Tips For Hiring Window Cleaning Pros

Tips for hiring pros to wash your windows, or doing it yourself: Window washing is a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. The question is, do you hire a professional window washer? Or do you save money and tackle the task yourself, even if that means climbing up on countertops indoors and a ladder to reach high glass outdoors? Either way, squeaky-clean windows make your home look more appealing, and make you more content, so the accumulation of winter grime cannot be ignored.

If hiring a professional is on your spring to-do list, but you haven't yet lined up anyone, you'd better get going. Particularly if your windows are being cleaned for a special occasion such as a graduation party. Some window washers, especially those who have regular customers, might already be booked into June. "Spring is one of our busiest seasons," says Bill Mastro of New View Window & Gutter Cleaners in Newbury. (Fall is busy, too, he said.) "This time of year, don't wait until the last minute."

Says Ray Nicolli Jr. of Ray's Cleaning Service in Lyndhurst, "I have regulars, so it might be hard to get an appointment. I have clients whose windows I do twice a year, and some of their appointments [including those for fall] are already made." James Lee of Robin Window & Gutter Cleaning in Lakewood says sometimes he can take a job with only two days' notice if it's small job, but two weeks' notice is best. Prices depend on the company, and, of course, the number and size of the windows.

With Ray's Cleaning Service, an average bungalow with about 12 to 14 windows cleaned inside and out is about $100, says Nicolli. With storm windows (which most homes in this area have), the job would run you $175 to $250 because there is more glass to wash. Windows with wood dividers might cost a little more. With Robin Window, says Lee, a job that involves cleaning only the outside of windows runs $60 to $85, not including storms.

Some professionals don't require the job to involve every window in the house. Some are called on to clean only first-floor windows or just the outside. "I have gone to a customer's home and done just the picture window," says Mastro. "Others just want the windows in a great room washed or some other tall window."

Do-it-yourselfers will spend a lot less, but there is a technique for cleaning windows to a spotless, streak-free, professional-looking finish. Generally, you'll need a quality squeegee with a soft rubber blade, a bucket of warm (not hot) water, a couple of squirts of dishwashing liquid or window-cleaning fluid, a sponge that isn't too coarse for scrubbing rough patches, and lots of clean, white cotton rags (diapers work well). It's best to clean your windows on a cool, cloudy day because the sun dries the window too quickly.

Wet the window with the cloth wipe and use the rougher side of the sponge for stubborn patches. Pull the squeegee from top to bottom, drying the tool between each swipe. Don't forget to clean water that drops onto the windowsill. Vinegar or ammonia are often recommended instead of soap, but Lee and Nicolli don't suggest them because people have a tendency to use too much. In addition, ammonia can take the finish off the glass after a time. A couple of gallons of water and a couple of squirts of dishwashing liquid should do the trick. Lee recommends that do-it-yourselfers work in one room at a time or one side of the house at a time so that the job isn't so overwhelming. Ladders can be dangerous, especially when one is holding a bucket and stretching to reach corners, so at the very least have someone holding the bottom.

Betsy's List, a consumer group, surveyed some window washers around the country. Here are their tips:
• Most homes should get a thorough window washing twice a year. This includes screens and sills.
• Most glass can be cleaned with soap and water. However, some call for special cleaning solutions.
• Large panes are best cleaned with a squeegee and finished with cloth to eliminate streaks. Small panes and leaded or stained glass are best cleaned with plain water and specialized window-cleaning cloths.
• Minimize the need for extra cleaning by not taping or sticking anything to your windows that you don't want to leave there permanently.
• If you hire a pro, make sure the company is licensed.

Bucket & Brush Brothers - A Window Cleaning Business Venture

In my first business venture, I partnered with my younger brother Jeff — we were 10- and 12-years old. With my mother’s non-stop encouragement, we started a window-washing business, Bucket & Brush Brothers. We handed out flyers to the small businesses in our home town, Carlinville, a southern Illinois farm burg of 5,000 people. The charge: $1 per business.

Our first customer was my parents’ business. We washed the windows of their ladies “ready-to-wear” shop on the north end of the town square. My Dad was a tough customer, he had strong ideas on how to wash windows the “right way”.

At our peak, we cleaned the windows for twenty businesses, which we completed in about five hours each Saturday. We were each generating $10 per week, which felt good.

From this early experience, I learned a few lessons.

* Sustaining a business is challenging, it takes discipline and a rigorous commitment. If you let up, you lose customers. If you call in sick, you lose customers. Calling your own shots comes with a responsibility that is unmatched when working for someone else. We shut down the business when I got hired on at Doc’s grocery store as a bag boy.

* A friend once described sky diving as “quintuple thrills”. Fear, excitement, happiness and intense worry are feelings I have when launching a new business — the mix of danger and approval along with the rewards of grinding out solutions to problems. It is an experience that I love to repeat.

* Doing business with a family member or a friend can be a mistake with low odds of success. With F&F, you have trust. Personal loyalty, however, can get in the way of making smart and difficult business decisions. My grandfather described it as “soft heart, soft head”.

* The product may inspire the business, but sales make the business.

* Wipe the squeegee carefully with a dry towel before applying it to the next window. Bring plenty of dry towels or the windows will be marred with ugly streaks.

Window Cleaning Videos & Other UK News

Another installment from Mark Strange of "Beautiful View" from Toronto, Canada gives us a few more unbiased reviews of products in the window cleaners workplace. This time his opinion on the Unger ErgoTec® XL handle in this weeks edition of "Tool Talk."

Sean the salesman, from window cleaning resource gives us an insight into his day to day life before he shoots out to snowboard.

Kevin, the window cleaning business coach recently gave everyone the chance to win $200 of goods over on WCR to find the best flyer or template. Above is the synopsis of the winner from the entries given. More information on the new monthly dossier here. Below is Kevins latest advise on car dealerships & profitability..

UK NEWS IN BRIEF:

Hotel manager who cleaned windows: The winners of the South Cheshire Chamber Business Awards 2008, held in association with the Chronicle, were announced at a ceremony at Crewe Hall Hotel. In this weekly series we are highlighting each of the winners and the secrets of their business success. Hotel manager Steven Hesketh seized upon a window of opportunity to climb the hospitality ladder. The 30-year-old former window cleaner sparkled at the annual South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce Business Awards 2008, taking the title of Young Business person of the Year, which he won jointly with Jonathan Mullarkey of Willaston House Business Centre. Father-of-three Steven, who lives with his wife in Chester, headed the opening of the Ramada Encore hotel on Crewe Business Park in Electra Way only two months ago in October.
Business has been steadily growing since, and Steven says the outlook for 2009 is bright despite the credit crunch. His rags-to-riches career story struck a chord with the awards judges. Steven said: “I started as a window cleaner at a resort in Australia while I was still at school 16 years ago, and it was then I fell in love with the industry. “I moved to Australia with my parents when I was one and returned in 1998. My first job here was at the Chester Crowne Plaza 10 years ago as a receptionist. So all my learning has been on the job. He is responsible for a team of 32 staff at the Ramada Encore hotel, overseeing their development while chipping in with whichever job that needs doing at the time.

Soccer fan Michael Sheilds is waiting to hear the word that he is to be freed from jail with a royal pardon. Two High Court Judges ruled that Justice Secretary Jack Straw was wrong to decide that he was powerless to grant a pardon because the conviction happened overseas. In their deceions the judges said Michael qualifies for a pardon since in British law he is "morally and technically innocent". It is widely accepted that Liverpool supporter Michael, 22, was a victim of mistaken identity and wrongly convicted of the attempted murder of a barman in Bulgaria. But he was kept locked-up because of tangle of international red tape and politics. Michael's father, window cleaner Mike Sheilds (pictured) said: "We are thrilled at this decision. "Jack Straw knows Michael is innocent and he should not spend a single day longer behind bars.

The gift of money: With cash being tighter than ever, many Britons are hoping their stockings will be filled with the gift of money instead of traditional Christmas presents this year. New research from Halifax has shown that more than a third (35%) of Britons intends to send money as a gift this Christmas, with children also set to receive money in the form of savings, as friends and relatives choose to open a savings account rather than purchase the latest toys from the high street. Furthermore, the UK's milkmen and window cleaners will receive similar tips to last year as the credit crunch doesn't seem to have impacted people's generosity this Christmas. Most of the UK's milkmen, window cleaners, bin men and paper boys can breathe a sigh of relief as 80% of 'tippers' say they will be paying the same as last year, with 17% saying they will pay more. However, it will be the luck of the draw for service providers in the East Midlands this year as the region has the highest percentage of people planning to tip more (24%), but on the flip side, has the highest number of people who intend to tip less (7%) compared to the rest of the UK.