Underwater Window Cleaning

This video was taken in Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas. It shows different safety aspects of the job that normal window cleaners don't experience. Perhaps its time to swap ladders for breathing apparatus as news of the first underwater hotel is being built - The Poseidon in Fiji & the Hydropolis chains now being built around the world. The worlds first Underwater restaurant in the Maldives followed by the first underwater lodge in Key Largo, Florida needs a window clean, going by this video. Or perhaps try a spot of underwater painting like the locals round here. The way the global warmings going perhaps we should consider it sooner than later!

Window Cleaning Robots

Its like a race to see who gets the design right. It seems there are more & more robot designs to clean the humble window. Yesterday, American design students were again at it to see who could cover the most parts of a glass with a system of removing dots.

The Gecko system is still in the running as more news pours out to discover just how they manage to walk, this time they reckon the've cracked it with "gecko tape".

The robotic problem is always the same with mimicking animals or insects bodys, we the know the seal is good with a ball & chimps may like sudoko, but wouldn't it be quicker to train the animals to do the job? The species of Mallorcan dogs over here have a natural ability to pad out fires & dolphins have been trained to blow up mines - who knows, donkeys may be great electricians? Anyway with all this monkeys & peanuts talk, could we actually get any animal or maybe a fish to do the job to an ISO standard?

Window Cleaner Spreads the Word

A couple with 12 handicapped kids get help from friends when the Rantzes paid a family friend $3,400 to renovate their main-floor bathroom so it could be handicap-accessible for Sarah and the children. It was a much-needed project for which they had been saving for months.
The hired hand -- an Allegan County man in his 30s whom the Rantzes took into their home when he was in high school -- gutted their bathroom, took the money and skipped town.

A few days back, Rantz mentioned his bathroom predicament to Harold Garnaat (pictured left), owner of Garnaat's Window Cleaning. Garnaat spread the word. Other members of the Kalamazoo Builders Association -- led by builders Ken Klok and Bruce DeHaan -- visited the home and decided to rebuild the bathroom.They began work Friday.

The house sits on a corner lot, tucked into a neighborhood where industry and families are down-the-block. Within the home, a constant vigil commences over severely handicapped children. The entryway has been transformed into a small bathing area for the smallest of Wayne and Sarah Rantz' adopted dozen, who range in age from 5 to 18.
Six of the children are blind, others paralyzed. Cerebral palsy and fetal-alcohol syndrome afflict more than one. Despite their acts of goodness, Wayne and Sarah Rantz have learned that misfortune cannot always be kept at bay. A couple who have devoted their entire married lives to uncommon selflessness have been kicked with circumstances both cruel and devastating.
Sarah Rantz, 57, is in the final stages of the most serious strain of Parkinson's Disease, referred to as Parkinson's Plus. Her battle has been going on for years. On Tuesday, she was hospitalized with what initially appeared to be a stroke.

To donate to a fund to defray the costs of rebuilding the gutted bathroom of Wayne and Sarah Rantz and their 12 children, send a check, payable to Wayne Rantz, to: The Rantz Bathroom Fund c/o Ken Klok, 5565 Linda Lane, Kalamazoo, 49004. Place "Bathroom Fund" in the memo field.

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.

Shropshire Parking Success for Window Cleaner

After the first incident of parking problems for Richard Le-Lievre, who runs Town and Country window cleaners in Lewes, Sussex. Today, news has broken for a victory in another area of the UK......

A Shropshire window cleaner has won the first round of his battle against parking enforcers who want him to pay for a waiver ticket to park in areas he has used without a problem for 30 years.
Kim Downer, of Baschurch, was told he would have to pay a waiver, costing him £5 a day, as part of a season ticket, to prevent his van being targeted by wardens.
But after holding talks with highways authority Shropshire County Council and enforcement agency ParkRight, Mr Downer has been told he can operate for another six weeks without incurring the wrath of the parking wardens in Shrewsbury.
He has been issued with an official “consent to park,” running until May 5, and is calling for a register of vehicles on regular maintenance duty to operate without payment.
Mr Downer said he flatly rejected suggestions he could pay a lesser than normal waiver fee, pointing out that council vehicles on maintenance duty did not have to pay.
Mr Downer, who has spent the past 30 years cleaning the windows of shops, offices and pubs throughout Shrewsbury town centre, said he needed his van to carry heavy ladders, particularly in the early mornings.

Window Washer Rescued After Dangling From High-Rise

A window washer found out just how dangerous his job could be after he ended up dangling from a high-rise office building on the Northwest Side Tuesday afternoon. The man was trapped and tangled on the side of the Bank of America Building at I-10 and Wurzbach. With a serenade of applause from a crowd of people gathered outside, the worried-looking window washer was rescued from the side of the building."He couldn't pull himself back up," a witness told News 4. Witnesses said the man was trapped, scared, and tangled in his rope right outside the 10th floor of the building. "He said 'help', you know. I kept hearing 'help'. I thought the guys were making a joke. You know what I mean?, said Joseph Derricio, who called 911. "So, I walked out there, and this guy is just hanging onto the rope."The man was left dangling in the air for about 20 minutes. Investigators don't know how the window washer got tangled in his own rope. But they do know he dropped about 20 feet. The window washer tried anything to keep calm until firefighters got him down safely. "He did a lot of stuff up there. He was praying and smoking a cigarette," said Derricio. The man did not appear to be injured. People inside the building told News 4 the man was a professional who worked alone all the time. Investigators believe the wind may have been a factor in the accident. Watch the video here.

UK Windex is Here!

Just a reminder that one of the biggest window cleaning events will take place from tomorrow for two days at the Ricoh arena in Coventry as mentioned before.

The seminar is being sponsored by Cleaning & Maintenance magazine, the FWC & the British Window Cleaning Academy. Windex is the U.K’s largest specialist exhibition for professional window cleaners. Held bi-annually, the show is targeted at window cleaners, contract cleaners and facility managers.

Andy Bragg (pictured below) from Somerset (featured previously) will also be on hand to show his new "Slip 'n' slide". Andy thought up the idea when he had major problems getting water fed pole hoses caught in various situations.

Mark Henderson (featured previously) of Window Cleaning Resources will also be on hand with his new DVD, Advanced Window Cleaning.

SpiderMans Day Job

I only ever thought there was one Spiderman, apparently not, he seems to be cropping up everywhere from New York to Shanghai (above) & Kansas City (videos below). There was also a free-climber called Alain Robert from France who managed to get arrested for climbing 88 floors of Jin Mao Tower in Pudong, China. You can also see economy Blackpool Spiderman here.
Of course, Spain got it all wrong....

Also we are still waiting back from the developers from Italy that have designed a suit that could allows its wearer to scale walls like Spiderman. You can also checkout the Italian & Japanese version of Spidermen.

Window Cleaning Fire in Pittsburgh

The fire broke out late Saturday night at the 3-D Window Cleaning Company's one-story warehouse building. Meanwhile, officials with the company say they have a second office and additional equipment, which will assist them in staying open. They say that plan was put in place because the Millvale area is prone to flooding.

The Next Big Thing

WATER PURIFIER
Thousands die every day for lack of clean water. Can the man who invented the Segway save them? His Vapor Compression Distiller was 5 years in the making. This one looks ready for mass production, and with enough, Kamen says we could “wipe out 50% of human disease.”

Similar to previous reports here, we will have to wait & see. (Its easier to right click & open in new window to save finding your way back to this page).

"I'm getting neurotic about people overhyping things," he says, "so let me tell you what it doesn't do." Kamen's caution is understandable. He invented the overpublicized, under- performing superscooter known as the Segway—and was responsible for some of that hype. So when it comes to his latest invention, a low-cost, low-power water purifier designed for the Third World, he wants to be clear: he has no idea how to market it or get it to the people who need it. He just knows it works.What it does is simple. A few years ago, Kamen was working on an electric generator for use in underdeveloped villages when he noticed that it produced about 1,000 watts of waste heat. Kamen decided to try to use that heat to make clean water. There are 6,000 deaths from contaminated water every day, according to the U.N., and safe water is one of the world's more urgent problems. Kamen's device uses that extra heat to distill water—boil it and condense it. Nothing new about that— Kamen has invented lots of things, but he didn't invent distillation. The trick is to do it using as little energy as possible. However, 1,000 watts of heat won't boil much water, so Kamen developed a closed system, powered by whatever fuel is at hand, that traps the energy released when the boiled water vapor recondenses. Essentially, he's recycling heat. Result: a low-power, low-maintenance device that will cost around $1,000 to manufacture and makes 10 gal. of drinkable water an hour.

Glass - Liquid, Solid or Gas?

Is Glass A Solid Or An Extremely Slow Moving Liquid?

When most people look at a window, they see solid panes of glass. But for decades, physicists, who view window glass at the molecular level, have pondered the question of whether or not glass is a solid or merely an extremely slow-moving liquid due to older windows being thicker at the bottom.

The consensus these days is that glass is not a super-cooled liquid but in fact an amorphous solid. The confusion comes about for two reasons:
Structurally, glasses are similar to liquids. Many solids have a crystalline structure on microscopic scales with molecules arranged in a regular lattice. The molecules in glass have a disordered arrangement, but sufficient cohesion to maintain some rigidity. In this state it is often called an amorphous solid or glass (see reference).
Because of the molecular structure of glass there is no first order phase transition as it cools (in other words it doesn’t appear to have a distinct melting point). In a solid there is a sharp distinction between the solid and the liquid state, that is separated by a first order phase transition. Some people claim that glass is actually a super-cooled liquid because there is no first order phase transition as it cools. In fact, there is a second order transition between the super-cooled liquid state and the glass state, so a distinction can still be made.

Still confused? Watch Criss Angel & Cyril Takayama, if you can get your head round it?

Window Cleaner will be honoured with Plaque

JANESVILLE — Most of us will pass from this earth without much fanfare or recognition. But William F. Dunn made such a mark that his friends and former customers want to erect a plaque in his honor in downtown Janesville. Dunn wasn’t a bank president or CEO. He wasn’t a politician. He wasn’t a wealthy philanthropist. No, William “Bill” Dunn was a window washer. For 55 years, Dunn pulled his red wagon full of supplies throughout downtown, cleaning windows, making friends and spreading cheerfulness. On Wednesday, Dunn died at Mercy Hospital, three years after retiring from job. He was 83 years old. “He was joyful and kind and he loved what he did,” said Jackie Wood, a downtown business owner. “Everybody knew him. Bill always wanted to take time to talk and visit with them.”
Dunn’s ebullient personality and nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic was inspiring, especially given his physical challenges.
“For everything he had going against him, he really made the most of his life,” said Barbara Braasch, who met Dunn when she was working at Title Team. Braasch later had Dunn’s power of attorney. “He had polio when he was younger, and had hearing loss,” Braasch said. “The doctors think he might have had some form of cerebral palsy, too.”
Dunn’s home life wasn’t a cakewalk, either. He was born in New York City in June 29, 1924.
And despite his general popularity, some people took advantage of his naiveté, Braasch said.
Not many people knew about those tough times because he was so relentlessly positive. Everywhere he went, Dunn had fans. “We would go to eat lunch at the Riverside and we couldn’t get out of the place without someone coming up to him to talk to him about shining shoes or washing windows,” Braasch said.

Braasch, Wood and downtown business owners have donated money for flowers. They’ve also started a collection for a plaque to honor Dunn. It would be placed somewhere in downtown Janesville, where Dunn did his work and made his friends. “I thought maybe they could put it in a window somewhere,” Wood said.
TO CONTRIBUTE:
Several downtown businesses are collecting money for a plaque honoring Bill Dunn’s life and work. Donations can be sent to or dropped off at Kealey Pharmacy, 21 South Jackson St., Janesville, 53548. Dunn’s funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Mary’s Church, 313 E. Wall St., Janesville,Wisconsin.

Windex 2008

Windex is only a week away, this year its being hosted in the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, UK.
The seminar is being sponsored by Cleaning & Maintenance magazine, the FWC & the British Window Cleaning Academy. Windex is the U.K’s largest specialist exhibition for professional window cleaners. Held bi-annually, the show is targeted at window cleaners, contract cleaners and facility managers. You can pre-book your tickets on-line or just turn up on the day.
‘The Fastest Window Cleaner on the Planet’ competition, as its name suggests, is open to professional window cleaners around the globe. Contestants are required to clean three windows (each measure 45 inches square) and wipe the sill. The current world record is held by Terry ‘Turbo’ Burrows as he is known within the trade. Set in England in 2005, his record stands at an impressive 9.24 seconds. Terry took on no less than 7 world records to become the fastest window cleaner in the world.
Windex 2008 seminar topics will include: Work at height regulations, health & safety, employment law, franchising, rope access, ladders and water fed poles to name a few.
Ian Lancaster (pictured below) from Kent will be giving a seminar on franchising on day two, he has over 30 years experience in the window cleaning field.

Tokyo Window Cleaners Score

As window cleaning add-on jobs goes, this takes the biscuit! Window cleaners are used in Tokyo to perform football games at height. We were first introduced to the noble sport of Vertical Soccer a few years ago when it brought pedestrians to a standstill in Tokyo as part of an Adidas promotion. As you can see in the video, the sport basically involves playing soccer while hanging from a billboard on 26-foot bungy cords. How this sport has failed to spread to all corners of the globe is beyond me. It has all the elements you would want from a game: acrobatic moves & window cleaners as athletes. The referee is fired in from a canon... not really, but it would be justice.

More Window Cleaning Franchises UK

Two more window cleaning franchise operations hit the UK news today. The first one is from Myhome window cleaning, who can get you rolling from around the 30,000 pound mark & has been established since 2003. Heres what they have to say:

"As a myhome Window Cleaning franchisee you'll become a manager not just a worker - benefiting from the efforts of those you employ. And you'll be running a business that's already been tried, tested and primed for success."

This is one of 170 odd Cleaning & Maintenance Franchises listed in franchise magazine.

The next franchise that also hit the news today is Jan-Pro, who want 75,000 pounds for a look-in. Jan-Pro was established in 1991 and has been franchising in North America for over 15 years, with over 7,000 franchisees now trading in the USA and Canada. The company has built a strong reputation for franchising and was recently ranked 26th in Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500 listing. The same report ranked Jan-Pro as number one in its Fastest-Growing Franchises category after its domestic network grew by 26 per cent, its Canadian network doubled and the company began entering international markets through Master Franchises.
Jan-Pro is seeking regional-level franchisees to assist in launching its award-winning concept in the UK market & is listed as #1 in the cleaning franchise sector.

Window Cleaners in the News USA

Paul Juneau gets his wash bucket from a ledge on the LaSalle Building in downtown Baton Rouge. When window washer Andrew Pyle pushes away from the side of a building with the toes of his shoes and, then, swings back, he hears, “ta-da-da-da-da-da, tum-tum.” “Trapeze music,” he said. “You know, ‘The Blue Danube’ waltz.”

Pyle, 23, works for his dad, Evan, 53, owner of Expert Window Cleaning. Evan Pyle is the boss of a small band of high-rise domestic athletes.
This story was featured in The Advocate of Louisiana, today.

Absolutely Clean Windows owner Chad Kovac (pictured above) talks about his business in The DesMoines Register in Iowa. Absolutely Clean Windows provides a few other services that compliment window cleaning, such as gutter cleaning, driveway and sidewalk cleaning, building/home exterior power washing, and wooden deck and fence resurfacing. Chad being a member of the Master Window Cleaners of America, posted this "funny" in the private forum, this one was labeled: "Alright, which one of you has his mother working for him?"

Dangerous Job?

I came across this "new" video the other day entitled "dangerous job". Looking on the internet, I found that wikipedia & Churchhill Insurance (from 2004) still list window cleaning in the UK as the most dangerous job, but in the USA, it has been overtaken by loggers, fishermen & pilots.

This article from the Guardian from 2004 that covers a window cleaning story in Shanghai has the headlines "'Sometimes we have a year with no deaths".

But with no definate updates I presume that the window cleaning industry as a whole have pulled their act together on both sides of the pond to make safety the top priority. Even though window cleaning deaths made big news. Except for cradles, most chair workers or abseilers that are practioners don't seem to be phased by this everyday activity.

I have added this French video below, don't bother watching this if you are the nervous type. Personally I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It shows what peer pressure can do to the youth of today......by the way - thats not a parachute on his back.

Fastest Window Cleaner in America

The IWCA convention in San Diego this year proved to be a success by all accounts. The photos from the event can be seen here, courtesy of the IWCA.
They are always great to watch these events, but Jeremiah Hickey of Grover Beach, of On the Spot Cleaning Services took the title as the fastest window cleaner in America.

Also I've added the on-demand Ionics RO unit video that showcased in San Diego, courtesy of Window Cleaning resources and doing the grand unveiling was Don Chute.

Chemtrail Fall-Out on Windows

Some window cleaners have been reporting for the last six months or so, of a greasy film or a haze not usually encountered on windows. One reason for this could be chemtrails.

Chemtrail media news is getting popular on Youtube & has always been either a cospiracy theory or an urban legend. This TV report confirmed that the German Military is manipulating the climate in Germany. As a result scientists have filed a lawsuit against the government for climate manipulation. The video concludes, "We can state with a 97% certainty that we have on our hands chemical trails (chemtrails) comprised of fine dust containing polymers and metals, used to disrupt radar signals." The inside of an Italian chemtrail plane can be seen by clicking here or a report from NBC America by clicking here.

Below is the sub-titled translated news report. If you prefer the fun version - click here.

Quit & Join Us

TBWA - an advertising firm in Holland use striking guerilla type action for its recruitment campaign. An extensive team of professional window cleaners wearing t-shirts with the slogan "quit & join us" start cleaning competitors buildings in Amstelveense and Amsterdam advertising agencies and other media businesses they target.

With "Quit & join us" they thereupon make their statement for available vacancies in TBWA by trying to poach possible candidates.

One Year To Greatness

For some time now I've been subscribing to Larry Gallers newsletters. He has some great insight into running your business & I always look forward to his musings. I suggest you check out his website to be fully aware just what he has to offer.
Larry is currently inviting people to a special Business-Building Telephone Seminar called “One Year To Greatness” on Wednesday, March 19 @ Noon Central Time (5 p.m. UK time).
This is for you if….
Your business is a “good” business but you want to make it GREAT
Your business has hit a plateau that you can’t get past
You see other business running smoothly while yours is in chaos
Your staff doesn’t see focus or direction
This one-hour on the telephone is the introduction to a year-long program designed to:
Help you take that “good” business and make it great
Design a process to get well past that plateau
Create systems and processes to add organization
Clarify the future, create goals and methods to attain them

There is NO COST to be on this call other than the cost of your long distance call.

To reserve your space on this call send an email to Larry@Larrygaller.com with "One Year" in the subject line. You will receive connection and background information by email..

Beijing Babies

When it comes to children and school, safety always comes first unless of course you live in China. Then safety comes right after a clean window. One elementary school in Beijing, China requires its children to clean the windows as a routine task once a week. Every Wednesday, students climb out the classroom window, standing on a 10 centimeter (less than 4 inches) wide platform and clean the windows without any safety protection. Some windows are as high as 3 stories. The school officials say this is their way of shaping their students will and bravery!
Click on the pictures to enlarge.

The Naked Window Cleaner

Kevin will start the internets only “LIVE” broadcast of window cleaning business building advice & it will go out on Monday, March 17 @ 11:00 a.m. EST, thats 4 p.m. in the UK.

Labeled the naked window cleaner, this show sets out to show you the secrets to explosive window cleaning business growth.

"At some point during the 20 minute broadcast, I’ll hold a random prize drawing for all viewers, and award this super-cool prize. I’ll engrave it for you, as shown below, and then ship it right from apple.ca to your front door, wherever you happen to live, anywhere in North America or Europe!"

Shine on

After RainX, Clearshield, Simix, Rain-racer , Optical coating, & Liquid Glass besides others, comes Shine On. Also with the news of the first windscreen wiperless car , another product that states that all windows can be self cleaning, this time from SCF-Technologies, Denmark.

"It has become the first company to develop an aftermarket window coating that uses the sun´s energy to break down dust and grime, saving time and helping protect the environment."

Shine On is a new cleaning product for windows that keeps them free from dirt and grime for up to two years, without the need for additional cleaning. Its a thin coating developed using nano-technology and chemically bonds with the glass to create a hard-wearing coating that uses the suns energy to ´burn´ dirt loose. When it rains, the dirt is simply washed away.

It looks like another application to turn glass hydrophobic. They also turn waste into oil, I was also wondering if they had patented water into wine?

Window Cleaning Resources goes live!

Chris & Alex Lambrides featured previously, have now opened an on-line window cleaning store with an added difference. They intend to video every product that they bring out on-line so a product decision can be made before purchasing. The new store went live today, although not nearly all the stock has been uploaded. The successful forum has gained momentum since its inception & is a favourite among window cleaners stateside.

Cleaning Windows with Steam

It seems every day they bring out steam cleaners advertised for cleaning windows. A couple of my customers actually bought them . I still clean their windows. 'Nuff said. I actually bought one for cleaning out grout, it took 10 minutes to reach temperature, it had a useful life of around 5 mins & the window attachment didn't work, although it left some lovely streaks.

In this companys defence, they promote the product for allergy sufferers as they are only using super heated water. Which brings me to another story today about Chemicals found in household cleaning products causing asthma in children, one of them being window cleaning solution being found in two-thirds of all homes.

The heated water fed pole systems are here, I suppose the next step may be steam?
Heres another home shopping network video of a typical handheld steam cleaner in action (starts at 4:35 min), sorry about the wait if you can be bothered at all?

Dutch Courage?

This video says it all really - maybe the Dutch are taking the ladder restrictions too far? It looks like "le parkour" is here to stay in both the UK & the U.S.

Well I reckon thats the WAHR out the window, don't try this at home.....

Holyrood's £100,000 window cleaning bill

The Scottish Parliament is spending around £100,000 a year on cleaning its windows and the total bill for interior and exterior cleaning of the controversial Holyrood building is approaching £500,000. Window cleaning is expensive because of the awkward angle of many of the windows on the £414 million building, which means abseilers have to be brought in for the job according to the Scotsman News.
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body figures shows window cleaning cost £108,671 last year and has cost a further £87,279 so far this year.

A parliament spokesman said: "Holyrood is an award-winning building of individual and iconic design and its maintenance requirements are those associated with running a landmark building."

Window Cleaning in Canada

Martin McDermott may be leading the way for hiring from overseas & states "without this, I'd still have employment problems at home." Having had the potential recruits pre-trained or otherwise screened before they arrive in Canada, he goes on to say - he is very pleased with the workers chosen because they have shown that they are hard workers. There is also the added bonus for the workers of a higher pay of Cdn$28 compared to an untrained worker on Cdn$17 an hour. The Caribbean Net news also preaches to the workers on their conduct overseas, adding "we are expecting you to represent the people of Jamaica".

The first batch of workers who will take up employment as window cleaners in British Columbia, Canada & will leave Jamaica on March 22.