It’s hard for some people to even take a quick glance at those workers high above street level on their powered platforms 40, 50 maybe 80 stories up. Palms sweat and hearts race a little faster if you’re not one of the professional window cleaners whose jobs take them up the face of city skyscrapers on a daily basis.
But how often do these professionals typically find themselves cleaning the same bank of high-rise windows? The short answer is, somewhere between once a month and twice a year. The in-depth answer isn’t quite that vague, so let’s dig a little deeper and add a few details. Here are some of the leading factors that determine how often your skyscraper windows should be washed.
How Often Skyscraper Windows Are Cleaned Depends on The Windows Location
It might surprise you to know that not all skyscraper windows are created equal. When you think of the topic, you probably imagine those little dots of humans high in the air.
That’s certainly part of the topic, but skyscrapers also include windows at ground level and a few stories high. These are the windows that get dirtier faster. It makes sense when you think about it. It’s these lower-height windows that are most exposed to car exhaust and the dust and grit of city life. They might have to be cleaned once a month or even more frequently, depending on street-level traffic and other conditions.
Those way-up-high windows aren’t quite as privy to street-level pollution. And since they’re so far from street view on a vertical plane, they look cleaner longer. (At least from the outside; a different story from an interior view, which we’ll get to.)
So that’s why building managers might call professional window cleaners like Squeegee Squad more often for ground level and lower-floor windows than for those glass panes located higher off the ground.
How Often Skyscraper Windows Are Cleaned Depends on The Buildings Location
Some places are dirtier than others. Some cities suffer from more air pollution than others. The windows of a city’s big buildings will show the effect of all of that dirt, grit, dust, smog and vehicle exhaust. So skyscrapers in some cities need more attention than in others. Makes sense, right?
Climate conditions play a part, too. Cities with a lot of rain get streaky, smudgy windows and mineral deposits left behind. Windy environments can result in a lot of city muck getting tossed up into the air, where the window glass catches it.
Even a building’s position within a city plays a part. Showcase buildings on streets like Manhattans Broadway or Wall Street or Chicago’s Michigan Avenue are likelier to get more window-cleaning attention than those on a little-traveled side street.
How Often Skyscraper Windows Are Cleaned Depends on The Physical Location
If there’s a main thoroughfare or a large and well-attended parking lot on or near the premises, the dust and exhaust are likely to make for a need for frequent window cleaning. And if the building consists mostly of windows, and it’s a large and expansive building, there’s nowhere for all that city dirt and grime to go except to walls of glass.
How Often Skyscraper Windows Are Cleaned Depends on The Tenants Expectations
Here’s the bottom line for a lot of our clients. Street traffic might not have any complaint about the cleanliness of the window panes 400 feet overhead because they can’t see the grime. But tenants can. If those tenants see clients in their offices they’re particularly picky about aesthetics.
Let’s say that one of your tenants is an investment bank that leases six floors of high-rise space. And that the client’s lease comes up for review next year. If that client comments on the condition of their windows every two or three months, how often are you going to schedule a window cleaning service? Exactly.
How Often Skyscraper Windows Are Cleaned Depends
So the shorthand answer to the question is that you’ll probably want to schedule the services of a window washing firm like Squeegee Squad for floors reached by powered platforms twice a year, and lower floors more frequently, as needed.
But the more thoughtful answer is that the glass should be cleaned as often as necessary, based on the factors we’ve outlined here. Building operations people should listen to tenants and check out the conditions of the windows for themselves.
The last thing you want is for your building to suffer a loss of reputation for something as easy to schedule as window washing.