Why Use A Professional Window Cleaner?

Before you hire a window cleaner: Anyone with a bucket, squeegee and window mop can call himself or herself a window cleaner. Ask questions before you hire just anyone including; what types of products they use to wash windows.

Should I get a professional window cleaning? (By Shannon Antinori for Angie’s List) - Clean windows can make your home brighter and improve its overall appearance. A professional window cleaning can also provide an early warning of potentially dangerous problems, says owner Bill Volkart of Dazzle Services in Cincinnati, Ohio. Here are some reasons you should consider hiring a professional window cleaning service to keep your windows sparkling and functional.

Saving time. 

Cleaning your windows can be a time-consuming project, says Mike Giustino, owner of Affordable Window Cleaning in Round Lake, Illinois. Giustino says he can finish a project that would take a homeowner five hours in less than half the time.

Spotting general problems. 

A professional window washer can identify problems such as sashes that are painted shut, ill-fitting window screens, wood rot on windowsills or damaged or non-functional windows.

Spotting the problems early can often save you a big expense later, Volkart says — and it could even save your life. “Little things like painted sashes and clogged channels might spell the difference between getting out in case of fire or being forced to take another way out of danger in a very stressful situation,” Volkart says.

Removing insect infestations. 

Bees and hornets sometimes build nests behind window shutters, and wasps can build paper nests between three-piece storm windows, Volkart said. Ladybugs also can build nests in channels, making the windows hard to operate.

Extending the life of a window. 

“Old aluminum screens left in place for years gradually etch a pattern of deposits on the glass, much like lime deposits in the shower,” Volkart says. The etched glass is not only unattractive, but it is also more prone to cracks and chips. A professional window washer can restore the glass and extend your window’s life with a treatment of muriatic acid or, in less severe cases, Bar Keepers Friend and grade 0000 steel wool, he says.

Providing the right window cleaning supplies and tools. 

Professional window cleaners can ensure that the right products are used to clean glass without damaging it. If you have leaded glass or stained glass, you may be unintentionally damaging it by using an ammonia-based window cleaner, Volkart says. With repeated use, an ammonia-based cleaner can cloud leaded and stained-glass windows, and the damage can’t be repaired, he cautions. Professional window washers also have the right equipment, such as ladders and telescoping window-washing tools, to safely clean hard-to-reach windows, Giustino said.

Finding the cause of spots on your windows. 

Puzzled about what’s causing the spots on your glass? Your mulch may be to blame, Volkart says. “Cheap mulches often are infested with a fungus aptly named shotgun fungus,” he explains. “When mature, the fungus shoots out black spores that glue themselves to glass and vinyl siding and are very hard to remove completely.” A professional window-cleaning service can pinpoint the cause of the problem. Replacing your mulch with a higher-quality product can help your windows and siding stay cleaner and last longer, Volkart said.

Before you hire a window cleaner:

How much window cleaning costs varies, but Volkart says you usually get what you pay for. Anyone with a bucket, squeegee and window mop can call himself or herself a window cleaner. “Ask questions before you hire just anyone,” he advises. “A true professional will make sure your windows are not only clean, but functional and will advise you on ways to protect the biggest investment most people ever make – their home.”

Giustino, who recommends getting your windows cleaned at least once per year, says it’s important to ask for references and read reviews before hiring a window washer. “Ask them how long they’ve been in the business,” he says. Giustino also recommends asking companies whether they clean windows with a hose or a power washer, and what types of products they use to wash windows.

New Robot Could End High Rise Glass Problems

Filip Sobotka says his robotic building inspector could be a major money-saver.

SAM the robot could inspect Toronto highrises: Entrepreneur Filip Sobotka says the solution to Toronto's falling glass problems could be a robot named SAM. The device, which was developed by his family, could speed up the way building inspections are done, and give engineers more information to determine the health of a building, he says. The invention comes at a time when Toronto has been site of a number of incidents involving highrise glass crashing onto the streets below. "The amount of highrises that are going up in this city and the issues that keep coming up … it keeps going so we think this is very important, before someone gets injured," Sobotka told CBC News. Right now, most building inspections are done by engineers using a swing stage or bosun's chair, inspecting a few selected spots to determine the overall health of the building. Sobotka says SAM can scan the entire exterior of the building in a lot less time and for a fraction of the cost.

Inspectors "pick and choose where they want to go on the building, what they note down, what to take pictures of," he said. "Sam is pretty unbiased — it's automated, it captures everything, and then you go and inspect it and you can have multiple people look at it," Sobotka said. The setup involves an SLR camera attached to a motorized platform that travels up and down two metal cables. Rigging on the roof and the ground keep SAM steady, allowing it to take photos of the exterior of a building.

The robot is controlled via a WiFi connection to an iPad. The photos taken can show engineers everything from window seals to poor caulking to cracks in cement or brick. He says SAM could detect cracks in balcony glass or other deficiencies that could lead to problems later on. "We scan everything. When a person's up there they can make errors, they can miss something; they only have one shot unless they go up again to view it," Sobotka said.

$200K startup: SAM was developed by Sobotka, his brother Thomas and father Jozef. The elder Sobotka, a tradesman, came up with the idea six years ago when he saw building inspections that were incomplete and problems missed. They developed the prototype over the last two years, sinking $200,000 of their own money into the nascent company. Recently they pitched the idea to the CBC Television program Dragon's Den. They're waiting to hear if they make the cut in the fall. Sobotka said the industry has been slow to take to the idea because there is no other product to compare it to, but says the need is there. But whether SAM could detect the problems that have led to falling balcony glass it up for debate.

Doug Perovic at the University of Toronto's engineering department says the problem is often traced to microcopic inclusions or impurities in the glass that went undetected during the manufacturing process. He says it would be hard to detect that with just a camera. "The robotic camera can help find some problems so it's certainly a help but it's not going to solve this main problem that we've seen responsibile for the … large majority of the glass fractures we've seen in Toronto going back to last summer," Perovic says. Sobotka said this is just the first prototype of SAM and future upgrades will include more sophisticated diagnostic equipment. For now he stresses that while falling glass may garner the most headlines, there are problems SAM can detect that could save condo boards a lot of money in repairs. "It's a lot of money, thousands, hundreds of thousands, depending on what the problem is. If you attack the problem early enough, you can save boatloads," he said.