he joined the walk/run, coordinators and the 1,500 other participants had no idea Moreno was NYC’s miracle window washer. “It’s incredible,” said race director Casey Brown. “You can’t even tell anything happened to him.” “I keep it to myself,” Moreno said. 

More on Alcides Moreno:

Walking Miracle

Alcides Moreno

High Rise Window Cleaning & A Free Fall Survivor

Snake Whisperer Turns Bike Rustler

Snake catcher accused of stealing bike: Scottsdale, Arizona. - A valley window washer we profiled in April, who calls himself the "rattlesnake whisperer," has been accused of stealing an expensive bike and trying to sell it online. Officers say Steven Salamone took a beach cruiser last month from the Tommy Bahama Store at Kierland commons. The bike was worth nearly $3,000.

Beach cruiser

Phoenix police say he tried to sell it for a thousand dollars on Craigslist. Detectives who saw the ads met up with him on Monday. They took him into custody after they say he gave them conflicting stories -- and the store confirmed he's the suspected thief. We interviewed Salamone four months ago when he caught a rattlesnake with his bare hands. He was working in north Scottsdale when he came across the snake.

Tommy Bahama in North Kierland Blvd.

Probably The Best Window Cleaning Company In The World

Curt Kempton with the most professional window cleaning company in the World.

Remember the Carlsberg advert where the guy picks up the phone in an abandoned old office & as he closes the door you see the sign "Carlsberg complaints dept'?" Well from the presentation & marketing of his company - 5 Star Window Care, Curt Kempton in Arizona seems to be the guy that fits this bill. Curt Kempton is on a mission, he has won the the most professional window cleaning company in the world by the International Window Cleaning Association (IWCA), after showing marketing materials, customer appreciation programs, uniforms, equipment, employees, procedures, customer testimonials, and giving a comprehensive presentation. The International Window Cleaning Association voted 5 Star Window Care the most professional image, not only once, but for the last 3 years in a row! Curt is now changing the face of window cleaning companies forever with his Instant Bid program & now his Mastermind Group for window cleaners.

Curt Kempton of 5 Star Window Care says "We are a Customer Service Company... That Just Happens to do Windows! 

Curt has just released a new video for his company & I asked him just how he did it...

"So about 2 months ago, we decided we'd like to do a fun video to advertise using social media. We got in touch with Propusganda and sat down with them to figure out what the concept was. I was a big fan of the "Dollar Shave Club" video, plus all of the Old Spice commercials. I just wanted it to be more refined. In the end, We came up with 4 shots that we would like to do, all starting out as bad news, then going into a "reveal" where 5 Star awesomeness saved the day. "

"The production company was great. They wrote the script, let me edit with them, and understood our company culture pretty well before even getting to the final draft. Once we came up with everything on paper, then we got the shots lined up conceptually and went to find a set. They secured a set along with about 6 actors & actresses. We spent 2 hours the day before on the set just walking around and getting an idea of how the shots would work, and re-writing any lines necessary. The day of the shoot we started at 9am... I was surprised to see a makeup artist, all the props, and actors walking all over the place."

"It was a little surreal. I had brought my son along for the first couple hours so he could see all of the equipment. He seemed to enjoy it, but in the end, it was everything else going on that was so wild. We spent the next 10 hours shooting, messing up lines, and having fun. They provided all of the food, and the entertainment was plenty. 2 weeks later, they emailed me the files and the rest is history."

"A few weeks before this video we had decided that we wanted to do something fun for our customers, so we planned a customer party. The production company was happy to help us with this video too..."

Window Cleaning Add-Ons, Dreams & Rock 'n Roll

Window Washing at Sky Level: Windows on the new Las Vegas City Hall reflect partly cloudy skies Monday. The building, under construction on Main Street downtown, is expected to be finished early next year. 

Erin Carr-Jordan, of Arizona, says she has visited and videotaped more than 50 such playlands as well as sending swabs for microbial testing. She says she’s found alarming conditions in rich and poor areas alike.

Arizona mom inspects, records appalling conditions: On a humid Monday morning, Erin Carr-Jordan was crawling through the tubey slides of a McDonald's PlayPlace on the West Side. When she got to the top of the colorful structure, she peered through a cloudy plastic window and mouthed the words: "This is bad. This is really bad." In recent months the 36-year-old mom and developmental psychologist from Arizona said she has visited and videotaped more than 50 such playlands as well as sending swabs for microbial testing. "Without a doubt, this was one of the worst and definitely in the top five," she said after climbing out of the tubes. "There was food everywhere."

A reporter crawled through a few minutes later to find sticky surfaces, filmy windows, several broken pieces of equipment, food morsels in every compartment, trapped hair, garbage and thick black schmutz in most crevices. Carr-Jordan, who is combining her playland testing with a family road-trip vacation, says she has seen similar conditions in many restaurants across the country. She's found that some fast-food companies regularly clean their playlands and are happy to provide customers with their cleaning protocols — she singles out Chick-fil-A — but that representatives of Burger King, Chuck E. Cheese's and McDonald's have either indicated they don't have any such protocols or have not responded.

Her activism began last spring after she followed her toddler through an Arizona McDonald's playground and was shocked by the filth. Several calls to the manager yielded no action, she said, so Carr-Jordan posted a video tour of the food- and graffiti-tainted structure on YouTube.

"It was unacceptable, completely unacceptable," said McDonald's spokeswoman Danya Proud, who said the video caught the attention of the restaurants' corporate offices in Oak Brook. "But it is not reflective of our business and our restaurants. As far as I'm concerned, it was an isolated matter. And we took immediate corrective action to thoroughly sanitize the PlayPlace." McDonald's says it requires the facilities to be thoroughly cleaned each day and the area kept free of debris and soiled surfaces. Burger King said its standards require "daily, weekly and monthly cleaning of playground equipment, pads and foams," as well as professional cleaning on quarterly basis.

Chick-fil-A corporate spokesman Don Perry said there are regular cleaning schedules for the establishments that offer play areas. And Chuck E. Cheese's said it has eliminated ball pits, requires that "all existing play equipment is cleaned with sanitizer" and removes graffiti. Both of these companies noted that hand sanitizer is available at the playlands. When the Tribune asked the companies whether they disinfect the areas with steam cleaning or other methods, none responded.

Carr-Jordan is videotaping and swabbing playlands in between visits to museums and friends as she travels cross country this summer with her husband and four children. Plans for her stay in Chicago included stops at the Field Museum, Navy Pier and at least three randomly chosen fast-food play areas. She said she's found alarming conditions in rich and poor areas alike.

Joan Rose, a co-director of the Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment at Michigan State University, said she is not familiar with Carr-Jordan's findings but stresses that places that serve children need disinfection policies. "Kids often are exposed more (they put their hands in the mouth more often) and are also more vulnerable to more severe illness," Rose wrote in an email. "It is extremely important that the industry (like McDonald's), facilities themselves and states have good public health policies around cleaning and disinfection. These can be evaluated and monitored so we know we are achieving a safe environment for our kids."

University of Arizona professor Chuck Gerba, who is one of the nation's foremost authorities on germ transmission notes that children are major virus passers. "And viruses which cause diarrhea can survive up to a month on surfaces" such as playgrounds, he wrote in an email to the Tribune. "Bacteria like MRSA could also be transmitted by this route." Carr-Jordan has been sending her swab samples to a lab that she said found staphylococcus and other bacteria. Annissa Furr, a microbiology professor in Arizona, is working with her to collect and analyze the data to spur legislators to act on the issue.

"One of the ultimate goals is to put regulations in place that would require cleaning these places once a week or month or whatever comes back as necessary," Furr said. Public health departments currently inspect restaurants with food safety, not playground safety, in mind. Jose Munoz of the Chicago Department of Public Health said a city restaurant inspector could not cite a restaurant for a dirty playland. "But our inspectors do monitor for insect and rodent activity throughout the facility," Munoz said. "And if it happens to be in that area, the establishment would be cited."

New business steam-cleans Seattle trash cans — A new business called Steam & Clean has been launched to clean trash cans, driveways and tanks in an environmentally friendly manner. All water for cleaning is recaptured so there's no runoff into Puget Sound. Emily Wiewiorka, the company founder and president, said the business is going well and expanding as she finds new uses for her system. One company recently told her they had estimated it would cost them $200,000 to clean some oil tanks but she said Steam & Clean can do the job for much less, at $360 per hour. The business uses vehicles that look like garbage trucks. Rather than holding garbage, they hold 1,500 gallons of water, vacuums and filters. Trash containers are lifted into the truck and steam cleaned at 250 degrees Fahrenheit without chemicals or detergents. Wiewiorka said germs and bacteria are destroyed by the high temperature and the surfaces are left sterile. Wastewater from the process is filtered and cleaned in the truck, and then reused. Developing the first truck cost $300,000, and now Wiewiorka has ordered four more. She is committed to using local manufacurers and chose to have Kenworth and Heiser build the trucks.

Jim Hill, a technical consultant for the company, said using a local manufacturer is good for the economy but there's a downside: replacement parts that would be readily available from an Asian supplier must be individually made here and that adds time. Developing the first truck cost $300,000, and now Wiewiorka has ordered four more. The trucks can also handle small oil spills, window washing, flood waters, and cleaning tanks, barrels, driveways and walkways. Wiewiorka said brake dust, spilled oil and other pollutants can be sucked up by vacuums and cleaned inside the truck. Cleaning a trash can costs $3 per week per can. Windows cost $60 a month for a one-year contract, regardless of the size of the house. Steam & Clean charges by time. Wiewiorka, who lives in Redmond, got the idea for this business about a year ago when she was pregnant with her fourth child and sensitive to smells. In the U.K., where she is from, there are cleaning services for trash cans, but she couldn't find one here and saw a business opportunity.

She is a former corporate attorney who worked for 18 years in the private sector. She has lived in Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. While living in Dubai, she helped one client with a global expansion. Money to form Steam & Clean came from her own sources and private investors. The time to create it came early in the morning, late at night and when her children were napping. "I'm the kind of person who just doesn't sit back," she said. "I like doing stuff. I saw the business opportunity there and I went for it."

Steam & Clean today has 100 customers, split equally between businesses and residential. It is doing a test for one city in this area to clean waste receptacles from cafes, bars, pubs and other businesses. Hill said restaurants and food businesses in this state are supposed to keep trash receptacles clean and hygienic, and face a $10,000 fine for washing them in the street. Spokane, he said, charges businesses $20 to swap out an old, dirty can with a clean one. Steam & Clean charges $3 to clean a can. Wiewiorka is pleased with the progress Steam & Clean has made. She's also happy to be in the U.S., particularly in the Seattle area. She said it has been quite easy to start a business here, compared to the Middle East where red tape and bribes are common. People here, she said, are receptive to new ideas. "You Americans might be a bit jaded but as someone coming into this country, people are very happy, very positive and very helpful," she said.

However, she said financing this type of business is tough. She said a person that's never done this kind of work before without private equity would likely not be able to get a business like hers off the ground. Wiewiorka has made a commitment to hire as many veterans as possible, but said it is hard to find qualified applicants. Even in a recession, this is a relatively affluent area so recruiting is tough, she said. She is hiring truck drivers, truck assistants, office workers and canvassers. Wiewiorka said she has become passionate about trash and cleanliness, but she sees a lot of opportunity here. "Because it's such an unusual service, it's the first of its kind of service, who knows where it will take us." previous blog on this service here.

Dreams Made Possible: The eagerly anticipated annual Martha's Vineyard Community Services benefit, the Possible Dreams Auction, takes place August 1. What will you bid on? Kayak While They Work - While the crew from Vista Window Cleaning and Painting Services washes your windows, screens and sills, owner Richard Cowen will whisk you and a friend away for a Kayaking Adventure on Squibnocket Pond. Have the ride of your life and maybe hook a striper. Return home to your sparkling windows.

John Lynch, a window cleaner of Hauppauge hits the Mulcahy's stage at the fundraiser for him two months after being inflicted with pancreatic cancer. 

Fundraiser at Mulcahy's Held for Levittown Native Inflicted With Pancreatic Cancer: Two months ago, Levittown native John Lynch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Upon hearing the news, his longtime friend Tom Scandaliato began to put together a fundraiser to help pay the medical bills of the business owner, husband and father. With the help of Scandaliato and Lynch’s sister Catherine Lynch-Golub, the fundraiser came to fruition this past Saturday at Mulcahy’s Pub & Concert Hall in Wantagh. “There are all sorts of bills he’ll have to pay like deductibles, fees, time off from work and whatever the insurance company doesn’t cover,” said Lynch-Golub. “I was so happy to hear that Tom was putting this together. It was all his idea and I was ready to help out as soon as I heard about it.”

Lynch, a Hauppauge resident, is the owner of Sparkle Window Cleaning, which services areas throughout Long Island. He is married to Meaghan Lynch and has a four year old son named Casey.

During the Saturday’s fundraiser, Lynch played the bass with bands that performed on the Mulcahy’s stage. At the end of the night he reunited with his band mates from Levittown Memorial High School and played for the first time since they graduated. Saturday’s Mulcahy’s fundraiser attracted hundreds of supporters of Lynch’s cause. The event took up the entire concert hall and the music never stopped playing. There was catered food for the guests and the bar was hopping.

Each person who came was able to participate in a raffle for various items such as a television set, Yankees tickets, Mets tickets and gift certificates. The largest raffle cost $20 while the smallest cost $2. Local businesses donated items to the raffles while family and friends provided the rest. There was also a silent auction of various sports memorabilia, ranging from jerseys to autographed photos to free dance lessons. “Tom just made calls to everyone he could and everyone was ready to come and help out,” said Lynch-Golub. John’s mother, Joan Lynch, only found out about the event two weeks before. “It was a nice surprise,” she said. “Everyone likes John; he gets along with people very well so a lot of people came here for him. Two people even flew in from California. It’s like a big reunion of family and friends.” Anyone looking to contribute to Lynch's cause can send donations to: John Lynch P.O. Box 976 Coram NY 11727.

Window Cleaners: New Rule In California + Other News

The California Air Resources Board on Thursday voted to reduce the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which produce toxic, smog-forming emissions, from 11 different categories of consumer products, including common household cleaning products such as window cleaners and countertop sprays. Three toxic chemicals — methylene chloride, perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene — are now prohibited from use in several products included in the regulation. “We were very happy about this regulation,” said Luis Cabrales, deputy director of campaigns for the nonprofit advocacy group Coalition for Clean Air. “It will have very positive effects on air quality in the state, and specifically indoor air quality.”
Cabrales said he applauds CARB for setting “groundbreaking regulations that others can emulate throughout the nation.” The regulations target about 2,500 different products on the market, most of which are consumer products that are used indoors for cleaning, he said. The cumulative use of these products by more than 39 million Californians results in significant emissions, according to CARB. When the regulations are fully implemented in 2014, emissions from VOCs will be cut by 6.7 tons a day, or the equivalent of taking 500,000 cars off the road, according to CARB. The reduction in VOCs is just one of many steps CARB has taken in its effort to achieve a national ambient air quality standard for ozone by 2014. More here & here.

Carla Takemoto, manager of the air board’s technical evaluation section, said manufacturers are expected to shift to surfactants to replace the VOCs. Found in soaps and shampoos, surfactants are compounds that reduce surface tension when mixed with water, allowing water to do much of the cleaning without strong solvents. They are large molecules, so they have low volatility and don’t contribute to smog, she said. “We expect to see increased use of surfactant technologies, which we think is a very viable option,” Takemoto said. “Surfactants tend to be more expensive chemicals than some of the other solvents. But because you use such a small amount of them, it’s still pretty cost-effective to use them.” For some products, however, surfactants don’t work well. A representative of Stoner Inc., which manufactures a product called Invisible Glass, said surfactants leave streaks and haze on windows. Air board officials are concerned that some manufacturers of glass and floor cleaners may switch to glycol ethers, which are linked to asthma and allergies in children. Meeting the new standards “will not be easy,” but the company supported them, saying they “reflect the state of technology for years to come.”

Chris Evans faces Canary Wharf stunt for Children in Need: Viewers will see tonight how TV presenter Chris Evans (pictured) coped with cleaning Britain’s tallest tower. The One Show host cleaned the windows yesterday outside One Canada Square in Canary Wharf as part of a ‘grin and bear it’ stunt for Children in Need. People were asked to vote for one of the presenters - Evans, Jason Manford or Alex Jones - to do a job out of their comfort zone, with the idea raising more than £100,000 for the cause. The film of how the Radio 2 DJ got on as a window cleaner will be shown on Children in Need’s live show from 7pm on BBC One, with Evans admitting he was “petrified”. He tweeted: “Couldn’t tweet while I was up there, no loose objects allowed and no signal! Should be a great film,I was properly ******* myself,” adding before the stunt: “All for the kids. That’s what I keep telling myself at least.”

A junior doctor’s online market place to make it easier for people to get everyday tasks done has been shortlisted for a national business award. Florence Iwuoha (pictured), a doctor at The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, came up with the idea for My- TaskAngel when struggling to order food from her favourite restaurant. The website, which will start operating in January, will have a database of local businesses and skilled individuals willing to carry out everyday tasks, such as window cleaning, dog walking, food shopping, picking up takeaways, ironing or jumpstarting a car, as well as businesses such as plumbers, removal men and builders. MyTaskAngel has now been shortlisted as one of three finalists in the business plan of the year category at the national Startups Awards.

Dr Iwuoha said: “I got the idea to start the business while in my final year of medical school. “Prior to this, I ran an online niche DVD sale business and realised I was actually interested in business as well, so I took a business course. “The idea for MyTaskAngel was born during a discussion with a friend while studying for exams. “We wondered why we had to go all the way to our local Nando’s restaurant to get hold of our favourite takeaway, as they do not offer a delivery service. “This irritation led me to envision a website where people could post tasks and have others execute them for a fee.” Dr Iwuoha believed the website, which will be started at a local level, with plans to extend it nationally, will offer an affordable means of getting day-to-day things done.

Individuals registering to carry out tasks will undergo criminal record checks, and businesses will also be checked for legitimacy. Dr Iwuoha said: “I can see there being quite a market and sometimes some tasks can be done by people who are already doing them. “If someone is already doing shopping it might not take them much extra effort to do that for someone else. “And with the cost of driving to the shops or getting public transport there, it might actually be cheaper for someone else to do it for them.” Judges at the Startups Awards, which recognise UK entrepreneurial talent, include Toni Mascolo, chief executive of hairdressers Toni & Guy and Julie Meyer, chief executive of Ariadne Capital.

It’s not often that an anonymous window washer provides the impetus to take up a hobby, but that’s just what happened to Rick Shelman. “I had a lot of model airplanes in my office,” he explained. “The guy washing my windows noticed them and asked if I was a pilot.” Rick told his wife, Mary Anne, about the conversation and she asked him why he didn’t go ahead and become one. That was the only encouragement he needed. He booked his first lesson the next day and officially soloed on May 6, 2006, a date etched in his memory.

TO THE EDITOR: I took the time this past Tuesday, the 9th, to attend our County Board of Supervisors Building Committee meeting. I was surprised and dismayed at the ease and lack of foresight with which this committee dispenses with our shared resources. During the process of finalizing a project to retrofit the courthouse and county offices with new windows, a nearly $400,000 project which may or may not be necessary, the committee determined that it was a good use of county funds to purchase $30,000 worth of titanium window treatments, which is supposed to “eliminate” the need for washing these new windows. Even the representative of the engineering firm consulting on the project said almost none of their clients choose this option. Is this a wise use of our county funds? Are there not other more important uses for these funds? I ask, “When local residents are tightening their belts, would it not be better to have a local window cleaning company clean these windows every few years or so, which keeps this money in our county rather than giving $30,000 to some mining and chemical company?”

Window Cleaners - Go to work in a bow-tie: With his time as Harry Potter coming to a close, 21-year-old Daniel Radcliffe is already looking to a future without the boy wizard in it. In fact, Dan is returning to Broadway to star in the musical, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. His character is a bow-tie wearing window cleaner who works his way up in the corporate world at the World Wide Wicket Company thanks to a self-help book. OK, I lied about the title link.

As Arizona prepares to become the 15th state allowing the medicinal use of marijuana, Valley business owners are having mixed feelings about dispensaries opening near their stores.Entrepreneur Mike Wells is a partial owner in a window washing company and in a horticulture product supply company, and said he plans to open his own medical marijuana dispensary because it benefits patients and is an untapped market. “We’re contacting construction companies, marketing companies, lighting companies, security companies, glass companies, all sorts of companies that any person who would be starting a business would have to reach out to,” Wells said. “It’s benefiting everyone economically.” He said dispensary owners, marijuana cultivators and caregivers will be in need of the various products that go along with owning a business. “This industry, especially in Arizona … will help support this economy and it will put us back on our feet,” he said. “There is money to be made because it’s an untapped market.”

Downtown buildings' owner misses loan's $154M balloon payment. A window washer rappels down the side of Metropolitan Park East. Loan servicer ING Clarion said Walton Street has defaulted on its loan for the Denny Triangle building. Twenty-story Metropolitan Park East and 18-story Metropolitan Park West, nicknamed the "Twin Toasters," were built in the 1980s just off Interstate 5 by longtime Seattle developer Martin Selig. Click to enlarge.

At the start of his trial today at Luton Crown Court, the jury heard Obih admit the killing of PC Henry but deny his murder. He also denies the attempted murder of two window cleaners, Stephen Chamberlain and David Knight, on the same morning and charges of aggravated burglary and assault, in a separate incident on the same day. Prosecutor Richard Latham QC told the court the run-up to the tragic death of PC Henry started on George Street, Luton, at around 7am in the morning. Obih, of Luton, got involved in an argument with Stephen Chamberlain after he refused to move as the window cleaner tried to park his car.  As Mr Chamberlain tried to get him to move, Obih punched the passenger door of the car. Another witness intervened and asked Obih to calm down but he grabbed the passenger door and tried to pull it off its hinges, the court heard.

Mr Latham said: "The defendant for the first time spoke and in a raised voice said something along the lines of: 'Don't you know who I am?"' Police were called and a number of officers were sent, including PC Henry, who had started his shift at 7am that morning. Mr Latham said: "It was at about this time that Chamberlain, standing at the driver's door to his car and facing away from the defendant, was struck in the middle of his back between his shoulder blades by the defendant with his right fist. "Mr Chamberlain reached to his back where he had been hit and discovered that he was bleeding." Obih, who was armed with a knife, left Mr Chamberlain bleeding in a doorway and walked off.

Mr Knight, who had heard the commotion, armed himself with an extendable window cleaning pole and followed Obih who shouted at him: "Take another step and see what follows, I'll stab you". The court heard Obih threw a beer bottle at Mr Knight, narrowly missing him. Police officers arrived at the scene and tried to confront Obih, who refused to drop the knife. Attempts to spray him with CS gas were unsuccessful, the court heard. PC Henry was one of a second pair of officers to arrive and tried to approach Obih from behind. "At this point the defendant draws his attention towards Constable Henry and suddenly he rushed at him and lunged at him, stabbing him in the upper chest area," Mr Latham said.

Illegal workers nabbed: Securitymen affiliated to Kuwait International Airport arrested eight laborers for overstaying in the country during a campaign against residence law violators. The laborers were reportedly working for a cleaning company which was offering services at the airport. The laborers were referred to authorities for further action.

Widower escapes jail after window cleaner caught him viewing child porn: A pensioner who was caught viewing child porn by the window cleaner has been spared jail. Now detectives are urging anyone who has been affected by Simon Mountford's (pictured) behaviour to come forward. It comes after the Mail received a letter claiming he had allegedly committed further crimes. Mountford, 68, of Preston, was found guilty by a jury at Hull Crown Court of downloading and viewing indecent images and movies of children, some of the films and images were at the worst level. He was caught after his window cleaner spotted him viewing the sick images.

Detective Sergeant Rebecca Handley, from Humberside Police, said: "This investigation was long and arduous at times, requiring court orders to assist us with obtaining encrypted files held on his computer when he failed to help us. "It is possible there will be other victims of Mountford's criminal behaviour who have not reported the offences to the police. "I am aware an anonymous letter was written to the Mail in relation to possible further offending and I would urge the author of this letter or anyone who feels they may have been a victim of this man to contact me in confidence." During his trial, Mountford denied downloading the images and blamed hackers for putting them on his computer.

The honorary Recorder of Hull and the East Riding Judge Michael Mettyear said Mountford had come close to being sent to prison. He said: "The offences justify an inevitable prison sentence. I have been very tempted to lock you up immediately." He has been sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years. He has been ordered to attend the Northumbria Sex Offenders Treatment programme and pay £2,200 court costs. The widower had been arrested by police in November 2008 after a window cleaner was polishing his bungalow's kitchen window and saw him looking at child porn.

In England the real celebration is Boxing Day, which falls on December 26, the Feast Day of Saint Stephen the first Christian martyr. Some historians believe that this very British holiday dates back as early as 400 AD, but its roots can definitely be traced to 1500 AD. During the Middle Ages, wealthy merchants filled boxes with food left over from their great Christmas feasts and distributed them to their servants and the less fortunate. Apprentices used earthenware boxes to collect money door to door from their master's clients, and after church services the "Poor Boxes" were opened and money was distributed to the needy."As December twenty-fifth was a working day for people in service to the great houses in Britain, so the next day was theirs to celebrate and to receive gifts and money from their employers. Boxing Day was then and still is a day of appreciation and thanks. When I was a girl in England, I remembered the postman, the milkman, the dustman, and the window cleaner coming to our door the day after Christmas to drink a glass of sherry and receive their Christmas Box and an envelope with money discreetly slipped into their hand at the front door on their way out."

Former deputy prime minister John Prescott (pictured) denies being informed of the details of the contracts with a services company. With a penchant for playing croquet and driving Jaguars, Lord Prescott has always enjoyed the high life. During his time as deputy prime minister, the former Hull East MP was often presented as the link to the working classes. But documents seen by the Mail show he was demanding silver service dining and ordering "only top brands" be stocked in his department's vending machines. Indoor gardeners were told to maintain "healthy and vigorous plants" with a "weed-free" appearance. Taxpayers paid more than £3.5 million over six years for catering, cleaning and building services in the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, which Lord Prescott held while he was Deputy Prime Minister. Mr Prescott denies being informed of the details of the contracts, which he said were drawn up by civil servants. It also specifies window cleaners must leave "no evidence of run marks, verdigris, stains or finger marks on glass, window ledges, sills, paintwork or surrounds".

TREA awards scholarship to Jackson resident: Taylor Wellinsky, a resident of Jackson, New Jersey, is attending Pennsylvania State University. He is a sophomore Business Administration major. Taylor graduated from Jackson Memorial High School and displayed the makings of a business man, while in high school. He started his own business, TSW Window Washing, while a junior in high school. In addition to achieving academically, Taylor is enthusiastic about exploring his independence and personal growth in college.

Window Cleaning Add-On - Security Film

With this in the news today & in todays desperate society, I'm sure it could be of interest to many professional window cleaners: -

Film could allow removal of security bars on Main Street, Arizona: Pictured left, a local business owner inspects a sample of glass using Armorcoat. The film keeps broken glass held together so as to deter easy entry to a facility, and avoid injury. The campaign to remove the bars from the windows comes from Main Street Revitalization consultant Maralan Hutchins, to make downtown more appealing and windows more open to window-shoppers. With the bars, cleaning windows is also a much more problematic chore. Representatives Aaron and Ron Rumfallo with Queen Creek company Advanced Window Films gave an overview of the product they sell from renowned window film manufacturer, Armorcoat. According to Aaron Rumfallo, the product is used worldwide but picked up in popularity after Sept. 11, 2001; it has been used to retrofit all Washington government building windows to make them more resilient to blunt force.

The film comes in various tensile thickness, which Aaron suggested 8 mil and thicker for commercial storefronts. Showing a short video, business owners saw a presentation demonstrating how the windows with film stand up to different weapons such as a baseball bat or 2x4. Samples of glass tempered with the film were also passed around, showing the criss-crossed webbing of the broken, but unpenetrated, glass. The film is designed to keep the window from breaking apart, and slow down a criminal.
"I want to make this clear to everybody right now. There is no guarantee, just like any other security product, that it's going to stop everybody from breaking through. Just like the current security bars - I've seen bars ripped out of the walls with a chain and a vehicle. Nothing is a 100 percent. The product is not designed to stop glass breakage...what it does do is hold that glass together. It's an invisible barrier. Consider it an invisible peace of mind." According to the FBI's Unified Crime Report, almost 70 percent of burglaries are performed through breaking a window or forced entry through doors. With the film, windows are equipped to stand an incredible amount of force, and would take many repetitive attacks before it could be penetrated. Even at that, it would take much more work on the would-be thief's part to pry a hole big enough in the glass to gain entry. "Most criminals if they don't get in and out in less than a minute, they start making mistakes and their adrenaline gets pumping - and so, they're gone," Aaron explained. "They want to get in and out to the easiest target. In most cases they'll try to break in a couple times. They'll take a few blows to the window and realize that they're raising all this noise and exerting all this effort, and most move on."

Cost of the installation of the film is approx. $6-8 a square foot, and $5-6 a linear foot for the attachment apparatus. A group rate is "totally negotiable," Aaron added. According to Hutchins, the city has been working with El Paso Gas Corp., which could be donating a sizeable amount to help cover costs of the window project. The only downside to that would be that should an attempt at breaking the window be made, the cost would be back on the storeowner to replace the window, and a reapplication of the film. But several storeowners were critical that the film would help at all. Western Auto owner Lupe Galaviz recounted how she and her sister and co-owner Janie Rodriguez had to resort to plexiglass several years ago after constantly replacing glass windowpanes. Other business owners have had the same experiences, replacing countless windows, broken the majority of the time by rocks.

Armorcoat is a strong, resilient film that helps protect people and property from the hazards of broken glass. Manufactured by Bekaert, a world leader in window film, Armorcoat has met impact requirements for some of the most stringent tests in the industry and has been field tested for over 20 years. Armorcoat is made from only the highest quality materials, such as tough, high tensile polyester and ultra-strong mounting adhesives – available in thicknesses ranging from 4 to 14 Mil, with thicker films offering greater protection.

There are many other manufacturers, including the range from Bekaert also 3M, DIYwindow security & Shatterguard.

World's Biggest Window-Washing Job

The 6,500 windows over Biosphere 2's 3.14-acre laboratory get their first cleaning in 7 years. It's the biggest window-washing job in the world. Window washers will complete the Herculean task of cleaning all 6,500 windows that enclose the Biosphere 2's 3.14-acre living laboratory the week of Oct. 27. A crew of six window washers from the 5 Star Window Care company of Phoenix have been working from sun up to sun down for more than a week to clean the windows, which haven't been washed in seven years, said John Adams, assistant director of planning and facilities at The University of Arizona's Biosphere 2. Once cloudy, opaque glass in the 91-foot tall, 7.2-million-cubic-foot steel-and-glass space frame structure now sparkles, both enhancing the appearance of the stunning dome and increasing the amount of sunlight that 3,000 species of plants inside need for photosynthesis. Windows over the rainforest, savanna, wilderness and ocean biomes now shine. Windows over the desert biome are the last to be washed. Washing is a 3-step process. The crew first uses a special detergent and water-feed poles that look something like long car-wash brushes to break through years of biological and mineral build-up. The next step is pressurized-water rinsing using water filtered by reverse osmosis to prevent water spots. The final step is power rinsing using deionized water. Adams originally estimated that the window-washing job would take more than three weeks, but the crew is finishing in about two.