A familiar sight: a ladder in the flower bed, one hand gripping the frame, the other reaching for the top corner where the streak still is. A ground-floor window can be done well at home. An upper-floor glass surface, the top band of a shop window or the glass wall of a mezzanine space is another matter: here safety comes before a streak-free finish.
Where is the line?
The decision does not depend on how high the window is, but on where both sides can be reached from and in what position. An inward-opening upper-floor casement is easy to clean from inside, but the upper part of a fixed-glass ground-floor shop window is not.
| Situation | Do it yourself | Best left to a professional |
|---|---|---|
| Ground-floor window, reachable from a stable position | Yes | If there are many large surfaces, or the frames and shutters are also due |
| Upper-floor, inward-opening sash | Yes, if the outside can be reached without leaning out | If reaching the outside would mean leaning out |
| Fixed upper-floor glazing, from outside | Not recommended | Yes: from the ground, with a telescopic pole |
| Galleried space with a tall interior glass wall | Infrequent, risky from a ladder | Yes |
| Roof window | From the inside, often yes | The outside, where it can be safely reached |
| Shop windows, glass façades | Daily fingerprint wiping: yes | Full, regular cleaning |
The biggest risk is falling, not streaks
The greatest danger in window cleaning at height is not streaky glass, but falling. Safety thinking therefore does not start with which ladder is needed, but with how work at height can be avoided. The window cleaning guidance from the British Health and Safety Executive (HSE) sets out the same order, and states that a ladder must not be the automatic choice.
- Where possible, avoid working at height: clean from the inside, or from the ground with a telescopic pole.
- If that is not possible, work from an existing safe position: a balcony, a terrace or a place protected by a railing.
- If there is none, use equipment suited to the surface, in good condition and securely fixed; without leaning out or overreaching.
- Anything that still cannot be reached safely requires different techniques and different expertise, and this must be stated in advance.
Ladder accidents typically stem not from a missing ladder but from misusing one: the ladder slips or shifts, or someone overreaches for one last corner. If a window at home could only be reached this way, that in itself is a warning sign. The ground matters too: soft garden soil, a flower bed, a sloping pavement or a ladder set up on a stair landing brings an instability into the work that even the most careful movement cannot offset. In these cases, what is missing is not experience but a safe footing.
With an upstairs window, the question is not whether it can be reached, but whether it can be reached safely.
Pure-water system: upper floors, no ladders
On high surfaces we use a pure-water system. The team member stays on the ground, while a brush at the end of a telescopic pole washes the glass and frame with demineralised water. Because this water contains nothing that could be left behind as it dries, it leaves no marks, and there is no need to squeegee the glass from a ladder. This means upper-floor windows can be reached from outside without anyone standing on a ledge or leaning out.
How high we can reach this way on a given building is agreed during the survey. We clean roof windows from the inside and, where accessible, from the outside too. Where a surface cannot be reached safely, we say so and do not promise it.
Shop windows, glass shopfronts, glass walls
Shop
In a shop, the glass is part of the first impression. The shop window picks up fingerprints and street dust day after day, so regularity is what counts: a scheduled, recurring clean is worth more than an occasional big job. We clean shop windows and glass frontages before opening, on a monthly or seasonal schedule, and under a framework agreement if you prefer.
Offices and community buildings
In offices and community buildings, internal glass walls, meeting room glazing and entrances collect marks in the same way, only more slowly. After a refit or construction, glass can make up a large share of the cleaning: the post-construction clean at the care home in Százhalombatta required post-construction cleaning that also covered 418 m² of glazed windows, doors and glass walls, including the large glass walls of the communal areas.
Residential building
In residential buildings, glazed surfaces and the main entrance need periodic attention that weekly stairwell cleaning cannot cover. We schedule these separately: window cleaning and seasonal deep cleaning alongside the weekly routine, in a single quote.
What should you prepare?
- clear the windowsills; we take care of the rest
- let us know which windows open, which are fixed, and where there are roof or mezzanine windows
- if there is a garden, flower bed or terrace beneath the windows, let us know in advance how to move around there
- request roller shutters and insect screens separately if they also need cleaning
In light rain we work on the inside; in stormy weather we rearrange the appointment free of charge.
Where do we start?
Planning a window cleaning job starts on site: we look at the windows, the access and the surroundings, and tell you which surfaces can be cleaned safely, with what equipment and under what conditions, and which cannot. The quote therefore shows in advance what is included: interior and exterior glass, frames, sills, blinds. Anything you can manage yourself on the ground floor is described in the guide to streak-free glass in detail.