Window Cleaning The World’s Tallest Building

Daring window washers clean world's tallest building.

Window-cleaning the world’s tallest building: Dubai, United Arab Emirates — It’s hard work cleaning the windows of the world’s tallest building, but somebody has to do it. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is covered in 24,000 panes of glass. The workers who clean them start at the 160th floor and work their way down. That’s more than 2,700 feet. Before they start their work, they check and double-check their harnesses and ropes. They also measure wind speed because a gust of wind could be dangerous. It takes three months to clean every window, and then crews start all over again.

Meanwhile in China..

Climbing duo Vadim Makhorov and Vitaliy Raskalov scaled the 632 metre building without any ropes.

Shanghai Tower skywalkers climb second tallest building in world without safety equipment: Two Russian climbers filmed themselves defying gravity (and death) by climbing the world’s second tallest building without any ropes or climbing gear. Vadim Makhorov and Vitaliy Raskalov used head cameras to film themselves breaking into and climbing the still unfinished Shanghai Tower in China, as they scaled the 632m structure without any safety gear.

Their cameras show vertigo-inducing panoramas of Shanghai hundreds of metres below throughout their ascent. The pair even passed clouds on their journey to the top. The Tower will be one of the tallest buildings in the world upon its completion, second only to the 830 metre Burj Khalifa in the UAE, the tallest man-made structure in the world. When both climbers reach the top, their head-cams show them peering down into the abyss below. Makhorov told Yahoo! News: "We had to wait for hours for the clouds to part but it was well worth the wait, the view was like something from an aircraft window. "As soon as we saw a gap in the clouds were climbed right to the top of the crane and were able to get some great shots of the city below."

Don't look down! Vadim Makhorov sits in a cage above the Shanghai Tower, with the city sprawled more than 2,000 feet beneath him.

Vadim Makhorov and Vitaly Raskalov captured these shots from a height that would make most people sick.

Window Cleaning Info

Mole & Jersey tenth video!

The Mole and Jersey Show Episode 10 - Mole & Jersey are talking with Mark from Canada's best window cleaning supply store. And a ton of other great window cleaning and pressure washing awesomeness...

The Segments:

3:38 The Wire...Yelp ratings court hearing

6:45 Marketing Madness...Logos

11:25 The Chop Chop...Mark the window cleaner

20:33 Fail of the Week

23:47 Top 5...Things I hate about my business

28:48 Screw you Shecky...

Clean – at all costs (Article by Torsten Deutzmann) Torsten Deutzmann, managing director Unger's European division, writes his first blog for ECJ. He emphasises the importance of cleaning tool manufacturers working closely with their customers in order to develop the most effective, cost efficient solutions.

No country in Europe has been immune to the ‘age of austerity' that has swept the region, and the world. True, some have managed to weather the storm better than others, but it has encouraged us all to question how we spend our money - and to hold governments and big business to account over how they spend theirs.

Words like rationalisation, lean management and restructuring have leaked into our respective languages, making regular appearances in media reports and TV broadcasts. As competition increases in all sectors, business owners have to watch budgets and balance sheets closely, constantly searching for ways to make their output or service provision more affordable for clients that are becoming ever more demanding, thanks to seeing their own budgets reduced.

However when it comes to cleaning, quality standards cannot be sacrificed to cost cutting. Although slashing cleaning budgets is sometimes tempting when a quick financial fix is needed, this is a dangerous strategy as the resulting short-term gain often has a much bigger negative impact further down the line. Hygienic results must be maintained, as any dip in service provision can result in dissatisfaction at the best, and increased worker absenteeism, due to unclean surfaces spreading germs and viruses, at the worst.

Contract cleaners have to be realistic, though. Clients will always look to secure the best possible price for the products and services that they are procuring, age of austerity or not. So, can quality cleaning really be delivered on a budget?

I believe so. The cleaning professionals with whom I have had the privilege to work, when developing new products over the years, have all been wholly committed to delivering the very best service to their clients. They're not afraid to try new methods or products in order to remain competitive, and clean in a safer, more efficient way.

By investing in the best tools and equipment, professional cleaners can improve the way they work, passing on benefits to their clients. Product design has moved swiftly over the years, and tools now make cleaning less of a strain on the body, allowing operatives to finish their work more quickly, and preventing any break in service due to injuries or sick leave.

Cleaning tools have now also become more adaptable. Systems, such as window cleaning poles, can reach further thanks to the addition of extensions, and clean specific surfaces or shapes by using changeable brush heads. Additional savings can be made by choosing more ‘eco-friendly' equipment, such as machines that use less energy, or do not require chemicals to clean.

The challenge for cleaning tool manufacturers is to ‘keep it real'. They must not be remote from the market and their customers - instead, they should strive to ensure they have regular contact with the cleaners ‘on the ground'. Working in partnership with cleaning operatives is the only way to ensure that the equipment of the future continues to deliver the right results at the right price - which is a win-win situation for all involved.

Can you clean windows in the rain? Myth busted: Rain does not make windows dirty. Let your customers know and give them piece of mind. (P.S. ..Unless you live near a desert).

Thunder, Lightning & Earthquakes In Dubai For Window Cleaners

If the rain begins to fall in the middle of a job, the cleaners sometimes have to start all over again.

Weather that leaves UAE men swinging in the rain: Window cleaners who hang from ropes outside skyscrapers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are constantly watching for change in the weather. "The last time we saw rain like this was a few years ago. In 2012 it only rained once. It's not the hard rain that cleans things, it's a muddy rain and things get even worse," said Alain El Tawil, the managing director at Gecko.

If the rain begins to fall in the middle of a job, the cleaners sometimes have to start all over again. Gecko cleaners were halfway through cleaning a building in Abu Dhabi when it started to rain. The job that should have taken 20 days will now probably take 30. "We have to do it again," Mr El Tawil shrugged.

Rain is not their only problem. Amel Vriesmann, head of the rope access division at Megarme, said: "We need to stay within the parameters of the winds. The limit is 20-25 knots depending on the scope of work you do. When the rain becomes severe, we pull out. But a few drops don't stop us."

Last week's thunder and lightning had cleaners abseiling down to safety. "Once we saw lightning, we were off the building. We have a daily weather forecast email among all the management. Rain is OK but thunder and lightning is a no-go," he said.

World's Highest Window Cleaners - It Took Us Three Months To Clean Burj Khalifa (Nick Vassilev) -  It took an Australian window cleaning company 3 months to clean the windows of the tallest building in the world - Burj Khalifa. Ever wondered about how they keep the windows of these skyscrapers clean? The usual options available to window cleaners such as ladders and high-level Reach and Wash cleaning systems aren’t an option there.

London, UK -- Travel and tourism websites, programmes and brochures continually bring us pictures of tall skyscrapers in some far-off land, man-made mountains of glittering glass and steel. But pause to think about what has to go on to keep the windows of these skyscrapers, such as the Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sparkling and clean.

Usually, window cleaners working with exterior windows above the ground have several options. “We encourage our window cleaners to use high-reach window washers that can be operated from the ground for health and safety reasons,” said a spokesperson from the London-based cleaning company Anyclean, which offers window cleaning alongside a range of other cleaning services. “Ladders are OK if used correctly for two-storey houses and skylights on bungalows.  The Reach & Wash machines can reach up 75 feet, which takes care of most domestic and office window cleaning situations, but for anything higher than this, you need cradles, harnesses and cherry pickers.”

So what did the company responsible for keeping the windows of the Burj Khalifa clean do? The Burj Khalifa is the world’s tallest building at 2717 feet tall with a total of 24,830 windows, which make up 1,292,500 square feet of glass to clean.  The Australian company CoxGomyl, which is responsible for getting the windows clean for the opening ceremony (held back in 2010), took three months to complete the process of cleaning the windows.

This window cleaning team specialises in making equipment known as Building Maintenance Units (BMUs) as well as other high-rise high-tech window cleaning equipment. A number of these BMUs are permanently in place on the Burj Khalifa and the machines use a system of tracks and cradles to reach every single window. The tracks are built into the exterior façade of the building, and window cleaners are carried in these cradles (which are housed in special cavities inside the building when not in use) to where they can work at washing the windows. To clean the windows, they use ordinary soap and water. “You can imagine how expensive it would be if they used chemical window cleaning products,” said the representative from Anyclean. “But water does work well at cleaning just about everything.”

The window cleaners who operate in the highest BMU on the Burj Khalifa hold the current record for world’s highest window cleaners.  “Good for them,” said the Anyclean representative. “But I think I like keeping my feet on the ground!”

909 high-rises, 448 skyscrapers in Dubai... But do you know how to survive an earthquake? Tall order: Dubai has 909 completed high-rises, including world’s tallest tower, tallest hotel and tallest residential buildings (By Vicky Kapur) -  Two major earthquakes have rocked the Arab world and the UAE in the month of April: the first one on April 9, and the second one on April 16. Both the earthquakes were follwed by minor aftershocks. A 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook Iran and the rest of the Arab world at around 4pm UAE time on April 9, 2013, followed by smaller aftershocks. The death toll from the quake was last reported at 37, with hundreds others injured, mostly in Iran.
 

The epicenter of the April 16 quake, of 7.8 magnitude, was also in Iran, near the border with Pakistan, and it rocked the region at 2.44pm UAE time (10.44am GMT). The UAE's official seismology authority, National Centre of Metrology and Seismology, confirmed to  Emirates 24|7 that the epicentre of the most recent quake was 650km off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah in UAE. However, the tremors from the quake could be felt in locations as far and wide as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Manama, parts of Saudi Arabia as well as in Oman, with minor swaying of high-rises reported in these locations.

Earthquakes are not common in Dubai and the rest of the UAE, but nature has its way of showing who’s the boss every once in a while. Perhaps because we are not used to experiencing frequent tremors, residents of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, especially those living and working in high-rises, may not necessarily be adept at knowing what to do when tremors strike. It is no secret that Dubai is home to the tallest residential skyscraper cluster in the world. Not only does Dubai boast of the tallest building in the world, the imposing Burj Khalifa, but also the tallest residential tower (Princess Tower), the tallest hotel in the world (JW Marriott Marquis Dubai), among many more.

According to Emporis, a global provider of building information, Dubai has 909 high-rise buildings , including 448 skyscrapers (comprising 40 floors or more). According to SkyscraperPage.com, Dubai has 387 towers that are more than 99 metres in height, of which 84 are more than 202 metres tall and 26 are 301 metres or more in height. Indeed, there are three towers in Dubai that are at least half a kilometre (500 metres) in height. That’s a tall order, indeed, if there was one.

While we’ve all come to live and love our high-rises in Dubai, we can’t all claim to know about what do in case an earthquake strikes. Proof of this was the recent Iran quake, tremors of which were felt by us here in Dubai. There was confusion all along, with a number of office and residential buildings evacuated on the one hand, and with others going along with their daily chores as if nothing had happened. But if you need to be prepared the next time tremors strike, wherever in the world you are, you’ll do well to understand the following pointers (SOURCES: Earthquake Country and Go Los Angeles.

INDOORS: DROP, COVER, HOLD ON…

• DROP to the ground; take COVER by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture; and HOLD ON until the shaking stops. If there isn’t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building. Check out this PDF .

• Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting fixtures or furniture.

• Quickly move to a safe location in the room such as under a strong desk, a strong table, or along an interior wall. The goal is to protect yourself from falling objects and be located near the structural strong points of the room. Avoid taking cover near windows, large mirrors, hanging objects, heavy furniture, heavy appliances or fireplaces.

• If you are cooking, turn off the stove and take cover.

• Stay in bed if you are there when the earthquake strikes. Hold on and protect your head with a pillow, unless you are under a heavy light fixture, window or anything else that could fall. In that case, move to the nearest safe place (i.e. under a desk or in an inside corner).

• Use a doorway for shelter only if it is in close proximity to you and if you know it is a strongly supported, load-bearing doorway. Brace yourself on the side with the hinges to avoid the door swinging at you.

• Stay inside until shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave.

• Be aware that the electricity may go out or the sprinkler systems or fire alarms may turn on.

• DO NOT use the elevators, even if they are working. There may be aftershocks.

• If you’re in your hotel room, stay there. There are usually aftershocks, and sometimes they may be worse than the original earthquake. Under a sturdy desk or in an inside corner of your room is the safest place to be, even if you’re on the 40th floor. If there’s a heavy bookcase next to a match-stick desk, don’t get under the desk.

• If you are in a restaurant, get under the table.

OUTDOORS: Stay Put

• Move to an open area where falling objects are unlikely to strike you.

• Move away from buildings, powerlines, streetlights, utility wires and trees.

• Once in the open, stay there until the shaking stops. The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits, and alongside exterior walls. Ground movement during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most earthquake-related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects.

TRAPPED UNDER DEBRIS

• Do not light a match.

• Do not move about or kick up dust.

• Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing.

• Tap on a pipe or wall so rescuers can locate you. Use a whistle if one is available. Shout only as a last resort. Shouting can cause you to inhale dangerous amounts of dust.

AFTER THE QUAKE

• Check for injuries, attend to injuries if needed, help ensure the safety of people around you.

• Check for damage. If your building is badly damaged you should leave it until it has been inspected by a safety professional.

• If you smell or hear a gas leak, get everyone outside and open windows and doors. If you can do it safely, turn off the gas at the meter. Report the leak to the gas company and fire department. Do not use any electrical appliances because a tiny spark could ignite the gas.

• If the power is out, unplug major appliances to prevent possible damage when the power is turned back on. If you see sparks, frayed wires, or smell hot insulation turn off electricity at the main fuse box or breaker. If you will have to step in water to turn off the electricity you should call a professional to turn it off for you.

Rain Man - Window Cleaner

I've been using this app' for my iphone lately, just thought I'd give you the heads up. It notifies you when rain is near & viewable screens to see when it gets to you. For iphone & android.

Description: RainAlarm is the easiest and fastest way to know whether rain or snow is on the way. It has been developed to provide a fast, reliable and lightweight application. It also has it's own webpage.

Features:

• World map displaying radar images from various weather services.
• Zooming with three levels of detail using the standard touch capabilities.
• Configurable animation covering from 1 hour to 12 hours in the past. See where the precipitation is heading to.
• Push notifications alerting about precipitations approaching your location. The alerts are based on actual conditions and include information about distance, size and strength.
• Set alarm parameters such as sensitivity, time frame within which the alarm is enabled, covered radius around your position that will be checked for precipitations and the interval of the checking (how often should RainAlarm check for precipitation).
• Automatic refresh of images and location every 5 minutes when running in foreground.
• Automatic or manual determination of location. Select your manual location from a list of predefined locations or let the device figure out where you are.
• Save your actual location to be used as manual location.
• Share last image via E-Mail.

The radar images cover locations within (or close to) the borders of the following countries:

- Norway

- Slovenia

- Australia

- Germany

- Spain (including Balearic and Canary Islands)

- Canada

- United Kingdom

- Ireland

- US (including Alaska and Hawaii)

- Netherlands

- Puerto Rico

- Guam

(And are constantly working to enhance the list of countries.)

This weather app and widget are able to warn you against precipitation (like rain or snow) by a silent alarm. You can watch what is coming by the up-to-date radar animation. Even more convenient, the supplied widgets can help you monitor the precipitation situation without any alarms.

The data used originates from governmental weather services. Works in the USA (including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam), Canada, Australia, the UK, Ireland, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain (including the Balearic and the Canary Islands), Slovenia.

There are two versions of the app available: Rain Alarm uses Google Maps as background map whereas Rain Alarm OSM uses OpenStreetMap. In most cases the OSM version loads faster, whereas Google Maps seems more clearly arranged. All other functionality as well as the precipitation data shown on top of both maps is exactly the same.

RainAlarm Extended is the paid version of RainAlarm. It provides the following extra features:

- Pinch zoom with 3 levels of detail.

- No ads.

- Larger visible map area.

Also..

Rain Alert Lite- Global Forecast with Push Notification:

Description/Details: Never forget to take your umbrella with you! Has it ever occurred to you when it was nice and sunny in the morning but by the time you're ready to return home it suddenly started raining and you're left without an umbrella? How many dollars have you wasted buying unnecessary umbrellas?

Rain Alert sends you out push notifications on the day it's supposed to rain in the next 12 hours from the user-specified alarm time. You'll never have to get soaked in the rain again!

FEATURES

- Simple one-time setup for alarm time, location, and probability of rain (Make sure to hit "SAVE" button after you have adjusted the settings).

- Patent pending technology that aggregates the most up-to-date weather information from thousands of locations worldwide.

- Ability to upgrade to ad-free version (coming soon).

DISCLAIMER:

- Internet connection is mandatory to receive push notifications.

- By downloading this app, you agree to receive occasional news and updates from Vanilla Breeze and its affiliated partners.

- Vanilla Breeze retains its rights to terminate or modify the service without notice.

Rained Off?

Rain washing out some jobs: Medford, Ore. - The recent weather has been bringing plenty of rain and bringing a big impact for many local businesses. In some cases, companies have been cashing in on the rainfall. It's been a hard rain falling on some Southern Oregon businesses. For some it's meant a profit, but for others it's meant more time out of work.

A brief break in the clouds could mean a break for Don Lockett's window cleaning business; but when the rain returns, the work gets washed away. Lockett says the amount of rain in late may and early June has forced him to cancel or postpone half of his appointments, and even scattered showers on Wednesday cost him hundreds of dollars in work. Work he was expecting with summer approaching.

Not everyone has to tread water. For companies like Jan's Tans, the rainfall is bringing them a windfall. They say the cloudy weather is forcing people to find some manmade sunlight and get the tans ready for summer. The result has been an increase in business for the Medford tanning salon. For some businesses, the longer the rain lasts, the longer they'll be worried. Some companies Steven Sandberg spoke with say if they can help it, they're not letting the rain cancel their jobs.

If your weather is anything like it is in Mallorca, where I had to take cover under a house - it looks unsettled for the coming week..

Rain demolishes your window cleaning schedule, leaves holes in the day, and annoys your staff. I instituted a Rain Guarantee about 6 or 7 years ago in my NJ window cleaning business, All County Window Cleaning. I couldn’t stand taking the day off from “production work” and revenue-generating activities just because of a little drizzle. Or worse yet predicted drizzle that was days away. Yes I could have done inside work, or moved around the schedule, but I knew once we hit scale that wouldn’t work to well. So I took a gamble and boldly said that: If it rains during or up to 2 days after a scheduled window cleaning, we would happily come back FREE of charge and touch up any spots that may have been left 100% free of charge. Read more..

Window Cleaning News + A Spate Of Franchises

My heart goes out to all the window cleaners who have been caught in the latest tornados, twisters & storms in the U.S. Twister death toll 318; most since 1932 outbreak: Authorities say the death toll from the devastating tornado outbreak across the South has climbed to 318, making it the deadliest day for twisters since the Great Depression. Alabama was in the path of the most destruction from Wednesday's storms. Authorities on Friday raised the number of confirmed dead to 228. More than 30 lost their lives in Tuscaloosa, which is home to the University of Alabama. Two students are among the dead. In March 1932, 332 people died, all in Alabama. In April 1974, a series of twisters killed 315 people in 11 states. The largest death toll ever in the U.S. from twisters was on March 18, 1925 when 747 people were killed in storms that raged through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. In that outbreak, a single, 219-mile-long tornado killed 695 people.

A deal to save the Meadowlands Racetrack could be in the homestretch after a key union’s executive board today voted to accept an offer from New York developer Jeffrey Gural, who wants to lease the financially troubled facility from the state. The unanimous vote by the executive board of Sports Arena Employees Local 137 of AFL-CIO sets the stage for Gural to present his plan to Gov. Chris Christie, who had threatened to end live and simulcast harness racing by May 12 without a union agreement. Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak today said he would limit reaction until the administration learned more about the vote, but noted: "It sounds like a very positive development." Today’s vote overrules a decision by the full union membership to refuse to consider Gural’s proposal nearly two weeks ago. The union, with 250 members representing tellers, cleaners, box office workers, window washers and money-room employees, had said it would not consider Gural’s proposal because it called for a 20-percent pay cut and eliminated seniority from assigning shifts to tellers.

MIDDLETOWN — Besides umbrella sales, it’s hard to find a business that has benefited from this month’s record rainfall. If your business is somehow connected to the outdoors, it’s been all wet in April. From golf courses, to window washing companies to lawn service businesses, all are reporting dismal sales. Blame it on Mother Nature.

Cleaning industry focus: More than 21,000 jobs up for grabs: cutbacks and tough times. And if you think these jobs are dull or dead end, you may be surprised. The variety of roles and opportunities is endless and they can easily fit round the rest of your life. “Every type of business needs a cleaner, so you could be working in a small shop, a big hospital or even a grand palace,” says Darra Singh, of Jobcentre Plus. And the training opportunities are great. “Cleaning is beginning to be seen as a skilled job with real career prospects,” said Richard Beamish, chief executive of Asset Skills. “There are now solid opportunities out there for young people to get the right training and carve out rewarding careers for themselves. “We have developed the cleaning apprenticeship and a range of other vocational qualifications in consultation with the industry. These are helping to raise the profile of cleaning as a job worth having, with clear career routes involved.”

WHERE ARE THE JOBS? Walk into your local Jobcentre Plus or check vacancies out online here and you will find in the region of 15,800 vacancies. These range from cleaners and domestics to window cleaners and road sweepers. We found thousands of jobs starting at £5.93 an hour (the national minimum wage for those over 21).

Car Week: Miscellany celebrates all things motoring - Windscreen wipers: Mary Anderson is credited with inventing the first operational windscreen wiper in 1903 – she originally called her invention a window cleaning device for electric cars.

A Pencoed man involved in a seaside rescue with a friend on Easter Monday says he didn’t want to be a hero and would do the same for anyone. Eight people, including a brother and sister, were rescued by Porthcawl RNLI lifeboat, Rose of the Shires, on Monday, April 25 in the water off the River Ogmore, at Ogmore-by-Sea. David Gibson, 41, of Hendre Road, Pencoed, became involved in the incident after he and his friend, Graham Pugh, of Clydach Vale, saw mother chase after her two children – a boy and a girl – who were having difficulty in the sea. Father-of-two Mr Gibson said: “I swam in, but when I realised how strong the current was, I swam back out and told Graham not to swim in. “I told someone to phone the RNLI and grabbed the dingy. The adrenaline was pumping so much, I was sprinting and swimming to get to them.” Mr Gibson, who owns a window cleaning business, added: “I don’t want to be a hero, I would have done that for anyone.

Fallbrook Window Washing Co. provides high quality service with a smile: Finding an excellent service that does not skimp on friendliness and courtesy is hard to find; however, Fallbrook Window Washing Co. has been providing those qualities to home and business owners in Bonsall, De Luz, Rainbow and Fallbrook since 1973. Rick Williams, the owner of Fallbrook Window Washing Co., joined his father Eric in the business nearly 40 years ago, and has worked hard to offer the best window washing service possible. However, this business is not a one-man team. Jan Williams and Jamie Stewart, Williams’ wife and daughter, help manage the office and schedule appointments. "We have a tag team," said Williams. "My wife and daughter are invaluable to the business as business managers, customer service, and support. With my son Eric working with us, our business has been in the family for three generations."

As part of the window washing service provided by the Williams team, Williams physically goes to each prospective property to offer a free estimate. "It’s important to meet the people interested and explain my services to them," said Williams. "Not only do I want to give an accurate quote, I want them to see who will be working on their property." Fallbrook Window Washing Company’s service includes the washing of all windows, inside and out; the cleaning of the window screens and the vacuuming of the window tracks. Williams stated that Fallbrook Window Washing Company’s attention to detail is what allows the company to provide stellar work that is only accomplished by someone who specializes in window cleaning. "Most housekeepers wash windows by hand with a rag, basically smearing the windows, which can be seen when the sun shines through," said Williams. "We use soap water and squeegees, leaving windows residue- and spot-free." In order to have pristine windows year long, Williams recommends that clients have the

windows professionally cleaned quarterly, touching them up by hand in between appointments. "If customers are going to have a special event, we offer a partial service, in which we clean the most important windows, such as the dining room, kitchen and family room," said Williams.

For the Williams family, providing superior window washing services is not enough; as longtime residents of Fallbrook, they consider getting to know their customers essential. "Some of my customers tell me that they’ve known me since I was knee high to a grasshopper," said Williams. "I have had the pleasure of seeing some customers every few months over the span of almost 40 years, so they have known me my entire working life. That’s the pleasure of working in Fallbrook; you become a part of the town." In addition to window washing, Williams serves his community as a volunteer firefighter in De Luz, and was one of the brave firefighters who battled the Rice Fire in 2007. Currently, Williams also has a personal dog training service, and volunteers as a puppy trainer for K-9 Companions for Independence, which trains canines to help disabled individuals live a full and independent life. This commitment to serve the community is what drives the Fallbrook Window Washing Company to excellence. "I enjoy being a part of Fallbrook, running into folks I know," said Williams. "I am proud of the reputation I have in town, and I would not trade that for all the gold and silver in the world. People know that we are friendly and courteous."

I recently installed some film on a friend’s townhouse over by the beach. It all started when she mentioned that she was taking a few days of vacation to sew custom slip covers for fabric-covered chairs in her dining room—a room that faces west and takes direct Florida sunlight from mid-day until sunset. When she finished, she proudly showed me her work and although it was impressive, I was more curious why she would go to so much effort. Then she showed me the older sun-faded slip covers, which led to a discussion about UV fade and my work in the solar control industry—window film to the rescue! I’ve been touting the benefits of window film for many years and, although I’ve seen it many times, this experience was a perfect example of how serious sun fade is from a consumer’s perspective. And, regardless of what I know about window film or how long I’ve been in the business, this was a reminder about how damaging effects of the sun generate legitimate selling opportunities.

It did not take long before I found myself giving a full-fledged passionate presentation for the product we all love. I displayed how the film worked and told her about product options, making sure I listed all the additional features and benefits—such as improved appearance, reduced glare, and of course, added protection against glass breakage. When I was the director of marketing for Bekaert, we used to say that window film had a “bundle of benefits” and when you think about it, how many products can people buy that have so many added benefits above and beyond the primary one that motivated the purchase decision. During our conversation, I felt my passion for the product energize as she realized window film was the perfect solution for the problem. Like most consumers, she was simply not aware of window film or its long list of valuable benefits (By the way, I made sure I did not over sell or create any unrealistic performance expectations in the area of fade reduction).

A couple of days later, I brought over a sample of a popular dual reflective film, solar specs and a BTU meter to show and tell the window film story. I’m not sure if it was the film-on-glass sample, or the BTU demo that did it for her, but at one point, all she wanted to know was how soon I could get the film installed, surely with the protection of her new slip covers in mind. I’m not a window film dealer installing film every day so I took my time making sure I cleaned the glass thoroughly. I even included a cleaning of her outside windows because I have always felt that doing so is good way to increase the job completion “wow” factor and it’s an additional profit center for proactive dealers. In this case and since I was helping a friend, I didn’t ask for any money, but I did get a really great home-cooked meal out of the deal.

NIC student takes education to the street: Shawn Wood is a 27-year-old entrepreneur enrolled at North Island College who is putting his schooling to good use this summer. In NIC’s business administration program for two years, Wood decided to open his own business. Operating a College Pro Window cleaning company, he purchased a franchise from the well-known company. “Being in the business field, I will be able to apply all the practical knowledge I have learned to my own company. My intentions are to hire as many college students as I can. “I want to help others earn their way through school as well as myself,” he adds. “I want to make a difference in the Comox Valley. “By offering free services to needy non-profit business, I hope to promote both myself and the businesses. “I have nothing but high hopes as I canvas door-to-door for clients over the next few weeks trying to get houses booked for May.”

Acrotech Invites Franchise Partners For Their Window Washing Business: Window washing isn’t an easy job for most people and organizations. But, it is nevertheless something that needs to be done to maintain the hygiene. Your home will most certainly have glass windows, and they will definitely get dirty due to the weather elements. You would either have to clean them yourself or get them cleaned from professional cleaners. Even commercial office premises dread the thought of window washing, gutters cleaning, and power washing because the maintenance staff is not adequately trained to do a good job, and sometimes they do not have the right equipment as well.

But cleaning the windows is not a problem anymore, at least not in British Columbia Thanks to Acrotech that has emerged as the leading service provider in the Vancouver area, and elsewhere in the state. Offices, commercial properties and individual homes in British Columbia are all turning to the company when they want their windows cleaned and maintained. The company offers many advanced services such as power spraying, gutter cleaning, pressure washing, power washing, roof cleaning, moss removal and others.

Acrotech is now taking in new franchisees for the window cleaning services. The company representatives are saying that the market is huge, because both businesses and individuals must get their windows cleaned. And all of them need to hire professional services, because it is almost impossible for most homeowners and property managers to clean the windows themselves. The company feels that there is not much competition as very few businesses offer the modern approach to window washing like Acrotech. Most of them do not have the high-end equipment as well. So it seems that after becoming a big success in Canada, Acrotech is finally ready to move in to the US market.

It certainly seems like a good business opportunity for those who want to grow with a business leader and that too in a niche that is growing. There is no need to have prior experience because Acrotech is promising a lot of support for their franchise partners. It took Acrotech more than five years to perfect the technologies, product approach and services offered, but the franchises can hope to gain right from the first day. Working with the leader, they can learn about the use of modern technology and the best-practices.

Those who are interested to become a franchise will need to fill out a “Request Info” form that is available at the company website. For any queries, businesses can also call up Acrotech. Once Acrotech has received all the applications, they will scan through them and decide about their franchisee partners.

Acrotech is taking in new franchise partners because the business wants to emerge as a global brand, which is recognized beyond Vancouver and Canada. The young and dynamic company wants to dominate the market niche of window washing, gutters cleaning and power washing.

About Acrotech: Acrotech is the market leader in window washing and maintenance services in Vancouver, Canada. The company employs modern gadgets and professional cleaners to serve individual homeowners and businesses in the area. Acrotech is now inviting franchise partners for various areas of the US. Please visit Acrotech.com to learn more about the company, the window washing services, and the business opportunities.

PVC Wizard franchise offers a sparkling ‘window of opportunity’: A bright new business opportunity awaits visitors to this year’s British Franchise Exhibition, in June – when specialist conservatory cleaning company PVC Wizard conjures up some excitement. PVC Wizard, headed by successful Lancashire businessman John Feeney, is about to launch its UK-wide roll out as a franchise network – and it will be the first specialist conservatory and PVC cleaning company to appear at the exhibition, at Manchester Central, on June 10 and 11. Although the official launch will take place at the exhibition, the PVC Wizard team is already attracting a great deal of interest from people keen to snap up franchise territories. “There is a clear gap in the market for our service, and our eye-catching brand offers a unique window of opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to join us across the UK,” said John. “Based on the excellent trading figures of our existing franchise operations, we’ve developed a very attractive franchise package with a strong support structure and exciting marketing campaign,” he added. And with more British householders choosing to improve their existing homes, rather than move during the recession, potential sales are forecast to remain strong. John, who previously designed and built conservatories, has worked at some of the biggest conservatory installer firms in the country. And that’s where he first came up with his bright idea for business…eight years ago. 

He explained: “I was seeing conservatories installed every day but there was no thought given to how they might be cleaned. PVC manufacturers like to say that their installations are maintenance-free, but this is not really true as anyone with a grubby conservatory and stained window frames will tell you.” John added: “I realised the potential of setting up a professional conservatory cleaning company in a field of work that traditionally has attracted here-today gone-tomorrow operators. It’s a service rarely offered by window cleaners and it can be a dangerous and messy job for homeowners. “We were inundated from the first month because of our system of cleaning and the specialised products we use to bring weather-beaten conservatories back to their original pristine condition, inside and out.” Initially run under the company name of Specialised Conservatory Cleaning, the company has just re-branded as PVC Wizard as part of its franchise roll out across the UK as a household name in conservatory cleaning.

Top Dawg Franchise Announces Best Franchise Business Opportunities in the Cleaning Industry - PRLog (Press Release) – As a leading provider of free and complete information on the best franchise opportunities, Top Dawg Franchise recently announced its most popular residential and commercial cleaning company picks. Many of these franchisors offer comprehensive cleaning jobs, including professional window cleaning, carpet and upholstery cleaning and restoration, green home maid assistance, as well as HVAC and duct cleaning and maintenance. Hailed by Entrepreneur Magazine as the #1 Growth Franchise in Commercial Cleaning for five straight years, JAN-PRO is easily one of the largest and best recognized commercial cleaning companies featured in the Top Dawg Franchise website. Aside from JAN-PRO, Top Dawg Franchise also offers free franchise information on established cleaning companies such as Stratus Building Solutions, Eco Maids, Chem-Dry Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning, and Ductz International. It allows potential investors to choose from among hundreds of the best franchise business opportunities available on its user-friendly website. Options are arranged alphabetically or according to state, industry, or minimum required investment.

Sonia Viles shows some of the lost property handed in at Wellington Central police station. Ever checked out of a hotel and left your birdcage? Or wondered what an unmanned canoe paddle was doing on the train seat next to you? Scarves and jerseys are among the most common items to haunt lost property boxes – but are far from the strangest. Probably the most surreal moment in executive housekeeper Denise Thornton's 37-year career was the time the window cleaner called to report a body in the hotel garden. A panicked Ms Thornton ran out of the James Cook Hotel expecting to find a bloodied corpse – but was instead greeted with a grinning window cleaner holding a deflated blow-up doll. At least one mystery was solved. Three days earlier, a room cleaner had found a large, empty cardboard box with a picture of an attractive doll called "Shirley". "He brought the box to me giggling his head off. He said: `I don't know where she's gone, but here's the box'," Ms Thornton says. Musings as to her whereabouts were silenced. "There was Shirley, she had been pushed out of the window at some stage and she was lying in the garden very deflated."

Bravery award Stockton dad after sea rescue: A courageous dad who ran into a rough sea to rescue an elderly man has been awarded one of the country’s top lifesaving honours. Gary Lennon risked his life when he swam in choppy waters to save a confused man who had walked into the sea at Redcar. But the modest window cleaner from Hardwick, Stockton, says he only “did what anyone else would have done”. Gary was sitting on steps on the Esplanade, with wife Jane and daughter Natasha, last September, when they saw an old man wade into the sea. “It’s all a blur really. I just thought ‘I’ve got to get him out’,” said Gary, a 40-year-old dad-of-two. “I ran down the beach stripping off to my boxer shorts. He was quite far out and I had to swim to reach him. “I swam back with him and pulled him onto the beach.” Jane could only stand and watch in horror. The University Hospital of North Tees ward clerk said: “At one point I couldn’t see the pair of them. “It was awful for Natasha. She kept screaming ‘My dad, my dad’.”

The man, in his seventies and suffering from dementia, had been on a day out with his family. When he wandered off, a police search was launched. When Gary emerged from the sea he found himself surrounded by a crowd of people applauding him. But he was more embarrassed because he was still in his boxer shorts! Gary, of Tithe Barn Road, said: “People say you’ve risked your life but you don’t think about it. I think anybody would have done it.” Wife Jane disagreed. “He doesn’t see himself as a hero, but clearly everyone else does,” she said. Son Macaulay, 15, a pupil at Our Lady and St Bede school in Stockton, and daughter Natasha, 18, are very impressed. Natasha, who works with her dad, said: “It went straight on Facebook. I’m really proud of him.” Now Gary is to get a commendation from the Royal Humane Society for his bravery after Cleveland Police recommended him for the award. Society secretary Dick Wilkinson said: “Gary was the right person in the right place at the right time. “Without his prompt action, though, the incident could have had a far less happy ending. He richly deserves the award he is to receive.”

Window-cleanding business opens: Tom Zupancic has opened Fish Window Cleaning at 195 Lehigh Ave. No. 13A, Lakewood. The company provides window cleaning, commercial and residential, to customers in Brick, Jackson, Lakewood, Mantoloking, Point Pleasant Beach, Seaside Heights, Toms River, Asbury Park, Belmar, Howell, Neptune, and Manasquan. Before opening his company, Zupancic managed regional and global IT teams for Credit Suisse. Fish Window Cleaning has 239 locations in the United States and was named to the 2010 Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing businesses.

Residents face some early water restrictions: Residents of North Cedar face early water restrictions this year due to the ongoing rehabilitation work on two wells that serve the area. The restrictions began on Friday and will continue to May 20, which means there's less water at this time for everyone in that area to use. The Stage 4 water restrictions include no washing of vehicles, driveways or sidewalks, no filling of pools and hot tubs and no window washing.

High hopes rust away in Australia - The world's tallest residential building was to be the Gold Coast's shining beacon, but the towering steel structure has been marred by claims it is rusting. Only six years after its completion, Q1 is allegedly riddled with corrosion. The body corporate representing the owners of the tower's 526 apartments is now suing luxury Queensland developer Sunland Group for millions of dollars worth of repairs to the 80-storey tower. It is alleged the steel structure's protective coating was never applied correctly. The corrosion became a feature of one resident's window frames only 12 months after she and her husband moved in. "We were one of the first to move in and I noticed the rust pretty quickly on the outside of our window," said the resident 'Julie', who requested not to be named. "It wasn't a great deal [of rust], but the building wasn't even 12 months old." There were also problems with the coating of the steel frame of the balcony. Although the frame was re-coated with what Julie was told was the correct protective material, the same problem still exists. "When we first moved in [I noticed] the inside [frame] of the balcony just wasn't done properly. They eventually came back a re-coated the balcony, but even today I can't wipe [the edging] down, because [the coating] just peels off," she said. "It's like silver paint coming off on your hands. Even if I'm cleaning the windows I try not to [clean] too close to the edge because the [coating on the steel frames] will go all over my windows." Julie said she felt duped by the developer and sales agent.

The Many Revenges of Kip Flynn, by Sean Dixon: A fire-breathing, tattooed flaneur takes the title of Sean Dixon’s second novel. One of Dixon’s great strengths is his ability to tease out evocative characters from the streets and alleys. He is able to pump up fleeting players until they float like balloons through the streetscape, so charmingly free-floating you nearly don’t notice their weightlessness. Still, it is often a joy to soak up the hustle and bustle through Dixon’s eyes. At a certain point he quotes William Blake — “Everything that is is holy” — and it’s a maxim he works hard to prove, with his evocative and appreciative descriptions of everything from the alien-tripod Ontario College of Art and Design building to heady asides into urban planning to finely captured moments between two strangers on a window-washer’s rig.

Today from the seattlepi.com archive we have the story of Seattle’s first streetcar, which began service in 1884. The P-I’s first known printing of the streetcar image in the P-I came Sept. 23, 1909 when the driver, George Washington Williams, recounted what it was like to drive the route. In any case, the streetcar line had some tough times with mud. “It was worse than the picture shows,” Williams said in 1909. The gradients were estimated at 4 percent to 8 percent, and Williams – then 29 – had to carry a 4-by-4 to put the car back on the track when it derailed. The basic fare was a dime, and longer runs were 25 cents. A profitable day brought in $6, and Williams, an African-American, was paid $50 a month. Williams appears to have worked on the streetcar line for 14 months before changing jobs. In 1909 he was working as a window washer. Click here to read a PDF of Williams’ recollections about the 1884 Seattle streetcar.

Window Washer

By Christopher Todd Matthews

One hand slops suds on, one

 hustles them down like a blind.

 Brusque noon glare, filtered thus,

 loosens and glows. For five or

 six minutes he owns the place,

 dismal coffee bar, and us, its

 huddled underemployed. A blade,

 black line against the topmost glass,

begins, slices off the outer lather,

 flings it away, works inward,

 corrals the frothy middle, and carves,

 with quick cuts, the stuff down,

 not looking for anything, beneath

 or inside. Homes to the last,

 cleans its edges, grooms it for

 the end, then shaves it off

and flings it away. Which is

 splendid, and merciless. And all

 in the wrist. Then, he looks at us.

 We makers of filth, we splashers

 and spitters. We sitters and watchers.

 Who like to see him work.

 Who love it when he leaves

 and gives it back: our grim hideout,

 half spoiled by clarity.

Privatising Water & Illegal Rainwater Harvesting

Today, I've added food for thought to all you water fed poler's out there who are rainwater harvesting or are planning to.

Rain water harvesting in certain states of the US has become illegal. In Colorado, Rain Barrels are illegal. Yup. Please, slowly step away from the rain drops...

Rain drops there, you see, are outlawed. Colorado state law mandates that any water falling from the air is not yours. In fact, according to their site, its already been “legally allocated” — so, you don’t actually have any rights when it comes to using precipitation that falls on your property.

Here’s the exact wording: Colorado Water Law requires that precipitation fall to the ground, run off and into the river of the watershed where it fell. Because rights to water are legally allocated in this state, an individual may not capture and use water to which he/she does not have a right.

Last summer, The Colorado Springs Gazette said the following: “The rain barrel is the bong of the Colorado garden. It’s legal to sell one. It’s legal to own one. It’s just not legal to use it for its intended purpose. Meanwhile, when rain does fall, the torrential flood caused by water running off a few thousand acres of roofs, roads and parking lots erodes downstream ranches, undercuts city sewer pipes and really makes Pueblo mad. It’s gotten so bad that the city is taxing us all, to pay for $295 million in stormwater projects. So wouldn’t it make sense to save a little rain when it falls, keep it from barreling down Fountain Creek, and use it when needed? Of course it would.” And Colorado water law makes it clear, no matter how illogical, that the rain that falls on your roof doesn't belong to you. In fact, you can't even borrow it. It has to go downstream to the person who owns the water rights, who could live in Fountain or as far away as Kansas.

In Bolivia, a Bechtel subsidiary made it illegal to collect rainwater on one's own property without a permit. More and more people are learning, through experience or through burgeoning campaigns, about the inhumanity of water privatization campaigns in the Global South. The story, re-enacted across the world, never loses its sting: the IMF and World Bank pressure governments to sell off publicly-run water systems; for-profit corporations from the North step in; within weeks, water bills skyrocket to unaffordable levels. A new phenomenon has started pushing across the horizon, bringing hope to those who feared that water commodification had become the bleak, inevitable future of the developing world. Civic demonstrations in countries like Bolivia, Argentina, South Africa and Ecuador have succeeded in chasing corporations away from public water. But these protests have come at significant costs. In Bolivia, the government responded to protests against an agreement which went so far as to privatize rainwater in the province of Cochabamba with brute force and a martial lockdown. In the ensuing bedlam, a 17-year-old boy was killed when police catapulted a tear gas canister into his head. Bechtel, the company which had secured the contract for the privatization, finally chose to withdraw in the face of such strong opposition. To add insult to injury, Bechtel, which had hiked water rates an average of 50% virtually overnight, sued the Bolivian government for $25 million -- a figure far greater than what they invested.

Since privatisation took over most of the utilities in the UK, it has become very apparent that the water companies are in it for the profit rather than service the users. A new film called "H20 up for sale" is to be released, one part telling of the plight of users from Thames Water in London. With all the supposed droughts occuring in the UK & WFP usuage & window cleaners livehood threatened by the opposing water restrictions, isn't it time that this farce is stopped in its tracks? WATER IS THE NEW OIL.