Bubble Truck Window Cleaner - Advertising Window Cleaning

Bubble Truck Window Cleaner: Adam Froman admits that his way of advertising brings them out of the woodwork. "This is a publicity stunt to advertise my window cleaning business," he says. Adams Window Cleaning, operates from Kent, WA. serving King, Pierce, Snohomish counties in Washington State - around 20 miles North East of the Seattle area. Since starting with the bubbles, Adam has had continued success attracting new customers & thinks you would probably have the same result to. Adam has added his secret of bubble success below, just in case you too want to follow his lead.

History of the bubbles:

I squeezed a dishwashing liquid bottle and a bunch of cute little bubbles came flying out. After that moment, a dream was born. My dream became; with a bubble blowing machine (a small one) on top of my bucket , it could attract some attention. I didn't have much money to start.

I bought a little bubble blowing machine. It was a little 10” tall blue plastic bear that dipped a little bubble wand into a small container. It brought the wand to it's mouth and blew a few bubbles out. There are many like this. Little Tikes - Bubble Bellie Series in Target or Walmart. It took about 4 AA batteries. I placed it on top of my lid of the water bucket for dipping my scrubber into. The bucket was next to my sign for window cleaning. It would run for up to 2 hours. I would have to replace batteries.

I was mostly using these at storefront cleanings. A few bubbles would drift, it was starting to look cute. Every once and a while, little children around 2 years old would drag their moms or dads over to look at the bubbles. My conclusions at this point; these use a lot of batteries (I like to recycle so I don't like this), dollar stores have batteries cheap (in my search to keep the machine going), it did attract some people, and this setup would work best for kids at home.

My dream became bigger. Now in my dream; there would be a cloud of bubbles around the front of the storefront I was working at. I purchased a bubble blowing machine made by Gazillion Bubbles. It is just called a bubble machine. I got it at Target. It was about $15. It took 4 AA batteries. It is about 10” tall, purple on the outside, and yellow spinning bubble wands. It produced a lot of bubbles. The machine would last for about 2 hours till I needed new batteries.

I liked the amount of bubbles, so I bought another machine. I placed (2) machines on my water bucket and cleaned the storefronts. Now the bubbles carried across the storefront and on to the next storefront or two .. this was a great result! Then about 2 hours later, The batteries died. Sometimes it was enough time to get a job so I kept buying batteries to try. No changes - batteries still dying. After a week or two the machines themselves broke. It turns out the wiring inside is very small.

My dream became bigger .. now I wanted the cloud of bubbles to last the whole time I was working the storefronts. I began to research a little into solar power and wind powered bubble blowers. So far, the best I can find to do is buy a solar cell to charge a car or marine battery and run the bubbles AC off of that. I was not happy with results of recharging AA or C batteries. I didn't get any good results with homemade wind powered bubble blowers just yet.

Then I noticed the bubble blowers that work on 110 volts AC and figured about plugging them into a converter, attached to a car battery. This is about when I had the idea about putting the bubble blowers on my truck. I attached (2) machines to my truck. I found them at Party City. Each was a black bubble machine that is made of metal and shaped like a stop sign. It was about $40 for each one and many companies make machines like this one on the net also. Both of those plugged into an extension cord. That extension cord is plugged into a converter that converts 110 AC to 12VDC. I got at Staples or Office Depot. I got the smallest one. It was about $40 also.

With the bubbles on the truck, I began driving around. I stopped using the bubbles at the storefront and now focused using them on the truck. With the bubbles on the truck a lot of new things began to happen. I would keep the bubbles on while I was cleaning storefronts and houses now. While driving, I would see people in other cars smiling, pointing at the bubbles, giving me a thumbs up symbol, and people waving (like a parade wave) to me.

Now when at a job with the bubbles, I can almost guarantee some child will come out of the woodwork and start playing in the bubbles and that would drag a mother or father out with the child. I rarely get a job in these situations but I know the advertising is working.

After having the bubbles on the truck for a little over a month, when I go to the bank or a store people ask me if the bubbles are mine. I say, ”Yes.” and they say, "my children love your bubbles”. I ask them where the kids are and they say that the kids saw me driving around town. I think more and more people are seeing the bubbles. I think teenagers respond best, young children second, and adults last. But when I drive by a group of teenagers, they yell, “Bubbles!” Young children smile, play a little, and definitely try to show their parents.

I did notice a situation at this point. The cost of bubble solution. I found solutions range in price from $3 to $20 per gallon. I learned the $20 per gallon Gazzillion solution works as good as the $3 per gallon kind. I found the best deal at Walmart or Target. They have the $3 per gallon pricing. Bubble solution is a seasonal item, so I am buying up stock to get ready for slow bubble solution months. I have begun for fun, to see if I can find a bubble solution sponsor.

For fun, I got another 3 machines, another battery, and another converter. I drove around. One lady asked if I could park in front of peoples homes during birthday parties and such. I told her no so far. I got one other question like that before. It puts out a lot of bubbles, but I think it is just as effective with two machines. There is one other truck on the internet with bubble machines on it. He has more bubbles coming out of the truck. He charges $160 per hour to park the truck for parties and such. This is the only other thing like this idea I could find on the web.

As far as cops go, I haven't had any bad situations. I have passed many local cops and they haven't done anything. One cop was writing a ticket, and the bubbles came flowing in and he just smiled and kept on writing. I even had a cop following about 2 cars behind me and still he didn't do anything.

I have ran the bubble in all types of weather. One time, it was a regular rainy dreary day, someone called me in a car behind me, saying the bubbles had changed their day to be happier!! I even had the bubble machines running in the snow. I just pulled them inside the house at night when the weather turns to freezing.

I think the setup I am going to is: to keep the (2) machines on the truck and use another bubble machine setup at the storefront. For the storefront, a smaller bubble machine and smaller battery like for a wheel chair. I have (2) batteries and I will be starting this setup soon. The two locations both seem to get customers. Not many, but the whole setup has paid for itself twice.

I am completely open to people copying the idea. I think it would be great that when people see bubbles, they think of window cleaning. I do know that some people around here when they see bubbles, they think about me. Anybody reading this, I am open to any new ideas. As Adam says; "Don't keep up with the Jones,"- "BE the Jones!" "Please feel free to contact me, Adam of Adams Window Cleaning. on 206-423-7408.

If you would like to add your unique story to the blog - please contact me.

Michael Jackson Used Bubbles as a Window Cleaner + Other News

Bubbles was Jackson's favourite pet chimpanzee whilst he lived at the Neverland ranch. In out-takes from Martin Bashir's documentary, Bubbles is said to have used Jackson's private toilet and completed basic household duties such as dusting and window cleaning aided by other chimpanzees. It was rumoured that Bubbles was banned from the Neverland premises having punched Jackson in the face. A statue of Bubbles and Jackson can be found at the Alstrup Fearney Museum of Contemporary Art in Oslo Norway, having been purchased for $5.6 million by an ananymous buyer in New York in 1991.

E-fit Appeal: Leeds Bogus Window Cleaner Burglar: Police from North East Leeds have this morning released an e-fit of a man they would like to speak to in connection with a distraction burglary on a lone female in the Seacroft area of Leeds. The incident occurred around 11am on Monkswood Avenue last Sunday (8 March) when the suspect knocked on the victim's door and stated that he was starting a local window cleaning business. The 48-year-old victim said she was not interested and advised the suspect to try next door. A short time later he returned and asked if he could borrow a piece of paper and a pen. As the victim went to find a paper and pen, the suspect entered the property and was sat on a sofa in the lounge when the victim returned. At this point the suspect asked for a glass of water and as the victim was returning from the kitchen she saw him going through her purse and handbag. The suspect then left the property on foot. He is described as a white male, 5ft 8 inches tall, 20-25 years of age, slim build with short jet black hair, a clean shaven pointy face and deep voice. He was wearing a dark coloured fleece top with black jeans and had black gloves on throughout the incident. Any witnesses or anyone with information is asked to contact PC Greenwood at Killingbeck CID via: 0845 60 60 606. Click picture to enlarge.

Harley Lawhorn, 19, cleans the windows at the Bank of the West building downtown to a mirror shine Wednesday. It was the third and last day it takes to clean all of the windows from top to bottom at the five-story building, said Peter Cruz, owner of Clear View professional window cleaners.

Fair organizers looking for a few good workers: It's hard to imagine some companies are hiring in these tough economic times, but they are. Guelph-based Synnex Canada Ltd., a computer distributor with 600 staff in the Royal City -- and 7,000 employees worldwide -- is looking for dozens of people locally. "We're not growing, but we are not shrinking," chief executive Jim Estill said yesterday, adding there's always turnover to fill. "You want to keep your eyes open for good people." Synnex will be among 14 area employers looking for hundreds of people at an afternoon job fair March 25 at Guelph's Ramada Hotel and Conference Centre. The event runs from 3 to 6:30 p.m. The job fair is being organized by the Waterloo Wellington Training and Adjustment Board, a provincially funded non-profit workforce development corporation. Despite the current recession and regional unemployment at about seven per cent, employers like Synnex are optimistic the area will recover. Recruiters at the March 25 job fair will include Spring Masters Canada, which offers summer employment for hundreds of people in lawn care, driveway sealing and window washing.

Lost Images of New York in the ’20s: The Lower East Side photographs documented street life among the Eastern European Jewish immigrants who had made the neighborhood one of the most densely populated urban quarters anywhere in the world. Several of the images are of vendors, selling pretzels, herring, cloth, shoes, fruit and other goods. Other images show Union Square, the docks and a window-washer.

SEIU 32BJ Worker Testifies before Congress As Employee Free Choice Act is introduced: All day Tuesday, workers from more than 30 states and a number of unions were on the Hill to lobby their own Members of Congress on the importance of the Employee Free Choice Act.. The workers related their personal stories of being fired or harassed when they attempted to form a union, and several workers participated in a hearing from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee on the importance of unions in restoring the middle class. Among the witnesses called to testify before Congress was SEIU 32BJ member Kelly Badillo, who told the committee the devastating experience of what it was like to be working in the north tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 when the planes hit. Badillo related how his union helped him and his family get back on their feet in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedy, when while living with the terror of the attack, he also had to worry where his next paycheck was going to come from:"Two thousand, seven hundred and fifty people lost their lives, including forty-seven SEIU members. Many thousands more lost their jobs. More than twelve hundred 32BJ members - cleaners, security officers, building maintenance, window washers and elevator operators like me were suddenly trying to live on unemployment.

Window cleaner is turning greener: A young businessman who cleared 7,000 pieces of chewing gum from a Corby street has now launched an environmentally friendly window cleaning operation. Jordan King, 25, (pictured) is filtering rainwater collected in barrels from a house downpipe, and then using it to clean windows without the need for detergent. The innovative system has attracted the attention of a number of organisations. The Exmouth Avenue resident, set up Oracle Ideas Ltd with the help of the Prince's Trust and Corby Business Link. One of the company's biggest achievements so far is blasting 7,000 pieces of chewing gum away in a midnight clean-up in Corporation Street, as reported in the Evening Telegraph last year. Mr King said: "I'm really proud of Corby. The main drive is to grow the company. But there's a lot happening in Corby we want to get involved in. "The council has got back to me and is interested in us. We're trying to get the contract for the new Corby Cube." Mr King used to employ three people but had to let them go because of the recession and now does all the work on his own. Zero TDS cleaning removes the need for washing up liquid and windows dry without spots or smears. The company's reach and wash system allows high windows to be cleaned from ground level, which removes the need for ladders and helps companies comply with health and safety regulations. Mr King already cleans plate glass at Primark in Willow Place and at nearby Costa Coffee, but he hopes to roll out the green programme to domestic customers in the future. He said: "The cleaning method is not only environmentally efficient but also very cost effective." Mr King is offering to give a free trial for homeowners.