Window Cleaning News + Video

Mongolian rally - The lengths some people will go to in order to help others. Next summer, Mike Ashton and his crew will drive nearly 10,000 miles and through 20 countries to Mongolia - and, once they've arrived, they plan to leave their car there. That's because they're competing in the 2010 Mongolia Charity Car Rally, in which entrants donate their vehicle, equipment and cash to suitable charities in the remote country. The Rally starts on July 11.
Mongolia is nearly five times the size of the UK but only has one major accident and emergency unit. Mike's team intends to contribute a four-wheel-drive ambulance that's fully equipped to save lives in Mongolia. He was inspired by the need for him to require emergency treatment at the A & E department at his local hospital, treatment that most of us take for granted. Mike's team is called NoMad Adventure. He will be joined on the drive by his son Callum 16, and Syd Wall, a friend. The team's first fund-raising event is on November 13 at Talton Lodge, Crimscote for a Mongolian-themed evening of food and entertainment with a lot of local companies donating the meal and drink.
The team is looking for main sponsors to cover the costs of the vehicle, fuel, equipment and visas, as well as the all-important vehicle preparation. A self-employed gardener/window cleaner and greenwood craftsman, Mike intends to make large quantities of charcoal for his wife to sell during next summer, in order to replace his income while he'ds off raising money. The rally starts in London on July 11 - after that, the crews are on their own. Sponsors for vehicles, equipment and general help can pledge their support on the Mongolia Charity Rally 2010 page on the Charity Rallies website where there's a wealth of information and pictures about previous rallies, the vehicles donated and the projects supported.

Record for pocket powerhouse Tommy: Pint-sized strongman Tommy Campion has broken the world record for being the lightest competing bodybuilder. The window cleaner turned muscleman entered the Guinness Book of Records after weighing in at 55.5 kilos – eight-and-a-half stone. Tommy, who lives in Presthope Road, Pennywell, travelled to Manchester this summer for an over-50s competition where he weighed in at a record light weight. Now the dad-of-three has received his official certificate from adjudicators. "It's a novel achievement, I know, but it's still something to get yourself in the Guinness Book of Records," Tommy said. "I've now got the certificate to prove it." The 51-year-old, who is also a keen runner, said his low weight, is not down to dieting, but to genes. At just 5ft 2in tall, Tommy said he takes after his "slightly built" mum. "I'm pretty sure that's where I get it from," he said. "She was this tiny, little person. "I was only six stone when I left school at 16 and I almost became a jockey at one point. Somehow I got into bodybuilding and I really took to it." Tommy began bodybuilding 25 years ago and for the past eight years has been competing as a member of the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation. In recent years he has been placed fifth and sixth in national competitions.

Who must clean windows (South Africa)?
Question:
In a sectional title complex or block of flats, is the body corporate responsible for cleaning the outside windows?
Answer:
At the moment the situation with regard to window panes is not clear, but there is an amendment to the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986 (the Act) in the pipeline. This will provide that the boundaries of sections go through the middle of window frames and it will then be clear that the exterior portion of windows is always common property.
The body corporate is responsible to repair and maintain the common property, including common property windows. However, common property maintenance would not normally be considered to include the cleaning of all exterior window panes, even once it becomes clear that these are all common property.
In a high-rise building where occupants cannot easily clean their own windows, the rules of the scheme may oblige the body corporate to employ window-cleaners. In schemes where occupiers can readily access the exterior of their windows, they will not normally be entitled to insist that the body corporate clean the outside of the window panes.
As the situation is currently not clear from the provisions of the Act, it is suggested that this issue be dealt with in a scheme’s rules so that all owners in the scheme are aware of what the position is for their scheme.

Gonzalez is still cleaning up here: Tony Gonzalez may not play football in Kansas City anymore, but a piece of him remains here. As everyone knows, Gonzalez now lives in Atlanta, where he plays tight end for the Atlanta Falcons. But Gonzalez still operates his business, Extreme Clean 88, out of Lenexa. While Gonzalez concentrates on football during the season, the day-to-day operations of Extreme Clean 88 are handled by Dennis Allen, Gonzalez’s cousin and co-founder and manager of the business.
Gonzalez calls Allen at least four times a week to offer advice or render suggestions. Gonzalez admitted Monday that this area holds special meaning to him. “I grew up in Kansas City,” he said. “Kansas City will always be my base. It’s where I started my career. And it’s where Extreme Clean 88 started.” In 2007, he bought into Rigdon Inc., a company that specialized in window cleaning. The name was changed to Extreme Clean 88. Gonzalez added services, including hood exhaust cleaning, gutter cleaning and janitorial services. Extreme Clean 88 now has about 40 employees.
A family connection sparked Gonzalez’s interest in commercial cleaning. He has an uncle that runs a similar business on the East Coast and in Tennessee. Gonzalez has been successful in snagging work around town almost as easily as he snags passes from quarterbacks. The company almost doubled its revenue in 2007, and this year business is up 50 percent.
The company cleaned the Arrowhead Stadium training facility and did the final cleanup on the Arrowhead Stadium improvements. The company also did the final cleaning on the glass of the Sprint Center before it opened to the public. “The business has been doing well despite the challenges with the economy,” said Kerry Rigdon, the other manager and co-founder. “We’re growing and looking to expand on our current services.” Depending on his health and the team he has in Atlanta, Gonzalez told his cousin that he plans to play only a couple more years. After he retires, he wants to expand the business.
With Gonzalez serving as the face of the company, its services have been easy to market. “There’s some credibility that goes with that,” Rigdon said. “Tony opens doors. He has a brand that gives people a level of comfort.” The company also has done work at schools such as Kansas State University and Johnson County Community College and at the four casinos in the area. “When the economy comes back, we’re going to be doing pretty good,” Rigdon said. Kansas City shouldn’t feel slighted by Gonzalez’s departure. He’ll obviously devote more time to his business once he hangs up the pads. Watch the videos.

OTTAWA, Canada — Mark Albert, a 45-year-old man killed in a rowhouse fire Saturday morning, lived on loyalty. Dave Stenson, owner of Howard’s Pawn Shop on Carling, said Albert had been cleaning his windows for the past 10 years. As kids, the two would go fishing together at Britannia Pier. But as they grew up, Albert grew apart from his friends and family. Through window washing, Albert relied on people like Stenson to keep himself financially afloat. He was a fixture in the Bayshore area, plying the streets looking for clients. “He’s a lifelong resident of the west end,” Stenson said. “All I was doing was giving him a couple of bucks to get by.” Albert died in Unit 13 at 2959 Penny Dr., in a fire that took 36 firefighters over an hour to bring under control. The fire broke out shortly after midnight in a second-floor bedroom before spreading to the roof, fire officials said. They estimated structural damage at $200,000 and contents damage at $250,000.

The body of an elderly man has been found in rural farmland between Burnley and Pendle. Police said they were investigating whether the body was that of Jessie Shaw, 83, who went missing three weeks ago. Although a formal identification has yet to be made, Jessie’s daughter, Julie Shaw, said she was ‘convinced’ it was her dad. She said a lifelong friend of her father made the discovery while out hunting in fields close to Higham on Saturday lunchtime. Despite having no official confirmation that it is that of her dad, she said she was ‘99.9 per cent sure’ it was him.
She said: “It’s our dad. He had the same clothing on that he was wearing when he disappeared. Jessie, who had suffered from Alzheimer’s for four years, spent all his life in Padiham and worked down the pits before starting his own window cleaning business.

"DIRTY JOBS" - Is there any job that is just off limits to the show or to Mike? Eddie Barbini (producer of "dirty jobs") - " Not really." "We haven't turned down a job yet." "Mike is always game for whatever is up as long as it's not dangerous but he walks that fine line putting himself in situations that you just think 'How is this guy going to do this?'" "Last week, what aired is the window-washing segment in Hawaii." "Mike washes windows on an over-400 foot skyscraper in Hawaii." "He washes it not in the traditional way on scaffolding but he's actually in a little swing seat that he goes down with pulleys along the side of the building." "I'll tell you that it's frightening." "Our cameraman wouldn't even go on and backed out of it." "Actually, it'll rank up there at the top as one of the dirtiest jobs even though it's not dirty in the sense of dirt but the characters are phenomenal and the experience is phenomenal and Mike is hysterical in it."

Montreal Rescue + Window Cleaning News

Firefighters make daring rescue of stranded window washers: The Montreal fire department’s high-altitude team rescued two window washers who were injured when the swing stage they were on fell several floors at the SNC-Lavalin office tower on René Lévesque Blvd. near Bleury St. downtown about 1:04 p.m. Monday. Montreal fire operations chief Richard Laporte said the men were on the 21st floor of the 21-storey building when the apparatus fell. One of the men suffered a fractured tibia, while the other had back injuries. Firefighters lifted the men onto a stretcher, one at a time, and descended to the roof of a neighbouring building. They were then taken into the building, brought to the ground and taken to a hospital. The rescue took about two hours. René Lévesque Blvd. was closed into the night, and will be reopened when the dangling swing stage has been removed. Quebec’s workplace safety board is investigating the incident.

Don’t neglect gutters in fall cleaning (Window Cleaning Add-On): Clumps of rotting leaves, wasp nests and mosquitoes are just a few of the nasty things homeowners have to deal with when cleaning out their gutters — not to mention the hazards of climbing ladders and onto roofs to complete the task. Ignoring the gutters, however, will only lead to more, potentially expensive problems, according to Geoff Shaule, president of G & S Window Washing and Gutter Cleaning Inc. of Troy. “Cleaning out the gutters is essential, and it should be done a minimum of twice a year — late spring, after all the seeds and foliage have fallen, and late fall,” Shaule said. “If you live in a heavily treed area, you could possibly need a third cleaning either mid-spring or mid-fall, but every situation is different.”
On why homeowners should consider putting their ladders away and calling a professional, Shaule said he always quotes home improvement expert Glenn Haege. “Haege says, ‘The only safe way to clean your second-story gutters is to have someone else do it,’ and I tend to agree,” he said. “It’s dangerous and filthy-messy; it stinks and it’s no fun. We’re professionals — we have the right tools to reach all the gutters on any home, and we’ve cleaned over a million feet of gutters in the past 10 years.” Clogged gutters and downspouts don’t drain properly and can cause ice dams, which leads to leaky roofs, stained drywall and rotted wood. Blocked downspouts cause the water to accumulate on a home’s foundation, resulting in leaky basements and even leaks in the upper walls of a home. Water that pours over stuffed gutters from a heavy spring rain can damage flowers and foliage in beds beneath. “The damage can be pretty extensive and expensive,” Shaule said.
G & S conducts all estimates on-site and leaves the homeowner with a written estimate and a brochure containing services and insurance information. “We come out to see what the gutters look like and what kind of trees or plants might inhibit our access,” he said. Shaule also provides customers with a brochure containing a rundown of his services and liability insurance information — something he said all consumers should look for when hiring a professional for a hazardous job. “People who go around door to door in the spring and fall, they’re not insured, and if they fall off your roof and break their leg, you or your insurance company will be paying for them,” he said.
Sharon Chess, owner of Chess Roofing and Siding in Ferndale, said homeowners should make sure all gutters are properly secured against the home and pitched properly to ensure all water and debris flow from one end to the other and don’t settle in the middle. “If you don’t have seamless gutters, be sure all of the seams are caulked, so that they don’t leak,” she said. Shaule added the most common mistake people make when it comes to gutters is waiting until December to schedule a cleaning. “Some people don’t want to call us in early fall because they figure there’s still some leaves on the trees, but if you wait until after it freezes, those gutters might not thaw until March or April,” he said. “You’d rather have 90 percent of the leaves cleaned out before it freezes, and let the other 10 percent fall if they have to, because you take a real serious risk of ice dam problems and all that snow and rainwater not flowing to the ground properly.”

Window cleaner jailed for stealing from elderly: A female window cleaner who befriended elderly people to steal money from them has been sentenced to three years in prison. Valerie Newing, 47, who is currently on remand in prison, but who lived previously in Bell Road in Maidstone, pleaded guilty burglary and attempted burglary when she appeared at Maidstone Crown Court. It was heard she distracted her clients by, for example, asking them to get her a glass of water before stealing money from their purses.
In one case, Newing targeted an 88 year old lady, befriending her and regularly visiting her home. She abused the trust she gained by stealing the woman's money and her handbag. As the offender became more desperate, it was heard she attempted to force her way into the house using hedgeloppers to break the chain on the front door. She was finally caught when the elderly lady was hospitalised and a neighbour spotted Newing trying to force her way in to the back window of the empty house. Newing left DNA on the rear window linking her to the scene of the crime.
PC Tracy Evans of the Tactical Crime Investigation Department at Maidstone said: “Newing’s despicable thefts preyed on the elderly and the vulnerable, seeking out easy targets to steal from. I am delighted with today’s result which will hopefully bring a sense of closure to the victims and their families in the knowledge that she is now behind bars.” After pleading guilty to burglary, Newing asked for a further two crimes to be taken into consideration admitting she had been to the 88 year old victims house to steal money on previous occasions.

Windex "all in one" slated again: It Sounds so Promising! Kathleen Stutler of Northern Kentucky hates scrubbing windows. So she loved the idea of Windex Outdoor All-in-One, after seeing ads for it on TV. It looks like a Swiffer for windows, with a pad at the end of a long wand, and promises to make cleaning easier, in just half the time. Kathleen says she read the instructions, and "it said just hook up the hose, and spray the window, which I did." Kathleen says she followed directions carefully. She wet down all the windows with her garden hose, then rubbed them with the special Windex pad on a stick, and finally rinsed it all off. No need to dry with towels. Where's the Spot-Free Shine?
But she tells me when the windows began to dry, the spot-free shine she had been expecting turned out to be anything but spot-free. Kathleen says "after they dried, they streaked and were filled with spots, water spots, that were very noticeable!" We checked with the manufacturer, SC Johnson, which directed us right to the FAQ'S' (Frequently Asked Questions) on its website. There it explained that if you have hard water, the result "is likely to be diminished" and may be unacceptable to you because hard water -- unwiped - will spot. It's similar to spraying your car with a garden hose and letting it dry. You'll find spots on the paint and windshield, unless you use a "spot free rinse" at the carwash (which takes out minerals).

BLACKPOOL has already been put on the window cleaning map after the world record for speed was broken in the town. And now the resort could have the cleanest windows in the North after it becomes the northern centre for the British window cleaning academy. Marton-based company "Excellent UK" has been named as the new northern arm of the British Window Cleaning Academy, which means window cleaners from across the North will be heading to the town to polish up their skills. The company was started by Marton man Sam Smith (pictured) in 2000. He said: "It's great news for the town we've got the training contract for the academy here. "We will be welcoming around 70 window cleaners a month, who will be staying in the resort and contributing to the local economy.
"There will be a wide range of day courses on offer from learning how to use the water fed poles we have instead of ladders, health and safety skills and even teaching them how to market themselves. "There's a lot more to window cleaning than meets the eye." The academy's northern centre was previously based in Newcastle with the headquarters in Swindon. The two centres serve the training needs of all the UK's 180,000 window cleaners.
Father-of-four Mr Smith started the business with a £3,000 Prince's Trust grant, which he used to buy his equipment. Now, Excel Ent UK employs 24 people and carries out a wide range of commercial and domestic cleaning services. Mr Smith added: "It's really nice to be able to bring something back into the community after the help I was given starting up my business. "Window cleaning is a great option for people who have been made redundant or are out of work because the set up costs aren't really that high. "With our courses, such as the marketing one, we can help people build up a really successful business."
Terry Burrows, the world's fastest window cleaner, smashed his own world record in Blackpool just over a week ago. He cleaned three large glass panes in a speedy 9.14 seconds. Terry, who is 54 and from Essex, was in the resort for the Federation of Window Cleaners annual conference and beat his existing 9.24 second time.

A pervert pensioner was caught accessing child pornography on a computer by an eagle-eyed window cleaner, a Court heard yesterday. John Wadsworth, who has had both legs amputated, was reported to the police and his flat raided. He pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court to 17 offences of making and possessing indecent images of young boys. Wadsworth, 68, of Fell Lane, Keighley, had had no sexual experiences and lived a reclusive life, the court was told. He had bought a laptop computer shortly before he committed the offences. Prosecutor Paul Nicholson said the window cleaner spotted Wadsworth looking at child pornography on December 14, 2007, and immediately alerted the police.

Lead Poisoning Prevention Week set: Reduce the risk from lead paint. Most homes built before 1978 contain leaded paint. This paint could be on window frames, walls, the outside of your house, or other surfaces. Tiny pieces of peeling or chipping paint are dangerous if eaten. Lead paint in good condition is not usually a problem except in places where painted surfaces rub against each other and create dust. (For example, when you open a window, the painted surfaces rub against each other.) Make sure your child does not chew on anything covered with lead paint, such as painted window sills, cribs, or playpens. Until the new regulations take effect, EPA recommends that anyone performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes, child care facilities and schools follow lead-safe work practices. All contractors should follow these three simple procedures: Contain the work area; minimize dust; and cleanup thoroughly.

The history of Chesham was encapsulated as the town's museum was officially launched. Among the special guests at the grand opening included George Bayliss, a Chelsea Pensioner, and former window cleaner from Chesham wearing the distinctive red uniform, whose story is featured in the museum. Mr Bayliss had been a keen supporter of the project and his family had contributed items for the displays. The public were given free entry to the museum, which came to fruition after an 18-month battle to raise the £20,000 needed.

The distraught family of missing Padiham man Jessie Shaw (83) have made a desperate plea for his safe return. "He suffers from Alzheimer's and we are worried about his health. Tonight will be his third night away from home so I would urge everybody to please be on the look-out for him. We are very grateful to the police and mountain rescue for all their efforts so far and have been keeping ourselves busy putting up his photo and knocking on doors appealing for help. "Dad is very well known in the local area and we have been overwhelmed by the level of support, we would just ask people to please be watchful and call police with any information, no matter how small." Police are asking for the public's help to trace Mr Shaw, from Ingham Street, who also suffers from heart problems. "He is a well-known character in the Padiham area, especially among licensees and he used to run a window cleaning business in the area. "I would appeal to anyone who thinks they have seen Jessie, in the area to contact police on 08451 25 35 45 or dial 999 in an emergency. Jessie is described as white with a pale complexion, 5ft. 7in. tall with short grey thinning hair. He was wearing a blue crewneck jumper with pinstripes down the front, beige trousers and shoes and a checked flat cap. He is often seen with his dog but his dog has been accounted for at his home.

A lady who lives in a modern home in South Bel-Air phoned a professional window washer and asked if he could come over and clean her windows. After she explained the nature of the job he said, "I'll have to send a man out for a consultation." "Consultation?" she asked. "What for?" "Well," he replied, "we have men who wash big windows and men who wash small windows." "You better send a man who has at least a Ph.D.," she said. "I've got 86 windows to clean, all sizes."