Window Cleaning News

Working with the aid of a bucket-truck lift, Rich Neustadter, a facilities repair worker with Campus Services, washes exterior windows at the Education Building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Click to enlarge.

Window washers bring a shine back to campus buildings: From the inside of each campus building, most people probably see out of a few windows each day. The condition of those windows makes a huge difference in the way they see the world. Bascom Hall, for example, boasts a stately multistory façade dating back from the mid-19th century. The shape and molding of the windows enhance the building’s historic character; some of its windows have up to 12 panes apiece. That charming façade features over 450 windows – and someone has to clean them all.

Campus Services is the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s go-to crew for odd jobs. The same people who manage interdepartmental mail delivery and move furniture also clean nearly every window across campus. How many windows is that, exactly? Thousands, says Dave Grueneberg, supervisor of Campus Services. Cleanings take place in all types of weather.  Five guys take window-washing duty on each side of campus, fitting in cleanings around duties such as changing lightbulbs and hauling supplies for tradesmen.

On this day, the east side crew arrives fresh off of work at the Extension Building, on Lake St. Given their other responsibilities, they estimate that the job will take them about a month. Budget cuts over the last decade have extended the cleaning schedule to a seven-year rotation; however, departments hoping to decrease the gap can pay for more frequent touchups. The variety of building on campus poses multiple challenges. Individual panes on hundred-year-old windows take more time than the wide expanses of glass on more modern buildings. Five-piece storm windows with ancient clamps can drop on workers without warning. Air conditioners, metal grates, concrete window wells and flaking paint can complicate each job even more.

In the past, many taller buildings, such as Van Hise Hall and Educational Sciences, had spinnable windows that allowed the cleaners to work from the inside.  But deteriorating mechanisms and permanent –screwed-in – storm windows mean that now the cleaners must use a bosun’s chair or suspended stage. Regardless of height, the basic tools are a wand, water and squeegee. Extended handles and scrubbing pads are necessary on tough spots, covered in bug residue and cobwebs. “We’re all pretty set on the tools we like to use. I like the wand,” says Rick Neustadter, who also professes a love for the drivable lift. “Don’t lie!” laughs Stan Gudgel, whom Neustadter calls Gudgel the “master of the electric chair.” (Ben Olson, one of the crew’s senior members, likes ladder work.)

Other buildings aren’t quite as tall, but offer unexpected obstacles thanks to architectural whims. The newest tower of the Chemistry Building has a stage setup for cleaning its glass face, but varied rooflines prevent it from moving to another side. Helen C. White’s overhangs prevent top-down access. Helen C. White, among other campus buildings, also suffers from heavy etching. Water runs off of the concrete block, depositing lime residue on the glass. It won’t come off without an acid, which is caustic for the workers and damages the frame, so they typically do their best with normal tools.

Given construction, safety upgrades and a seven-year cycle between cleanings, every job is new. The men give great credit to Grueneberg, their supervisor, for keeping safety first, inspecting the equipment regularly and not sending the crews to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. “They’ve probably done some windows three or four ways,” says Olson. “Birge had these old hooks; people used to climb out the window onto a little parapet, hook a belt around them and lean back." Figuring out the logistics can take more time than the cleaning itself. When it happens, though, the difference is clear. The people on the inside get more light and a new perspective on the world outside.

Over two weeks last fall, Terri Wipperfurth and her colleagues got to know the men who made her building sparkle again. Alternating window washing with the never-ending cycle of other campus responsibilities, the crew returned day after day until the job was done. “They came in with such a good attitude and did the job to the best of their ability,” says Wipperfurth, department administrator for Agricultural and Applied Economics. “The folks at Taylor Hall were better able to enjoy the beautiful fall color thanks to Jerry Meise and his crew of window washers – Dan Reed, Melroy Schlueter, Rob Keiser, and Mark Walker. We really appreciated them.” The window washers have developed their techniques to a T, leaving even their own bathroom mirrors pristine. They don’t hesitate to share their knowledge. “Tell everybody, ‘Don’t use Windex,’” says Neustadter. “Leaves a film on the windows.” “People always say, ‘If I try to do the windows, why are they all smudgy?’” says Olson. “You have to use a squeegee, or else it’ll be smudged – that’s just the way it is.”

California Is First In The Nation To Add Window Film Into Its Building Code - Inclusion Into the Code Recognizes Window Film For Its Proven Energy Savings: The International Window Film Association (IWFA), a nonprofit group, announced a landmark vote by the California Building Standards Commission placing Window Film, a polymer material offering energy efficiency advantages, into the state building code for the first time in the United States. Cost-effective energy savings is the driving rationale for including window film in the building code. While California is a leader in energy saving initiatives, it is also a major importer of energy. The change to the building code voted on May 31st and effective January 2014, means window film is recognized across California as a building product just like glass or roofing materials, but primarily for retrofit applications. It can significantly reduce energy consumption and reduce the effects of glass breakage, glare, harmful UV exposure to the skin and interior fading of furnishings.

"This addition to the code is a major step forward for energy efficiency in California, especially when considering the amount of untreated glass in the state in the majority of buildings," said Darrell Smith, executive director of the IWFA. "The wide application of window film is a simple way to immediately cut utility demand generation and the resulting reduction of peak demand on utilities and greenhouse gases will further the state's reputation as an environmental leader," he added. Among the items the new building code for window film requires is a National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) certification label, manufacturer's name, a 10-year warranty certificate, and compliance with the IWFA's Visual Quality Standards. Although window films are normally used on existing windows, remodelers and contractors can also use the new building code for additional guidance.

Housing group pledges to repay fees for lost window cleaning: Sentinel Housing Association has vowed to repay residents after charging for a window cleaning service which ceased 18 months ago. More than 30 properties at Winklebury Centre, in Winklebury, Basingstoke, were charged for communal window cleaning up until last month, even though the service ceased in 2010. Winklebury ward borough councillor Robert Donnell (pictured) has now asked for an immediate apology to be sent to those residents left out of pocket, calling the error “a disgrace”. Until December 2010, residents living in the block had their communal windows cleaned by a contractor. But once the service stopped, Sentinel staff continued to charge 32 households. Cllr Donnell told The Gazette: “This is appalling and Sentinel need to apologise and repay the residents immediately – with interest. “They have told me that it is complex but I don’t see it that way. The residents deserve to have their money back and I will make sure it happens.” Lionel Haynes, finance director for Sentinel, said a communal window cleaning service had been in effect at the centre. He added: “Further investigation shows that this service ended in 2010 but the charge continued to be levied. “We have identified 32 households who overpaid an average of £61 and we will be crediting their rent accounts. We will investigate any concerns our residents have about their rent or service charges and encourage them to contact us if they have any queries.”

Laid-Off Banker Becomes Window Cleaner: John Bryant from Hilliard, Ohio, used to work as a retail banker at The Huntington National Bank until he lost his job in 2008. One day while mulling over what to do next with his life, he remembered how poorly window cleaners cleaned his store windows at his previous job as a convenience store manager. "They left muddy streaks," he remembers. In the wake of his job loss, Bryant decided to start his own window-cleaning business rather than find a job. He founded Performance Cleaners LLC, where he is president. He currently has three employees. "I found that almost every banker is a good businessman," he says.

How to make your day better 4: Cuddle someone - With the soaring popularity of the ‘cuddle party’ phenomenon, more and more people are discovering the benefits of a good snuggle. A warm embrace boosts the natural feel-good hormones released by the body, reduces stress, and creates a feeling of mutual trust. Beware though, whilst cuddling is a great mood-enhancer, we do recommend that you be selective over whom you choose to embrace; your boss or the window cleaner may not appreciate a cuddle as much as your spouse or your pet. If you prefer something a little less intimate, there’s nothing to stop you from expressing your feelings through a man hug (yes, this can be done by the ladies too), or maybe even a high-five to release those happy hormones.

Hosepipe bans could go due to recent rainfall: Weeks of grey skies and torrential downpours could mean water companies lifting their hosepipe bans for thousands of customers around Brentwood. Water suppliers including Thames Water and Veolia Water Central are already lifting bans for some businesses which rely on using hoses, such as car washing firms and window cleaners. The ban was introduced in April by several firms, and expected to last until at least Christmas, after months of dry weather meant water supplies in reservoirs plummeted and stocks of groundwater began drying up. A campaign to stop people wasting water was set up by the Environment Agency, and people caught using their hoses were threatened with fines. But now, after two wet months with little sign of a let-up, the bans may be lifted this summer. One company, Essex & Suffolk Water, has managed to escape introducing a ban.

Veolia Water Central said groundwater supplies had been replenished enough to allow businesses to use hoses again. Mike Pocock, water resources manager at Veolia, said: "We are keen to help businesses where we can." Richard Aylard, sustainability director for Thames Water, said: "When we imposed the hosepipe ban in April after the two driest years ever in our region, and without knowing how long it would stay dry, we were preparing for the worst while of course hoping for the best. "Since then the heavens have opened and stayed open. But while the topsy-turvy British weather – record downpours after a record dry spell – has been working in our favour lately, we need to see how much water gets deep underground where we need it for what could still be a hot and dry summer. "We will lift the ban completely as soon as we can." Thames Water, along with other water suppliers, is expected to provide a further update at the end of the month.

Police appeal for help in funeral home roof theft: Fife Constabulary is appealing for witnesses following the theft of lead flashing from the roof of Crosbie Matthew Funeral Directors in Glenrothes town centre, reports Kevin Quinn. Last week the Gazette reported how window cleaners alerted staff at the Church Street funeral home to the robbery of 50 metres of the material on 2 June.  It was unclear however, exactly when thieves stole the lead, because, as Funeral Director Mark Daly said last week of the “callous” theft from their roof: “You don’t look up there.” The window cleaners only attend Crosbie Matthew once a month so police are working on the probability that the lead could have been taken anytime between 1 May and 2 June.

WindowCleaning.com Revolutionizes the Window Cleaning Industry: In just 2 years since opening its doors, WindowCleaning.com has grown to service 1000 cities across the U.S. and Canada. In an industry plagued by an unusually high level of uninsured "fly-by-night" companies, WindowCleaning.com finally provides consumers a guaranteed way of hiring insured, high-quality window cleaning professionals. Lars Kristensen, CEO of WindowCleaning.com, explains the reason why consumers have flocked to WindowCleaning.com: "With some cities having over 500 independent window cleaning companies, the quality levels in the industry have plummeted. Our focus on quality of service and accountability has created a real contrast to the industry norms. Consumers love our approach, recommending the service to their neighbors. A recent customer from Maryland wrote: 'I applaud your professionalism, courtesy, friendliness, and helpfulness ... It has been a pleasure to have your services in my home. I will spread the word to my friends.'" WindowCleaning.com has plans to expand their network across the U.S. and Canada in the coming months. Mark Palmer, National Service Manager, explains: "The biggest current obstacle to expansion is finding local contractors that meet our requirements. We only approve one window cleaning contractor in each city, therefore we have to be extremely vigilant to make sure we choose the best." WindowCleaning.com is a network of the best window cleaners in North America. WindowCleaning.com contractors must undergo an extensive approval process before being selected:

• Verification of liability insurance.
• An audit of all the contractors' previous reviews. A 4-star or higher rating must be maintained.
• Photos of current projects and customer references.
• A one-on-one interview process with the WindowCleaning.com team.
• To maintain the highest standards within the WindowCleaning.com network, only ONE contractor is approved in each city.

I can’t believe my ears: For instance, what might you have thought on hearing “We’re socialising the proposal”? You couldn’t make this stuff up but someone clearly has. ‘Socialising the proposal’ doesn’t mean taking a bunch of ideas out for a beer, it means telling people about the plan. It’s up there with things you only expect to see in satirical cartoons, stuff which people wouldn’t believe in real life. Like ‘transparent wall maintenance engineer’ (a window cleaner), ‘director of first impressions’ (a receptionist) – and heaven help us, ‘her indoors’ (a wife). You’d think there wouldn’t be many of these buzz-words and phrases around, right? People are too clever for that, yes? Wrong. It’s at epidemic levels.

A photo of a Riverside woman blowing a kiss at the camera on her wedding day is vying in a national online contest. Riverside resident Kimberly Carroll snapped the photo of her daughter, Cameo Smith, when she married Aaron Smith on Nov. 7, 2009. Carroll entered the snapshot in The Skintimate Studios Ready for Everything Photo Contest & Sweepstakes, in the “I Dream” category.  Her entry was called “My Beautiful Bride Daughter.” The Riverside couple runs Blue Sky Window Cleaning in Riverside. The photo was chosen as a top entry, and online voting lasts until July 24. Individuals can vote up to 25 times a day and are eligible for prizes. The grand prize winner from each category will receive a trip with a friend to New York City to appear in a photo shoot by celebrity photographer Eva Mueller and be featured in a national magazine advertorial spread. The other 18 finalists will receive a digital camera and other prizes.

Janiszewski said, “I don’t want to say people are lazy, but if you drive around town and see all the grass cutters, all the snow [blowers], and all the window washers, you can kind of tell people don’t like to do a whole lot anymore. I don’t think there would be an interest.” Janiszewski said Toledoans seem more inclined to dispose of an item than to repair it. “Today, they throw everything away,” Janiszewski said. “Take food, for example. I like leftovers. My kids, they don’t. They’ll throw it away instead of putting it in the refrigerator. … A lot of younger people … they waste massive amounts of stuff. … Growing up and doing this [job], it’s amazing the changes I’ve seen. People are becoming more wasteful. Very, very wasteful.”

Warren Gatland is back as Wales aim to right wrongs of Brisbane: The world's worst window cleaner arrived in Melbourne this week, hoping his mere presence would help put a shine on Wales's Australian tour. Warren Gatland linked with the national squad almost 10 weeks after suffering serious injuries while sprucing up the family beach house in New Zealand. Attempting to put a sparkle on the upper windows with a long-handled brush, he lost his balance and crashed three metres to the ground, taking the full impact on his heels and suffering multiple fractures. But after reconstructive surgery and recuperation he is back in business, flying across the Tasman Sea to join up with the players and his fellow coaches as they attempt to recover from last Saturday's first Test defeat in Brisbane.

Heinz cleaning vinegar: Vinegar isn't just for salads anymore. Lots of people use vinegar around the house for cleaning. Now Heinz plans to sell a more potent variety. "Heinz All Natural Cleaning Vinegar" is about 20 percent stronger than traditional white distilled vinegar. The ketchup and condiment giant has sold vinegar for more than 140 years. Heinz says the more powerful vinegar is ideal for cleaning windows, glasses and laundry stains. But you can still use it for cooking, too.

Results Round-up: Safety systems specialist Latchways unveiled record full year revenue and pre-tax profit after growth in all regions except North America. The maker of devices to stop roofers and window cleaners falling said revenues rose 5% to a record £41.4m for the year ended 31 March 2012. Pre-tax profit also rose to a record £9.9m during the year compared to £9.3m the year before. Analysts had predicted revenue of £42.9m and pre-tax profit of around £10.20m. Commenting on trading, chairman Paul Hearson said: ‘Following the very strong growth achieved in 2010/11, the past year has been a period of solid progress for Latchways, despite the increasingly difficult global economic environment. We have achieved good growth across the majority of geographies and product lines, with the exception of North America.’ ‘Given the current level of economic uncertainty, it is not surprising that the new year has started slowly. Despite this, with the level of prospects and opportunities at an all time high, and the resources now in place to service these, we are confident of achieving a strong performance for the year as a whole,’ he added.

TEK Electrical (Suzhou) Co Ltd now has its new products showcased on overseas websites about consumer gadgets. But in 1998, when it just started, it was a simple manufacturer of household cleaning appliances for overseas brands.

Hard times call for innovative entrepreneurship: There's nothing extraordinary about that, as original equipment manufacturing was the game at that time in China, when coastal cities were competing for opportunities to make products or components for international companies under the latter's brand names. But TEK Chairman Qian Dongqi did not believe in fate. He wanted to chase a lofty goal, even if it meant, he said, that he had to travel on a rocky path. He dreamed about creating his own brand, and he wanted to do so through innovation. After "many failures", Qian began to market his intelligent cleaning robots in 2006. Ecovacs is said to be a "well-established" brand of cleaning robots in the US and European markets. From the company's showroom, the 47-year-old entrepreneur could explain lines of cleaning robots like his own children.

Winbot, for example, is a recently developed window-cleaning gadget that sells for $399 and is beginning to get good feedback from the market. Right now, although OEM still accounts for 70 percent of TEK's annual sales, sales of branded products already accounts for more than 50 percent of the company's profit, showing a visibly higher markup than the former. In the first quarter of this year, TEK's overseas trade reached $354.6 million, showing growth of 27.1 percent year-on-year. TEK has been diverting around 50 million yuan ($7.87 million), or more than 5 percent of its annual sales to R&D. But that doesn't lend much sense of security to Qian. "In China, you get crushed if you don't innovate; but you may also get crushed if you do," he said. Innovation requires taking a lot more risks than OEM, in that companies have to manage their own business strategies and cope with all market caprices. While OEM, especially in times of no change, tends to generate steady and timely returns.

Window washer probe could take longer than expected: It could take six months to get to the bottom of what caused the platform holding two window-washers to fail Monday morning. Occupational Health and Safety will begin speaking to witnesses of the accident as well as the company who employs the men who were left dangling in harnesses from a downtown building. The Calgary Fire Department's high angle rescue team freed both men who were taken to hospital and suffered no injuries.

A California man accidentally killed himself Friday night as he tried to enter his home through a window. The body of Kyle Fortunato (pictured) was found halfway through the kitchen window of his Sacramento apartment, according to CBS 13. Police say the 28-year-old was locked out, and had been attempting to climb through the window when he was impaled by broken glass. Stuck in the window frame, Fortunato bled to death.

A motorised skyscraper window cleaner's basket will be used to lower members of the public into the chamber.

Stunning photos of volcano show why Thrihnukagigur is tourist hotspot: The Thrihnukagigur volcano in Iceland is set to become a major hub for tourists - and these pictures prove it isn't difficult to see why: It's as deep as the London Eye is tall and it could fit the whole of St Paul’s Cathedral into its cavernous underground chamber. And from tomorrow it will be the first place on Earth where people can journey into the heart of a volcano – on a contraption created from a window cleaner’s lift. The colourful magma chamber of Thrihnukagigur volcano sits on an unstable island in Iceland – just 100km (60miles) from Eyjafjallajökull, which erupted in 2010.