The Stingray Indoor Cleaning System

Introducing UNGER Stingray,  a revolutionary, ready-to-run solution to your indoor window cleaning needs.

The Unger Stingray Indoor Cleaning System: Recent research indicates that when cleaning indoor surfaces, such as windows, mirrors and elevators, cleaning professionals face 2 key challenges – efficiency and safety, especially when working at height. Current tools and methods require time consuming re-arranging of furniture and electrical equipment for safe access or to reach high or unusually positioned windows. Result - wasted time and increased risks and costs associated with the use of ladders and access equipment. Moreover, the need for intensive staff training creates additional problems.

Introducing UNGER Stingray,  a revolutionary, ready-to-run solution to your indoor window cleaning needs, also perfect for a multitude of other surfaces too. Cleaning windows up to 25% faster and using up to 39% less chemical than conventional sprayer and cloth method, the Stingray is the most efficient indoor cleaning system ever!

Ready-to-use, easily replaceable pouches for Stingray Indoor Cleaning System, pre-filled with highquality 3M Scotchgard™ professional glass cleaner. Effectively removes dirt, grease and fingerprints. Fast drying, leaves no streaks or marks. One pouch cleans up to 150 sq.m, given low to medium surface pollution.

An efficient indoor cleaning tool. Inspired by the power and glide of its namesake, the UNGER Stingray utilized several patent pending features to overcome the challenges associated with indoor window cleaning and delivers outstanding cleaning results. Perfect for cleaning indoor glass & windows, glass partitions, showcases, mirrors, glass refrigerator doors, elevators, washable doors & tables and much more! Speeds up indoor glass cleaning by up to 25%. Ensures 39 % less liquid consumption. The length of the Stingray Indoor Cleaning Kit-Handheld is 0.51 m (1.7 ft). Thanks to modular design, greater heights of up to 4 m (13 ft) can be reached by adding Short or Long Stingray Easy-Click Poles.

Replacement microfiber pad for Stingray Indoor Cleaning System eliminates dust, fingerprints, grease and other light dirt. Triangle shape for perfect reach into corners. Lint free, easy glide microfiber. Pad design incorporates protective cut-out area for precise liquid application directly to surfaces. Enclosed spray nozzle prevents liquid overspray and inhalation. 1 in./25 mm deep microfiber edge for simultaneous cleaning of windows and frames. Elastic straps in each corner secure the pad in place. Material composition: 70% polyester, 30% polyamide. Machine washable up to 200 times.

The New Black line.

Window Cleaning News & Photos

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Photo of the day - Reunion Tower window washer - Here's a beauty from staff photographer Sonya N. Hebert, of Hugo Suarez of Cliffhanger Building Maintenance hanging off of Reunion Tower in Dallas. She said the photo gods were shining on her today, providing a blue sky, a red shirt, and angled light. She did the rest! The photo came about when I stepped off the DART train this morning and saw a window washer nearing the bottom of one of the legs of the tower. One phone call and 10 minutes later, Sonya was on the scene, and nailed the photo when she spotted another employee of the same company at the top of another column. In newsroom parlance, this is the dreaded "weather feature" combined with the "what an editor saw on the way to work" feature.

L.A. Deals: Exterior residential window cleaning includes glass & framework. Eco-friendly products & custom applicators. Servicing Orange County, Los Angeles & San Diego Counties. Licensed & insured. Window Washing's technicians will have your windows spotless and sparkling, letting in more light and improving the overall appearance of your domicile. With this deal, they'll service up to 15 exterior windows, washing away tree sap, bird droppings and insect gunk. Of course, you can always DIY, but why risk it? Ladder accidents injure 200,000 Americans every year. Leave the ladder work to the pros and let the sunshine in today with Laguna Window Washing!

THE FINE PRINT: Limit 1 voucher per customer - Not valid with any other offers - Maximum of 15 windows cleaned - By appointment only - Must redeem voucher all at one time - No paint scraping - No cash back or refund - Expires 180 days after purchase.

Previous blog on "Groupon" type deals - "Cheapening Window Cleaning One Deal At A Time."

Beilue: Man mourns toll of cancer on body - Michael Davis, who has a window-cleaning business, doesn’t seem to have anything in common with seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong or gold-medal figure skater Scott Hamilton — except for that testicular cancer thing. They had it. Davis has just been through it. Because of their celebrity network, it’s doubtful Armstrong and Hamilton lacked for emotional support in the weeks and months after. Davis just wished he had the same personal understanding. “It’s been tough,” said Davis, 40. “A person can’t fully understand losing a body part until they actually lose it. To a certain degree, it’s made me more aware of what a woman goes through when losing a breast or a veteran who loses a body part.”

Davis, diagnosed with testicular cancer in March, had an orchiectomy — surgery to remove a testicle — in April in Lubbock. Before surgery, he had two rounds of chemotherapy. Since surgery, he takes a testosterone shot every two weeks. Testicular cancer, serious as it might be, has no doubt spawned a few jokes at comedy clubs for the man-card crowd. Davis has heard them too, with “Hey, grow a pair!” leading the list. “Actually I kind of joke about it some as a coping mechanism,” Davis said. “My aunt and I have a neat relationship. One night I called her and said, ‘I really do miss my nut.’ She said, ‘Well, you shouldn’t be so careless.’” Though testicular cancer strikes about one male an hour and kills one a day, it’s still pretty rare. Striking about 8,300 males a year, most from the ages of 20 to 39, the survival rate is as high as 85 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Glass artist fell to death in cathedral: A master stained-glass artist who died following a fall at Durham Cathedral had been putting the final touches to a new window, an inquest was told yesterday. Michael Lassen, 61, was helping put in the last panel of the 170ft stained-glass window when he fell 20ft from a ladder and suffered a fractured skull during a work break. A jury sitting at Newcastle ruled he died accidentally. Witnesses described Mr Lassen’s hands slipping off the ladder and him falling backward onto the stone flag floor in the cathedral’s South Quire. The reason for his fall remains unclear. Glass artist Tom Denny, who was commissioned to create the new Transfiguration window, told the hearing he had taken on Mr Lassen – one of the most experienced craftsmen in his field – to lead and install the window when a previous assistant became ill.

On the day of the tragedy on September 3, last year, Mr Lassen was working on scaffolding inside the cathedral, while Mr Denny worked on the outside of the building. Mr Denny said, while “wiggling around” the last rectangular panel, he saw the chairman of the Friends, Bill Apedaile, and others inside and decided to show them the window. He took the friends to the second level of the scaffolding, leaving Mr Lassen on the lowest level, when he heard a “clattering” noise and a woman scream. Cathedral volunteer steward Kathleen Burdon said: “I saw his (Mr Lassen’s) hands on the ladder and in an instant they just seemed to leave the ladder. “It all looked as if it happened in slow motion. His hands just seemed to slip off it. “I closed my eyes because I knew it was inevitable he would fall.”

Steward Maria Atkinson, who saw him fall backward, said he had made no attempt to grab out. The Gloucestershire artist was taken to University Hospital of North Durham, before being transferred to Newcastle General Hospital. He died on September 8 of bronchial pneumonia brought on by his head injury. Health and Safety Executive specialist inspector Stewart Eddie said he was satisfied with the ladder and scaffolding and no prosecutions were being considered.

NYPD, SEIU honor union members who died on 9/11 - Police Commissioner Ray Kelly joined SEIU 32BJ President Mike Fishman and others from the 32BJ family at a Security Recognition Ceremony on Saturday to honor the men and women of 32BJ who lost their lives on 9/11. Kelly also helped the union give out merit awards to current private security officers who have excelled in the line of duty. “They were dedicated individuals who worked as security officers, some as window washers, cleaners, elevator operators, maintenance workers,” Kelly said. “The police department considers you very much our partners in this effort. Because of the nature of your work you are in a better position than most to spot the indicators of terrorism. We depend on you. We depend on you to stay engaged, to act as our eyes and ears.”

Life-saving window washers: Enormous thanks to the window washers who potentially saved lives by reporting the loose 600 kilogram block on the building downtown. Their daily task puts them in a much better position to evaluate the integrity of buildings. They are actually on them, not in an office filing a report. Please give them a salary equal to a building inspector’s salary. They deserve it!

3M window film generates electricity, blocks light: 3M showed new window film that both cuts infrared light transmission through the glass and collects solar power from both indoor and outdoor lightsources. A square meter of the film can generate enough electricity to charge an iPhone under peak sunlight. This film has two strong energy conservation traits. The first is that it generates electricity. The second is that it blocks heat. The film generates electricity, so it can be used to power things like LED lights. As for blocking heat, this can help conserve energy, because if heat is blocked then the air conditioning of a building can be lowered, saving electricity. Those are the two main advantages for energy conservation.

The film blocks or absorbs about 80 percent of visible light and 90 percent of infrared light. In this demonstration at Ceatec in Japan the company showed the temperatures on each side of the glass, with the inside thermometer about ten degrees lower than the outer one. The film comes in flexible sheets and can be glued onto windows. There’s a greenish tint to the film, but 3M plans to make it clear by the time it plans to commercialize it sometime in 2012. The film generates only about a fifth of the electricity that a traditional silicon solar panel does and will cost about half as much, though pricing hasn’t been announced.

Ward Blanchard, 89, lives north of Grand Rapids and is the oldest man to motor 1,000 miles in 24 hours.

1,000 miles on motorcycle in a day? No problem for 89-year-old Michigan man: Just my opinion, but, frankly, I think it’s interesting all by itself that this summer, Ward Blanchard rode his motorcycle more than 1,000 miles without sleep, grinding out the distance in less than 24 hours. Something else makes it altogether stunning: Next July, Ward Blanchard turns 90. Not that you could tell. He’s got the facial features of a guy in his 60s. And he could be a hand model for dish detergent.

Not that he’s got the time or inclination. He’s too busy busting his butt on a three-wheeled cycle known as a Can-Am Roadster, setting records for long-distance motorcycling while some of his cronies are probably having trouble — let’s face it — gathering up enough steam for a spirited game of cribbage. “Don’t let your age tell you what you can do,” says Ward, who worked full-time until he was 87, mostly as a factory laborer and window washer. “Just forget about your age and do it.”

Window cleaner Steve Waplington is concerned about the effect that the closure of Lea Road will have on town business.

‘Road closure will be catastrophic’: Concerned local businesses have voiced their frustration at the closure of a major road into Gainsborough in fear that it may harm trade during a busy period. The A156 Gainsborough Road at Lea will be closed for up to two weeks for resurfacing work between Monday 24th October and Friday 4th November. It is hoped the ‘essential maintenance’ work will be completed during the half-term, while diversions will be in place along the A1500 Tillbridge Lane, A15 and A631, However, the road is one of the major routes into town from Lincoln and nearby villages such as Marton, Torksey, Fenton, Newton on Trent, Knaith Park and Saxilby - which has concerned local businesses.

Steve Waplington is a window cleaner who believes that the impact could be ‘devastating’. “I’ve contacted the council and asked them to reconsider this full road closure,” he said. “I don’t see why they can’t do a part closure with a contra-flow system, like they did when they were carrying out similar work near Blyton.” “This will have a detrimental effect on mine and other businesses in town.” “Not only is it approaching the Christmas shopping period for shops in Gainsborough, but if we were to have another cold snap like last year when it re-opens then the impact will be catastrophic.” Steve continued: “I’m on my soapbox because I think it’s wrong - doing this at such a busy time of year will be terrible.” “I don’t think that they have really thought this through.”

To some people, Paul Bastock may be your window cleaner. He may be the nice man who used to care for your dear old nan. He might even be the bloke who coached your son at one of his goalkeeper academies. But to those people who spend their Saturday’s worshiping idols in amber and black (maybe that should be green), the man known as Bazza is something much more. At Histon this week, the club’s all-time appearance record holder reached another miraculous milestone... his 650th appearance for the club. Those 650 appearances, during two spells with the club, have brought hundreds of highs and lows.

The time he ran to the half-way line to punch an opponent and receive his marching orders. The time he crashed into his own goalpost and played the remainder of the contest with an egg-sized lump on his hairless head. The occasion he saved two penalties in on match at King’s Lynn. The time he missed one from the spot himself. These are just some of the more bizarre moments that stand out from Bastock’s career with Boston. And in an era where footballers at the top of the game are vilified for being detached from society, it is refreshing to see a local hero like Bastock prove that life means more than football... while opening a few village fetes along the way. That life has seen him work locally as a window cleaner, in a care home and also as a sports coach.

West Dunbartonshire Council award window cleaning licence to gunman: I would like to comment on the report regarding a recent West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) licensing meeting. I was present at this meeting and was astonished at some of the decisions taken. Firstly, a window cleaning licence was granted to an individual who had recently served a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for possessing a machine gun! This was followed by an application by an individual who by all accounts was a serial offender, having recently served a three years and nine month sentence for drug offences. This individual had also been observed lately by a police unit in the company of “serious and organised” criminals and planned to rent a unit from a known criminal in the Dumbarton area.

Despite strong objections by Strathclyde Police to both applications being granted, the board of WDC’s licensing committee saw fit to ignore the case put forward and proceeded to grant them. Bearing in mind that these same councillors granted licences to a gunman and a serial drug dealer I suggest that this smacks of double standards. TOA should certainly bring the matter to the attention of the Standards Commission on the grounds of complete incompetence by WDC licensing committee.

Strong Winds Blow Out Glass From Near North Side High-Rise Window: Chicago - Glass from at least one window from a Near North Side high-rise was blown out due to heavy winds on Wednesday, causing nearby streets to close to pedestrian traffic. The glass fell from a 12th-floor window in a building north of Chicago Avenue on Wabash Avenue near the Loyola Water Tower campus, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said. The sidewalk was closed right away and crews were sent out to block the west side of the street. A high wind watch is effect from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning near Lake Michigan. Winds will quickly increase Wednesday afternoon with strong and potentially damaging winds likely through Wednesday night. Winds will reach 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph likely, the National Weather Service said. The very strong winds could result in minor wind damage, downed tree limbs and power lines. High-rise buildings near the lake will experience even stronger winds just a couple of hundred feet above ground, the weather service said.

Food Share benefit is coming up: "Will Bowl For Food 3," which benefits Marion-Polk Food Share, is slated for next month. Oregon Paralyzed Veterans of America and ABC Window Cleaners & Building Maintenance are hosting the event. Will Bowl For Food 3 will begin at 1 p.m. Nov. 5 at Firebird Lanes, 4303 Center St. NE. Cost is $25 per person for shoe rental and two games. Or, attendees can rent a lane for $100 for up to five people, which also includes shoe rental and up to two lanes. Attendees can donate food for entry into a door prize raffle: one ticket for five cans, two tickets for 10 cans, three tickets for 15 cans and four tickets for 20 cans. For more information, call Samantha Demchak at (503) 851-4156.

City of London: Protest continues for third day - Self-employed window cleaner and protester James Awberry said he expected the demonstrators to be stereotyped but that there were many "normal, hardworking" people among them. "It's not just a bunch of hippies. We're not a single issue and we're not a one-day march. The reason why protests have never worked and never changed anything before is because they're generally speaking for a single issue for a single day. This is many issues for as long as it takes." Foreign Secretary William Hague on Sunday said that protests were not the answer, but the Green Party on Monday pledged its support to the protests in London and around the world.

"Miss Representation" takes critical look at media images: "American teenagers spend 31 hours a week watching TV, 17 hours a week listening to music, 3 hours a week watching movies, 4 hours a week reading magazines, 10 hours a week online. That's 10 hours and 45 minutes of media consumption a day." Those statistics swoosh onscreen at the beginning of Jennifer Siebel Newsom's film "Miss Representation," then swoosh off to show highly sexualized clips of women sucking their fingers, or dancing on stage in a strip club, or even just washing a window. The effect is disturbing.

Two Advances For Glass That Every Window Cleaner Should Know About

3M drew press and viewer interest earlier this week at CEATEC with its show of special film that the company has developed to coat ordinary, existing windows and convert them into solar panels. The product was shown on curved and regular glass surfaces. This “windows-transformative” film is to debut next year. Not only does the panel generate energy in sunlight, but it also serves as a heat-blocking layer.

The film is made from an organic photovoltaic material and fits on windows easily to generate power and cut heat. What is interesting about 3M's technology is its versatility. Claims are that it can generate power, behave as a coolant (absorbing over 90 percent of infrared light) and also protect windows from shattering. The film's narrow, translucent green strips have gaps between them and are glued to windows in large patches. Unlike solar paneling, the films are easy to install. An average person can install the films with no outside assistance, according to a 3M senior manager, Yasuhiro Aoyagi.

While the 3M film for windows appears to be an easy answer to complex and costly solar panel alternatives, the 3M product is not as effective as solar paneling. The film generates only 20 percent of the energy of a regular panel. A factoid frequently included in the CEATEC reports from Tokyo about the 3M product has been that a square meter of the film can generate roughly enough electricity to charge an iPhone under peak sunlight. No pricing details were available but expectations are that the film will be half to two-thirds the cost of solar panels. When the film for windows does hit the Japan market next year, the 3M target user base will be government structures, commercial buildings, and fast-food restaurants.

3M is no stranger to state-of-the-art development efforts in film. The company snagged the world's first patent for window films in 1966. 3M has recognized expertise in both adhesives and multi-layer optical films. Earlier this year, 3M was awarded $4.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The award, according to the company press release, was made under an initiative to reduce the total costs of photovoltaic solar energy systems by about 75 percent, so that they are cost-competitive with other forms of energy without subsidies.

Samsung breakthrough could turn your window pane into a big ol' LED: Samsung's quest for transparency won't end with laptops, apparently. Today, the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology announced that its engineers have successfully created "single crystalline Gallium Nitride on amorphous glass substrates" -- an achievement that would allow the manufacturer to produce jumbo-sized LEDs from normal glass, including window panes. Samsung says this scaled-up approach will allow them to lower production costs relative to most LED manufacturers, which rely on sapphire, rather than glass substrates. And, whereas most Gallium Nitride (GaN) LEDs on the market measure just two inches in size, Sammy's technique could result in displays about 400 times larger. "In ten years, window panes will double as lighting and display screens, giving personality to buildings," a Samsung spokesperson told the Korea Herald. Unfortunately, however, it will likely be another ten years before the technology is ready to hit the market. Until then, we'll just have to do our late night window coding the old fashioned way.

Window Cleaners Get Eaten

Mosquito - from the Spanish or Portuguese word for little fly. Prior to and during blood feeding, they inject saliva into the bodies of their source(s) of blood. This saliva serves as an anticoagulant: without it, the female mosquito's proboscis would quickly become clogged with blood clots.

Mosquitoes are back, and they're breeding like crazy: Officials say population is up fivefold - While most people haven't even had their first swim or touch of sunburn yet, another one of the rites of summer - that first mosquito bite - may be happening sooner and be followed by more like it more than ever this year. "We have very, very high numbers in our traps," Theodore Andreadis, chief medical entomologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, said this week.

This week marks the start of the experiment station's annual mosquito testing program. More than 5,000 mosquitoes were collected in 29 traps set around the state, including at sites in Stonington and Voluntown, Andreadis said. That compares to last year's first-day total of 1,100 mosquitoes. "We collected almost as many in a day as we normally get in a week," he said. "These were all human biters in our traps." In about a week, he said, the lab will have the results of tests for whether any of the trapped mosquitoes are carrying West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis. Mosquitoes can also carry Jamestown Canyon virus, which produces flu-like symptoms. The state has no official testing program for this virus, Andreadis said, but testing in previous years has found it was widely distributed in the state's mosquito population.

What accounts for the population explosion? Andreadis said rainy weather and warm temperatures at just the right time this spring created the perfect conditions for a prolific breeding season. With so many mosquitoes out there looking for a free lunch on the next available limb, advice about preventing bites may be more important than ever. So, too, is knowing who's most susceptible. According to the Mayo Clinic, mosquitoes choose their victims according to scent, exhaled carbon dioxide and the chemicals in a person's sweat. Though no one understands why, mosquitoes are more likely to bite men, people with "O" blood type and those who are overweight.

Don't be dismissive, Andreadis said, next time someone claims "mosquitoes love me." There is something to the notion that some people are more likely to get bitten than others, he said. "It may be the people who are perspiring more, or emitting more CO2, or emitting more of the chemicals that attract them," he said. He advises choosing light-colored, loose-fitting clothing over dark colors that absorb heat and can attract mosquitoes. Better still, wear long sleeves, long pants and socks outdoors whenever possible. Use of insect repellent containing DEET is also recommended, as is taking extra precautions or staying indoors when mosquitoes are most active - in the evening and early morning.

Cleaning gutters and draining any standing water around your home will also deprive mosquitoes of places to breed, and repairing holes in window screens will keep them from getting indoors. "Clearly, the results from our traps is an indication that there are a lot of mosquitoes out there, and we expect this will continue," Andreadis said.

Itching: 

There are several commercially available anti-itch medications, including those taken orally, such as Benadryl, or topically applied antihistamines and, for more severe cases, corticosteroids such as hydrocortisone and triamcinolone. Many effective home remedies exist, including calamine lotion and vinegar. A paste of meat tenderizer containing papain and water breaks down the proteins in the mosquito saliva. By using a brush to scratch the area surrounding the bite and running hot water (around 49 °C) over it can alleviate itching for several hours by reducing histamine-induced skin blood flow. Plain household sudsy ammonia is also a good treatment, ammonia being the main ingredient in Tender's AfterBite remedy, especially as a first wash option if applied immediate after multibite exposure. An even simpler, yet effective remedy can be achieved by applying a piece of adhesive tape over the affected area, or by sucking it with a drinking straw; creating enough counter tension on the surface of the skin to alleviate the itch. 

Avoid: 

Avoid dark, bright coloured clothing. Dark bright colours seem to attract insects, so it is best to dress your baby in light coloured clothing that does not leave too much exposed skin. Choose long sleeved tops, fitted garments like pants and jumpers instead of shorts and sleeveless tops. Avoid strong fragrances. Do not use lotions, soap, oils or floral scented perfumes or room fresheners as these may attract insects. Never leave uncovered food anywhere in your home, especially in your baby's room.

Recommended:

3M Ultrathon Insect Repellent 12 Hour Lotion/Sponge: Offers same time release protection as 2 oz Ultrathon and has sponge applicator which allows for quick, no mess application. 12 hour Ultrathon is the longest lasting and most effective insect repellent on the market today. It repels mosquitoes for over 12 hours and ticks for over 9 hours, and is also effective against biting flies, gnats, chiggers, and fleas.
Ultrathon contains 33% DEET in a controlled-release polymer. Ultrathon's Time Release Protection gives the user a balanced mix between concentration of DEET and long lasting protection. Our unique technology provides longer lasting protection with less DEET. It is moisture resistant & lasts through splashes, perspiration, and rain. Ultrathon™ Insect Repellent was initially developed by 3M for the US Military to provide up to 12 hours of protection for their troops. It is still used today.

News-Watch for Window Cleaning Professionals

WFPs on WCR, epidodes 3 hosted by Micah Kommers of "We Wash Windows" from Greenville, South Carolina. This week Micah takes a look at pure water & what it means for the water fed pole user.

Paul McQuillan started a window cleaning business several years ago and discovered marketing. In the last year he has designed ads that have generated more than $250,000 in sales. He says he differs himself and products from everyone else by keeping it completely B.S. free. He works with many window cleaning companies and has helped over 50 directly over the past couple years. Discover Pauls onslaught marketing here.

Electrocuted by powerline: Southern Illinois news headlines - Terry N. Brooks, 29, Mt. Carmel, died Monday afternoon in what Wabash County Sheriff Joe Keeling described a "horrible accident." Keeling said Brooks and a co-worker were believed to be power-washing a building just north of this city when the victim sustained a fatal electrical shock. Emergency first responders were called about 1:56 p.m. to the location of Performance Plus Consulting on Illinois 1, the Mt. Carmel Daily Republican-Register reported, and found the victim unresponsive. He apparently had come in contact with a power line, the newspaper said, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Closing of dealerships to reverberate throughout region: The day after Chrysler notified Edward Burke that his Jeep Dodge dealership was no longer wanted, the window washer at the Lisle store that Burke has owned since 1987 stopped him. He wanted to know if he would still have a job after June 9, when the dealership is slated to close. It was one of those small moments that illustrates the reach of an automobile dealership in a local community -- which extends to the Little League team counting on sponsorship or the local waitress depending on tips from dealer employees' lunches.

Watt Plaza Becomes First Office Building in Los Angeles to Receive Prestigious Gold LEED® Certification in ‘Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance’ Category. Watt Plaza, a twin 23-story office tower complex encompassing 900,000 square feet in the heart of Century City, has been awarded Gold LEED Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance (EB O&M) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the first office building in Los Angeles to achieve this distinction in this category. Watt Plaza is one of five buildings in California and one of 12 buildings in the United States to be certified LEED EB O&M. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the U.S. Green Building Council’s primary rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy efficient and high-performing buildings. Energy efficiency measures encompass the following: achievement of a high Energy Star rating (benchmark of energy performance relative to similar buildings in similar climates) each year since 2004; installation of 3M Prestige Window film application throughout building interior; and installation of 2,231 occupancy sensors. The 3M window film rejects up to 79% of the heat that would otherwise come through the window; this can translate into a savings of about one ton of air conditioning for every 100 square feet of glass exposed to sunlight. In the colder winter months, the window film also works to reflect manmade heat back into the building, reducing heat loss by up to 30 percent.

A UK company that provides help to building projects has defied the economic downturn by moving to bigger premises. Marpal, which was set up in Derby in 1998, offers advice to building schemes to ensure they comply with specific regulations set out by the Health and Safety Executive. Company founder and director Paul Littlewood said he decided to make the move to allow for future expansion. Marpal is currently working on major projects in Derby, including Derby College's Roundhouse Development. The company also works with Derby City Council, Rolls-Royce, Twycross Zoo and JCB, as well as national organisations such as BUPA and the Ministry of Defence. Its staff work with companies to ensure they meet health and safety regulations and advise on all aspects of construction and design. This includes considering the safety of a building once it is completed – for example, whether it will be safe to carry out window cleaning and if the fire exits are easy to reach.

Energy efficient Low E glass is produced for the first time in Australia using the CVD coating process following the completion of a major upgrade at Viridian 's glass making plant at Dandenong in Victoria. The commencement of the Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) coater is the final stage of the upgrade, following the successful commencement of glassmaking in October 2008. The Dandenong plant has produced a range of Low E coated products including Viridian EnergyTech, SolTech, EVantage and Renew self cleaning glass. According to Steve Choat, General Manager, Viridian, the specialist Pilkington coatings engineers who have commissioned the coater are satisfied with the quality and performance of the product. A rigorous process of product performance testing has occurred in Australia and by Pilkington at its dedicated technology laboratories in the UK.
The upgraded plant is now one of the most advanced and sustainable glass making plants in the world and received the support of the Victorian Government. The CVD coater uses globally proven and accepted Pilkington technology. The plant will provide Viridian's customers with a range of well known and accepted energy efficient glass products, including Viridian ComfortPlus and Viridian EVantage, as well as providing skilled employment and potential for export and import replacement.
Viridian's energy efficient coated glass allows building designers to incorporate large expanses of glass while achieving energy efficient design requirements. Window fabricators will also benefit from local supply of coated glass that helps them to meet growing customer demand for energy efficient glass and insulated glass units (IGUs) for the new and retrofit market.
Hard coated glass manufactured by Viridian at Dandenong is durable because the special coatings are applied while the glass is still semi molten. The CVD coating process occurs while the glass is being manufactured, with precisely controlled coatings molecularly bonded to the surface. By changing the chemistry of the coatings, Viridian can achieve different performance properties to produce a range of energy efficiency low emissivity (Low E) glass.
The durability of the coatings allows the glass to be easily handled, processed and stored and when installed offers resilient and dependable performance for the life of the window. The Dandenong upgrade also included rebuilding the glass furnace, increasing capacity and equipping the float line with the latest technology, including new online cutting and a modernised raw materials batch plant.
The CVD coater is a leading edge glass manufacturing technology that puts Viridian on track to deliver a range of locally made energy efficient coated glass products for reducing the energy consumption and improving the comfort of commercial and residential buildings.
The CVD coater produces a range of low emissivity (Low E) glass products that let in abundant natural light, but reduce the passage of heat to keep a building warmer in winter and cooler in summer, lessening the need for artificial heating or cooling. These types of products are well recognised in Europe and North America as an important way of reducing a building’s energy consumption and improving occupant comfort. Now builders, designers, architects, and home owners can take full advantage of high-performance energy efficient glass from Viridian.

And finally Peter Leith....the singing window cleaner.

Window Cleaning Add-On - Security Film

With this in the news today & in todays desperate society, I'm sure it could be of interest to many professional window cleaners: -

Film could allow removal of security bars on Main Street, Arizona: Pictured left, a local business owner inspects a sample of glass using Armorcoat. The film keeps broken glass held together so as to deter easy entry to a facility, and avoid injury. The campaign to remove the bars from the windows comes from Main Street Revitalization consultant Maralan Hutchins, to make downtown more appealing and windows more open to window-shoppers. With the bars, cleaning windows is also a much more problematic chore. Representatives Aaron and Ron Rumfallo with Queen Creek company Advanced Window Films gave an overview of the product they sell from renowned window film manufacturer, Armorcoat. According to Aaron Rumfallo, the product is used worldwide but picked up in popularity after Sept. 11, 2001; it has been used to retrofit all Washington government building windows to make them more resilient to blunt force.

The film comes in various tensile thickness, which Aaron suggested 8 mil and thicker for commercial storefronts. Showing a short video, business owners saw a presentation demonstrating how the windows with film stand up to different weapons such as a baseball bat or 2x4. Samples of glass tempered with the film were also passed around, showing the criss-crossed webbing of the broken, but unpenetrated, glass. The film is designed to keep the window from breaking apart, and slow down a criminal.
"I want to make this clear to everybody right now. There is no guarantee, just like any other security product, that it's going to stop everybody from breaking through. Just like the current security bars - I've seen bars ripped out of the walls with a chain and a vehicle. Nothing is a 100 percent. The product is not designed to stop glass breakage...what it does do is hold that glass together. It's an invisible barrier. Consider it an invisible peace of mind." According to the FBI's Unified Crime Report, almost 70 percent of burglaries are performed through breaking a window or forced entry through doors. With the film, windows are equipped to stand an incredible amount of force, and would take many repetitive attacks before it could be penetrated. Even at that, it would take much more work on the would-be thief's part to pry a hole big enough in the glass to gain entry. "Most criminals if they don't get in and out in less than a minute, they start making mistakes and their adrenaline gets pumping - and so, they're gone," Aaron explained. "They want to get in and out to the easiest target. In most cases they'll try to break in a couple times. They'll take a few blows to the window and realize that they're raising all this noise and exerting all this effort, and most move on."

Cost of the installation of the film is approx. $6-8 a square foot, and $5-6 a linear foot for the attachment apparatus. A group rate is "totally negotiable," Aaron added. According to Hutchins, the city has been working with El Paso Gas Corp., which could be donating a sizeable amount to help cover costs of the window project. The only downside to that would be that should an attempt at breaking the window be made, the cost would be back on the storeowner to replace the window, and a reapplication of the film. But several storeowners were critical that the film would help at all. Western Auto owner Lupe Galaviz recounted how she and her sister and co-owner Janie Rodriguez had to resort to plexiglass several years ago after constantly replacing glass windowpanes. Other business owners have had the same experiences, replacing countless windows, broken the majority of the time by rocks.

Armorcoat is a strong, resilient film that helps protect people and property from the hazards of broken glass. Manufactured by Bekaert, a world leader in window film, Armorcoat has met impact requirements for some of the most stringent tests in the industry and has been field tested for over 20 years. Armorcoat is made from only the highest quality materials, such as tough, high tensile polyester and ultra-strong mounting adhesives – available in thicknesses ranging from 4 to 14 Mil, with thicker films offering greater protection.

There are many other manufacturers, including the range from Bekaert also 3M, DIYwindow security & Shatterguard.

Window Cleaning News & Videos

Residents warned over bogus window cleaners, Gloucestershire: Police in Bishop's Cleeve are warning residents to be on the lookout for bogus window cleaners. PC Phil Groom, from the Safer Community Team, said the bogus callers had been reported as operating in the area last week. “On Tuesday, January 27, we received two separate reports of people purporting to be window cleaners in the neighbourhood," he said. "They were using ladders to access peoples property, and giving a story that they had been asked by their neighbours or family to clean the windows. "We ask residents if they have any doubts regarding anyone’s identity to ring the police immediately”. One of the males was described as white, 5ft 11 to 6ft, aged in his early 30's, of medium build with short dark hair, sporting a small goatee beard and wearing a dark hooded top and jeans. It is believed he was accompanied by an older male, together with a female and driving a red coloured estate car. PC Groom added: “We are anxious to speak to these people as quickly as possible and would be interested to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience over the last few days or may have seen these individuals.” Anyone with any information about these incidents should contact police on 0845 090 1234, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting incident number 215 of January 27.

Web Hosting News, LONDON, United Kingdom - Telnic Limited, the registry operator for the new .tel top level domain (TLD), today announced that small businesses and owner-managers around the world can now get their own domain name which can be used to be found online without the need to build, maintain and host a full Web site. Dubbed the “Webless Web,” .tel domains are set to open up Internet publishing to everyone, regardless of budget or technical expertise. “Small businesses have been caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to getting benefit from the Internet,” said Khashayar Mahdavi, CEO of Telnic. “Until now, they either needed the skills in-house to develop and maintain a Web site, or pay for others to do the same, all without knowing whether or not the site was of interest to their customers. Now, with .tel, small businesses get a presence online akin to a listing in a directory service but under their own brand and their complete control, at a fraction of the cost of a listing in a traditional directory service.” “Plumbers, dry cleaners, chauffeurs, window cleaners, actors, fitness instructors and interpreters, to name but a few, can all take advantage of consolidating their costs in directory listings, saving money on customer communications and benefitting from free SEO built in the .tel domain,” added Mr. Mahdavi. “At a time of economic pressure, there’s a huge opportunity to improve customer communication and access whilst consolidating costs.”

In Energy Management, 3M received the very first window film patent in 1966 and continues to be a world leader in window film technology over four decades later. Today, 3M’s window film portfolio has grown to include solar management, safety and security and decorative technology platforms that are sold in the Automotive, Commercial Building and Residential market segments throughout the world. The Prestige Series, one of 3M’s innovative lines of window film products, are the first clear and non-metal based window films to significantly reduce heat and ultraviolet rays entering a building. These films block up to 66 percent of heat penetrating the window, resulting in less stress on air-conditioning and lower energy costs. 3M continues to break new ground with innovative products and services in the ever-changing, and rapidly expanding energy management market to meet customer needs.
The company’s uncanny ability to mix and match seemingly unrelated technologies plays out time and again to create state-of-the art solutions. For instance, 3M pioneered solar films 25 years ago, when scientists first developed solar energy and mirror films. The company also has significant experience in developing products for long-term exposure to outdoor environments and has unmatched capabilities in weathering. 3M’s 106-year history with established coatings, film, tape, adhesive and optical technologies continues to spur breakthrough innovation with new products and applications in renewable energy to meet ever-changing demands in the marketplace.

Tests on brain of man killed at pub: Tests have been carried out on the brain of a man who died following a row outside a pub in Armoy, the High Court heard yesterday. Amid claims that Darren Murphy (pictured), 32, may have fallen earlier on the night of his death, lawyers also disclosed that post-mortem results will be available in two weeks’ time. The developments were confirmed as a man accused of his manslaughter in December 2007 was allowed to return on bail to his home address. Raymond Hamilton, 37, of Travers Place, Dervock, near Ballymoney, was charged after Mr Murphy, a father of two, was fatally injured outside a bar a few miles away. Hamilton had been staying at an address near Strabane due to fears of tension if he was allowed back to the area where the incident took place. With the arrangements said to be causing him financial problems and labouring and window-cleaning work available closer to home, Mr Justice McLaughlin agreed to let him return to Dervock.

The ladder of the law: A Romanian judge has ruled a man must use a ladder to get into his first floor flat - because his neighbour owns the ground floor entrance. Eugen Dumitrescu, 70, from Pitesti, had been using the entrance for years until he fell out with the family living downstairs.
Now following the ruling he has to climb 15ft up a ladder to get into the sitting room window of his apartment - but is preparing an appeal. "I will take this to the very top," he vowed. "I am talking to my lawyers because I cannot go on living like this. Passers-by see me on the ladder and think I'm either a window cleaner and ask me if I can come and clean their windows or that I am a burglar and call the police.


Vitro launches in Europe its new line of self cleaning glass ECOPURE®: Vitro, announced today the launching of its new product line ECOPURE®, its new self cleaning glass, through its European affiliate Vitro Cristalglass.
• ECOPURE® improves visibility through the glass when it rains.
• Expenses related to window cleaning are reduced considerably.
ECOPURE® is a glass called hydrophobic that is very resistant and colorless which substantially improves visibility during and after it rains. Its exclusive coating destroys organic contaminants on its surface and increases the sliding action of the water over the glass thus allowing for easy elimination of dirt and reduces considerably the frequency of manual window washing. The self cleaning window works thanks to the combined action of two natural elements: sunlight and rain. Sunlight, even on cloudy days, decomposes dirt and grime on the glass. Later when it rains on the window’s surface, without forming drops, the rain completely rinses the residues previously decomposed by the UV sun rays. In addition to the advantage of time savings and maintenance expenses is added the feature of improved visibility through the window when it rains and also, very importantly, it helps the environment by reducing the use of detergents. ECOPURE® is a glass that can be combined with other products from the product selection of Vitro Cristalglass as the treatment is applied on just 1 face of the glass surface.

Last June I hired a company to clean my home's windows (inside and out). A few days later I saw that several windows had some hazing on them. I attempted to clean them again, and the results were the same haze. Then in August I noticed condensation and more hazing on my sunroom window, the biggest in the house. The company was not responsive to my repeated calls to come back and repair the damage. Any suggestions?
Call a different window cleaner or a window-glass fabricator and ask for an assessment, suggests Sam Terry (pictured), the immediate past president of the International Window Cleaning Association, an industry group. Terry, who owns Sparkling Clean Window Co. in Austin, says there are numerous possibilities, so you need to have someone take a look.
If the hazing is between panes, the desiccant incorporated in the edge material is probably spent, and you'll need to replace the glass units. If the windows are still under warranty, the manufacturer should pay some or all of the cost.
If the haze is on the interior or exterior surface, the glass could have microscopic scratches that might or might not be the fault of the window cleaner. One possibility, Terry says, is a phenomenon known as tin-etch hazing. When the glass was made, the manufacturer poured the molten glass onto a large tin tray, so one side of the glass wound up with a microscopically thin layer of tin. An acidic window cleaner or even acid rain could have etched that layer, leaving the glass looking cloudy. The remedy would be to polish the glass with a special buffing machine.
The previous window cleaner didn't necessarily cause the problem, Terry says. "If the windows hadn't been cleaned in a while, the dirt could have been covering a haze that's now visible."


First video: Mr Squeegee (aka Tony Evans) of New View Window Cleaning in Wellman, Iowa gives us a taste of the weather & cleaning windows in cold weather. Second video: Sean the salesman, from window cleaning resource gives us an update on the inititive program for the window cleaners.