Window Cleaning News

A worker cleaning a window of the Enzo Ferrari Birthplace Museum on Friday. The museum opens to the public on Saturday. The Enzo Ferrari Birthplace Museum opens this weekend in Modena, Italy. Built next to the home where the founder of Ferrari was born, the museum was the last work of the star architect Jan Kaplicky. It has been a long time coming; the building was designed in 2003. After Mr. Kaplicky’s sudden death in January 2009, the structure was completed by his former colleague in the firm Future Systems, Andrea Morgante. The officials hope visitors will come to the old Ferrari house, where Enzo was born in 1898, to view effects from his daily life, like his famous pen and signature purple ink, as well as the bold structure next door. The complex is about 12 miles from Ferrari’s headquarters in Maranello.

Elderly woman falls to her death from 7th-floor flat in Bishan, Singapore: A 64-year-old housewife died on Tuesday after she fell out of a seventh-floor flat in Bishan St 22. Police said that they received a call requesting help at 11am. Paramedics who arrived on the scene shortly afterwards pronounced her dead.  It is believed that the woman was washing the window at about 11am when she fell. According to neighbours, her husband is believed to have been in the flat at the time.
A 64-year-old housewife fell to her death from a window of her seventh-floor home in Bishan yesterday. Clad in an orange T-shirt and blue pants, Mrs Chua's body was found at the foot of Block 233 in Bishan Street 22, surrounded by crumpled newspapers and broken laundry poles. Police said they were alerted at 11am; paramedics who arrived on the scene shortly after pronounced her dead. The Straits Times understands that she was standing on a chair and cleaning a window in her flat when she fell.

Soap nuts, which are berries from South Asia, are biodegradable, non-toxic, non-allergenic and antimicrobial.

A clean deal with soap nuts - What’s next? When a competitor recently went out of business, the Johnsons acquired its recipe for creating liquid soap and they are now close to selling as much liquid detergent as soap nuts. They are also jumping through the necessary hoops to certify the liquid organic, and then develop a complete line of products from shampoo and hand soap to dishwashing liquid and window cleaner. With their sights set on international markets, they are in the process of getting products into South Korea through an exclusive distributor. They think it’s only a matter of time, infrastructure, and packaging before they expand worldwide. “I’m an entrepreneur at heart,” Mr. Johnson says. “I’m hooked on the whole process. I see the vision of what this business can become.”

‘I’d like to give him a good kicking’ - A pensioner who fell foul of a bogus caller who stole cash after claiming to be from the water board has said she would like to get hold of the man and “give him a good kicking”. The woman, who has asked to remain anonymous, said she is not letting the experience of having her pension money taken upset her and is more annoyed that the thief got away. But, while she remains very active in her eighties, she is worried that pensioners who may not be so fit or capable would be more badly affected by the experience. The woman was one of two Crawley pensioners who lost money after opening their doors to people claiming to be from either the gas or water board. She believes the man may have watched her draw her pension money from a nearby post office before following her home – and she suspects he had an accomplice because she never left him alone once he was in the house. She said: “It was only about 10 minutes after I got home. Whoever it was, he went into the lounge. I had put £21.50 into an envelope for the window cleaner and he took the £20 note.

Milton, 25, has been working as a part-time doorman in a Greenwich Village rental building for the past 3 ½ years. It is his first job as a doorman. Here’s what he had to tell us about off-the-books services. What are some of the things that tenants have asked for? Sometimes they ask for us to clean their apartment windows and that’s not in our job descriptions.  If it’s ok with the super we charge them a separate rate that most of them agree to. Do most doormen take money for extra services? Sure – window cleaning, dog walking – nothing too crazy.

Vermont Soapworks Cleans Naturally: Plesent spent seven years as a window cleaner and was in close contact with many kinds of soaps and detergents. “I used to jump off buildings to clean windows,” he said, also explaining how he got his nickname, “Spiderman.” “I became detergent-sensitive through overexposure to chemicals at work. I was intolerant even to fragrances and most artificial foaming agents.” He even had severe dermatitis on his arm for eight years until one day he found his solution. “One day, I came upon a bar of handmade soap,” he said. “I thought it would rip my skin off, but surprisingly, within three days, my eight-year dermatitis ran away.” Such a magical invention inspired him to manufacture his own natural and organic soaps that bring comfort to users of all skin types.  Combining his knowledge of biochemistry and his determination, he set up this factory 19 years ago and has been serving the East Coast and the rest of the world ever since. In Vermont Soapworks, a near-native Vermonter Larry Plesent and his 24 employees produce handmade soaps whose history can be traced back to Louis XIV (who persecuted soap-makers that produced soap inattentive to sensitive skins).

A pregnant mum-of-two was jailed for two years yesterday after crying rape following a one-night stand with a man she met on a bus. Christine Jordan, 25, invited Kevin Percival, 27, back to her flat for sex. But she accused the window cleaner of rape after he failed to remember her name when they met five days later in a pub. CCTV footage from cameras on the bus proved her story was a lie and now jobless Jordan, who is pregnant with twins by another man, will give birth behind bars. Judge Jonathan Haworth told her: “You alleged that a man had followed you home and as you opened the front door he forced his way inside and raped you. Jordan, of Fen Ditton, Cambs, denied perverting the course of justice but the jury at Cambridge crown court convicted her unanimously. Her two children have been taken away by social services. Her son lives with her mother, while her two-year-old daughter is being adopted. Speaking after the hearing Mr Percival’s mother, Merle, said: “She deserved it, but the damage has been done. "I am glad that the judge took it seriously. This has destroyed Kevin and my family. “He would never do anything like this.”

House fire was man’s suicide attempt: A 30 year old man, depressed after splitting up with his girlfriend, decided to kill himself by setting fire to his mother’s home, causing £20,000 worth of damage, a court heard. When Scott Bateson’s house-proud mum arrived back from work, she found the fire brigade there and Bateson, who had been drinking, said: “Mum, I’ve burnt your house.” Bateson, of Clements Close, Atherton, had lit small fires in the kitchen and when these became a large blaze, he fled upstairs and escaped the burning premises when a neighbour put a ladder up to a window. Harry Pepper, prosecut- ing, said Bateson had split up with his partner because he had been violent to her. A restraining order had been made, which meant he could not see his children. He turned to drink and moved into his mother’s home in Blake Avenue, Wigan. On December 8 last year, he went to a neighbour’s home and asked if they would come to his funeral. He then went back to the house intending to kill him- self and started the fires, said Mr Pepper. He also lost his window cleaning round and he was essentially homeless. The day before the offence he drank a bottle of vodka and on the day consumed seven cans of lager.

'Window cleaners' sought after car stolen: Police are trying to trace two men who were knocking on doors and claiming to be window cleaners around the time a car was stolen from outside a house in Hillmorton. The pair were active on Percival Road on the day a BMW 318i saloon was stolen from the driveway of a house on the street between 1pm and 4pm on Saturday (March 10). The people living there returned home to find burglars had broken in to the back of the property and stolen jewellery and the keys to the car before driving off in it.

Door to door enquiries made by police revealed that at around 1.15pm on the same afternoon, two people claiming to be window cleaners were calling at houses in the road. Both were wearing black gloves and were travelling in a black car. They appeared to have no cleaning equipment with them and said they had run out of business cards when asked for them. DC Mick Watkins said: "These people may well be genuine, and if that is the case, we are keen to identify them as soon as possible so they can be eliminated from our enquiries." One of the men is described as white, around 18-years-old, with blonde hair and wearing black tracksuit bottoms and trainers. The second man is described as an older, between 30 and 40-years-old, bald and of a stocky build.

Bogus caller warning: Cops are again issuing a warning over bogus callers trying to con West Lothian householders. Police say there were a number of incidents last week where residents were approached at home by people offering to carry out unsolicited work on their property. On each occasion the residents have turned the callers away, and notified police. A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: “The type of work varies from hedge cutting to window cleaning and roofing work, and we are warning people to be on their guard if they receive an unsolicited call by anyone offering to carry out this kind of work. “If anyone has any suspicions over the intentions of any cold caller, then they should deny them access, and contact police immediately.

Another set of ladders were pinched from a property on Wishaw’s Shand Street on Tuesday, February 28. They were stolen from a part-time window cleaner between 2.30pm and 10pm after the metal chain securing them was cut. A witness saw two boys pushing a silver BMX bike with a set of ladders on it toward Bush Crescent. They were wearing dark clothing and had hoods up.

MCC get the cleaners in: MCC will spend £2million on infrastructure enhancements and maintenance of Lord's in 2012 - starting with a full external refurbishment of the J.P. Morgan Media Centre. The award winning Media Centre, sponsored by J.P. Morgan since 2011, is having its first refurbishment of the single outside shell since it was opened in 1999. The process includes a comprehensive wash, 20m2 of corrosion repairs, wet and dry sanding, a two coat re-paint, and full window clean.

Cricket coach in court over assault: A respected cricket coach who fractured a man’s hip and wrist when he pushed him over in the street has been spared an immediate jail sentence. Graham Sivyer had downed seven pints of lager on a night out with his wife and friends when he knocked down window cleaner Graham Brennan after words were exchanged outside the Future Balti Indian restaurant in Wibsey town centre, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday. Sivyer, 50, of Ash Grove, Wibsey, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Brennan grievous bodily harm at 12.50am on September 18 last year. Mr Bridge said Mr Brennan had just set up a window cleaning business at the time and could no longer work. He had difficulty sleeping and had suffered nerve damage. He also feared he could lose his rented home because he was no longer able to work. Sivyer was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 180 hours of unpaid work for the community. He was ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to Mr Brennan.

Angie's List Report: Keeping Home Windows Clean: Spring is not to far away, and do you have any plans on doing a little "spring cleaning"? One item on your "spring cleaning" list should be your windows. "We recently talked to our Angie's List members about spring cleaning and what they plan to tackle. Fifty percent said they are going to be doing some spring cleaning with a third of those respondents saying cleaning the windows was at the top of their list," said Angie Hicks, founder of Angie's list.

Not only will clean windows make the house's appearance more aesthetically pleasing, it also removes grit and grime that may build up on both the inside and outside surfaces. "It's important to have your windows cleaned because windows left unclean for long periods, windows are porous, and mother nature the mineral from things flying around, can absorb into the pores of the glass and stain it permanently, or it could take costly extensive measures to get that staining out of the glass," said Matt Swales, a window cleaner.

For most homes, cleaning your windows can be an easy task to do on your own. However, some homes may require you to hire someone to help you out. "If you are looking to save a few bucks you can still hire a window cleaner, but consider dividing the job up. You can tackle the first floor windows that don't require special equipment. Leave the second story to a professional, because they'll have the proper ladder," said Hicks.

Those in the window cleaning business say the environment where your house is located has a lot to do with how often the windows need to be cleaned. "If the house sits in a wooded area, or near construction that is blowing dirt across on it, may want their windows more cleaned more often than a homeowner whose in a more established neighborhood with not as many trees or forest near it," said Swales.

Before you hire someone to come out and clean your windows, be sure walk around the home and determine how many windows need to be cleaned, how hard those windows are to access, and the type of window and frame. All of these factors will help determine an estimate on the final cost of the cleaning project. Most homes should get their windows cleaned at least twice a year. The best times would be once in the spring and once in the fall. Also see here.

Tips to Give Your Home a Fresh Spring Face: Ellisville interior designer Patrice Munden writes that with spring officially just a week away, now is the time get in the spirit by freshening up your home inside and out. Clean your windows. Have all of the windows in your house professionally cleaned inside and out. It is amazing how much fresher your home will appear to you and others.

Residents and business owners along a new subway line in New York - which has been under construction since 2007 - say the ongoing project is making their lives miserable and costing them money. Francisco Quijada first looked out of the window of his interior design store more than 45 years ago and he says the view was as bright as his future.  No more. “I gave up cleaning them, because it cost me money and I know very well that within a week or so they’re going to be the same way,” said Quijada. Quijada said the construction obstructs the entrance to his store and has cut his business in half. “The noise is very disturbing. It’s also very frightening. You would almost think you’re being attacked when they dynamite. It’s like having a bomb go off,” said Young. Quijada described the explosions as mini earthquakes and he said the blasts have caused cracks in his walls.

Window Cleaner in food: Uproar Over 'Pink Slime' in School Lunches - Remember pink goo? Let us refresh your memory. Pink goo, aka pink slime, is scraps of meat and connective tissue swept up from slaughterhouse floors that are doused with a pink chemical to kill dangerous pathogens -- since they've been, you know, on the floor -- then blended together into a substance that looks like strawberry fro-yo. That chemical is ammonium hydroxide, also used in wood stains, window cleaners, Pine-Sol and Pledge. Pink slime has been used in ground beef products sold commercially since the 1990s -- the processed meat reportedly accounts for 70 percent of all ground beef consumed in the U.S. Parents freaked out after reports surfaced last week that school districts around the country were serving kids hamburgers containing up to 15 percent of the processed product known in the meat industry as "Lean Finely Textured Beef" or "Lean Beef Trimmings."