[Londoner]

Domestic window cleaning is almost a uniquely British thing the way we do it. It does exist in other countries but either because we have exported it to places like Spain (for the ex-pats)  and Australia or it exists in an entirely different form as in America. In many countries it doesn't exist at all

The idea of setting up a round and doing the windows on a regular basis has certainly been around since Victorian times but I was wondering whether there was any proper research on how and when it started.

[Art]

Here's a bit about it:

Window cleaner history
In the twentieth century, window cleaners began using the Chicago squeegee, a bulky tool with two heavy pink rubber blades. Changing the blades required the loosening of twelve separate screws. The modern single-blade window cleaning squeegee was patented by Ettore Steccone in 1936; it was lightweight brass with a very flexible and sharp rubber blade. The Ettore Products Co. is still the leader in the squeegee market today.[1]

During the September 11, 2001 attacks, window washer Jan Demczur used a squeegee to free himself and five others from an elevator shaft in the World Trade Center. [2]

According to Guinness World Records, the world's fastest window cleaner is Jason Hughey of South Ockendon, Essex, England, who cleaned three standard 45-inch x 45-inch office windows set in a frame in 9.24 seconds at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham in March 2005. He used an 11.8-inch squeegee and 2.4 gallons of water.[3]

[Joe Lauzon]

How is it different in the states?

[sjm]

How is it different in the states?

They have the windows cleaned only twice a year 

[TennetClean]

They have the windows cleaned only twice a year

And they take all day about it.  They would charge about $200 for the average house but do inside & out, clean the fly screens, all the frame work, the soffits, fascias etc.  Its not like here where just clean the windows and then move on.

we're mch more advanced than the americans, they cannot believe how window cleaning works here, we have it good!

[TennetClean]

Also, I was visiting canada once, and its basically the same as USA as far as window cleaning is done.  I very nearly thought about canvassing a street (that was similar looking to an english street) for "window cleaning - English style!"

I wonder what they would make of only paying $30 and having them done once a month?  I have a feeling they would jump at it because windows still get dirty.  Maybe they have just never been given the chance.  Could make a killing

[LWC Ltd]

If they charge $200 a house they are already making a killing!!

Just need more customers I guess.

[jaykie]

Ive just been talking to the family about moving to spain, but when i said i wonder what i could do for work they looked at me amazed and said er window cleaing, but in spain they all have shutters and cant see theres much work out there.

Chris

[pingu]

The Netherlands is very much the same as the UK with rounds and misconsceptions of 'areas' and the like.

Dave.

[TennetClean]

If they charge $200 a house they are already making a killing!!

hmm, not really, that would take someone a whole day probly, or two guys half a day.  Remember, that is only £100 a day, pretty poor and WFP dont make it hardly any quicker at all.  ALSO it is very seasonal, nobody has it done in the winter.

AND they have to constantly advertise and compete against other guys for customers every time they do a house.  We have it very good here in comparison.

[Londoner]

Ive just been talking to the family about moving to spain, but when i said i wonder what i could do for work they looked at me amazed and said er window cleaing, but in spain they all have shutters and cant see theres much work out there.

Chris

You can clean for the British in their villas but not for the locals who aren't interested. There are certainly enough Brits in the Costas to make up a round but if there is already a WC in the area doing them I doubt there would be room for two.

We used to have someone on here who was a window cleaner in Spain. Can anybody his name?

[Neil271052]

It's a funny thing about regular window cleaning being a British thing.

I would assume it dates from the old days of coal burning, steam trains  and smog when the windows must have got filthy.

Most other countries weren't so heavily industrialised as ours at the time so they never bothered.

I think it is inbred into the British personality as somebody recently posted on here that they work in a very cosmoplitan area with many races but they never want their windows cleaned.