Interesting Window Cleaning Facts.

Window cleaning may sound like a simple work with minimal risks and not a lot of excitement, but window cleaning is a heritage job, with a long history and plenty of fascinating details, except for the odd tipped-over water bucket. To enter delicate windows and have the best performance, window cleaners often have to be a little creative!

The window cleaners who have to sweep the spires of the Burj Khalifa, which is the world's tallest structure, use £5 million worth of high-tech equipment to do their work.

New York is home to some of the most advanced window cleaning techniques. In 1931, more than 3,000 window cleaners developed their trade in the area.

It is not a day job to dust these giant houses. Cleaning all the windows in the Hearst Tower takes 4 weeks, and it takes almost 4 months for 6 cleaners to disinfect the Time Warner Centre's 80 glass walls!

The fastest window cleaner in the world, Terry Burrows, was able to clean three regular office windows in just over 9 seconds. At the National Window Cleaning Competition in Blackpool, on 9 October 2009, he accomplished this feat.

Most people clean their windows so they can appear presentable, but really dirty windows cause more damage than they know. Natural light and heat will not only decline, which means higher energy costs, but the dirt from the atmosphere will also weaken the glass over time, which means it won't last as long.

In a window cleaner's package, the most powerful instrument is the squeegee, with a rubber blade to extract both water and debris. However, this is not a new method, it's been used since the beginning of the 20th century and was first produced in Chicago.

Window cleaners will also merely stand on window ledges before the scaffolding was installed to access hard-to-reach openings. In the 20th century, the leather safety harness was introduced, at the same time as the squeegee.

The cleaning of windows is also one of the most dangerous occupations around, with the biggest risk arising from the height at which most employees conduct their business. In 1962, when the scaffold that they were using broke, four window cleaners lost their lives. Despite this, it was not until 1993 that the New York window cleaners' union adopted sensible safety measures.

Water feeder poles are the newest instruments at a window cleaner's disposal. By helping staff to clean high-rise windows from the protection of the earth, these poles mitigate the risk even further! They are not only much better, but they also do not use any additives, meaning no toxic toxins find their way through the ground.

One of the problems facing the window cleaning industry is a modern invention that produces self-cleaning glass. There is an incredibly thin layer of crystals in the Pilkington Activ glass that interacts with sunshine to break down filth to eliminate the need for detergents. For a shiny, clean window, washing it with water would be all that is needed.