Window cleaning, or window washing, is the cleaning of architectural glass used for structural, lighting, or decorative purposes. It can be done manually, using a variety of tools for cleaning and access. Technology is also employed and increasingly, automation.

Commercial work is contracted variously from in-person transactions for cash or barter, to formal tender processes. Regulations, licensing, technique, equipment and compensation vary nationally and regionally.

Tools

 

Chamois & scrim

Chamois is a basic method used to loosen and remove dirt, followed by a buffing with cheesecloth, or scrim.

Water & squeegee

Generally, chemicals are added to water, and a device such as a brush or cloth-covered handle is dipped into the resulting solution and used to scrub glass. A squeegee is then used to sluice the dirt and water mixture from the glass.

There are four different types of squeegees.

Window squeegee is the most famous one because it is used on all types of windows. Your house, commercial or even car windows can be cleaned with the window squeegee.

Floor squeegees are mostly used for large surfaces like floors, they're mostly used in hospitals and other large buildings.

Stiff blade squeegees are found in using grouts to tiles.

Horse scrapers are applied to in houses to eliminate sweat and dust from the layers.

Chemicals added to the solution range from dish soap and glass cleaner to Trisodium Phosphate and etching salt. In sub-freezing temperatures, anti-freezing chemicals are added to the solution to prevent it from crystallizing on the pane before it is sluiced off.

Water-fed poles

 

Any of a variety of types of telescopic poles, fitted at the upper end with a brush and water jets, fed either from vehicle-borne tanks of deionised water or by on-site production of deionised water using a domestic or commercial water outlet. The water is filtered by either a two-stage or three-stage filtration process, involving a carbon filter, and two de-ionization filters, or a carbon filter, a reverse osmosis membrane filter, and a de-ionization resin filter. The filtered water contains a TDS (total dissolved solids) of less than 5 ppm. (parts per million.) The brush is used to agitate the debris off the window, while spraying water, and then the brush is lifted a few inches from the glass to rinse the glass with the pure water jets. Fan jets are used for hydrophobic glass, and "pencil" jets are used for hydrophilic glass. The de-ionized water is lacking in ions, so it will pull solids off the glass and dissolve the solids into the water, aiding in the cleaning process. Because there are no solids dissolved in the water, the windows dry clear without water spots. Water-fed poles vary in length. The longest poles are about 70 feet, and can reach up to six storeys. Water-fed cleaning is also referred to as pure water cleaning. It is common in the UK and becoming common in the US.

Access

 

Where glass is found are window cleaners, and methods of access and equipment related to both access and cleaning vary nationally and regionally.

Ladders

Ladders ranging in size from a single step to the extent (and beyond) of local regulations are used to access windows for cleaning purposes.

Supported scaffolding

Not to be confused with suspended scaffolding, these are temporary work platforms typically erected from a lower level to gain access at height.

Aerial work platforms

Aerial work platform are variously configured and powered machines, designed to deliver workers to otherwise inaccessible areas. An example of one of these machines is the scissor lift, as it is known in Australia, along with cherry pickers and spiders.

Suspended platform or cradle

 

Not to be confused with supported scaffolding. Devices designed for ascent and/or descent via wire rope by mechanical or manual means.

• Boatswain's chair (bosun's chair): A boatswain's chair is a single-person seat designed for controlled descent of rope. Often referred to as "rope descent systems" (RDS), these are typically anchored to a roof structure, counterweight configuration, or connecting points designed for the purpose. Note: These are always temporarily installed for the purpose of access. However, their anchor points can be either temporary or permanent.
• Suspended platform: An access platform for one or more workers with manual or motor driven devices for raising and lowering via rope. Platforms may be fitted to high rise buildings or skyscrapers, or assembled from components to suit architecture and nature of work being performed. Note: These can be either temporary or permanent. Both having their own unique governing codes and regulations. Permanent suspended platforms are often known as building maintenance units (BMU) and their platforms are also known as gondolas in Europe.

A pressure washer or power washer is a high-pressure mechanical sprayer used to remove loose paint, mold, grime, dust, mud, and dirt from surfaces and objects such as buildings, vehicles and concrete surfaces. The volume of a pressure washer is expressed in gallons or litres per minute, often designed into the pump and not variable. The pressure, expressed in pounds per square inch, pascals, or bar (deprecated but in common usage), is designed into the pump but can be varied by adjusting the unloader valve. Machines that produce pressures from 750 to 30,000 psi (5 to 200 MPa) or more are available.

The basic pressure washer consists of a motor (either electric, internal combustion, pneumatic or hydraulic) that drives a high-pressure water pump, a high-pressure hose and a trigger gun-style switch. Just as a garden hose nozzle is used to increase the velocity of water, a pressure washer creates high pressure and velocity. The pump cannot draw more water from the pipe to which the washer is connected than that source can provide: the water supply must be adequate for the machine connected to it, as water starvation leads to cavitation damage of the pump elements.

Different types of nozzle are available for different application. Some nozzles create a water jet that is in a triangular plane (fan pattern), others emit a thin jet of water that spirals around rapidly (cone pattern). Nozzles that deliver a higher flow rate lower the output pressure. Most nozzles attach directly to the trigger gun.

Some washers, with an appropriate nozzle, allow detergent to be introduced into the water stream, assisting in the cleaning process. Two types of chemical injectors are available — a high-pressure injector that introduces the chemical after the water leaves the pump (a downstream injector) and a low-pressure injector that introduces the chemical before water enters the pump (an upstream injector). The type of injector used is related to the type of detergent used, as there are many chemicals that will damage a pump if an upstream injector is used.

Washers are dangerous tools and should be operated with due regard to safety instructions. The water pressure near the nozzle is powerful enough to strip flesh from bone. Particles in the water supply are ejected from the nozzle at great velocities. The cleaning process can propel objects dislodged from the surface being cleaned, also at great velocities. Pressure washers have a tendency to break up tarmac if aimed directly at it, due to high-pressure water entering cracks and voids in the surface.

Most consumer washers are electric- or petrol-powered. Electric washers plug into a normal outlet, are supplied with tap water, and typically deliver pressure up to about 2,000 psi (140 bar). Petrol washers can deliver twice that pressure, but due to the hazardous nature of the engine exhaust they are unsuitable for enclosed or indoor areas. Some models can generate hot water, which can be ideal for loosening and removing oil and grease.

Uses

 

At extreme high pressure, water is used in many industrial cleaning applications requiring the removal of surface layers and for dust-free cutting of some metals and concrete. For exterior applications, gas or propane powered washers provide greater mobility than electric ones, as they do not require use in proximity to an electrical outlet, but for indoor applications, electric washers produce no exhaust and are much quieter than gas or propane washers.

The majority of pressure washers nowadays connect to an existing water supply, like a garden hose, but some models store water in an attached tank. Usually there is an on/off button that controls the water stream and many models allow you to adjust the water pressure.

 

High-pressure water, in combination with special chemicals, aids in the removal of graffiti, especially when the water is hot, as a quick rinser of the softened graffiti. Sometimes a pressurized mixture of air and sand, or water and sand, is used to blast off the surface of the vandalized area, etching the surface and making it extremely difficult to use high-pressure cleaning as a follow-up process. Sandblasting as graffiti removal often over cleans a surface and is capable of leaving a permanent scar on the surface.

Low-pressure washing is a common technique used in today's residential house washing market. Professional pressure washing contractors have used high pressure equipment in the past to clean residential homes, however, low-pressure, high volume pressure washing equipment has been introduced as an alternative along with the use of specific cleaning solutions to achieve effective cleaning with a very low possibility of damaging the property.

Origin

The hot-water high-pressure washer was invented by Alfred Kärcher in 1950,^[1] but Frank Ofeldt in the United States claimed to have invented the steam pressure washer or "high-pressure Jenny" in 1927

Window screen

A window screen (also known as insect screen, bug screen, fly screen, flyscreen or flywire) is designed to cover the opening of a window. It is usually a mesh made of metal wire, fiberglass, or other synthetic fiber and stretched in a frame of wood or metal. It serves to keep leaves, debris, insects, birds, and other animals from entering a building or a screened structure such as a porch, without blocking fresh air-flow. Most houses in Australia, the United States and Canada and other parts of the world have screens on the window to prevent entry of flying insects like mosquitoes, fleas, and house flies. Formerly, screens were required to be replaced by glass storm windows in the winter, especially in regions like the northern United States and Canada, but now combination storm and screen windows are available, which allow glass and screen panels to slide up and down.

Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,010,232 making it the third-most populous county in California, the sixth-most populous in the United States, and more populous than twenty-one U.S. states. Its county seat is Santa Ana. It is the second most densely populated county in the state, second only to San Francisco County.^[8] The county's four largest cities, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, and Huntington Beach each have populations exceeding 200,000. Several of Orange County's cities are on the Pacific coast, including Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, and San Clemente.

Orange County is included in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thirty-four incorporated cities are located in the county; the newest is Aliso Viejo, which was incorporated in 2001. Anaheim was the first city, incorporated in 1870, when the region was still part of neighboring Los Angeles County. Whereas most population centers in the United States tend to be identified by a major city, there is no defined urban center in Orange County. It is mostly suburban except for some traditionally urban areas at the centers of the older cities of Anaheim, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Orange, and Santa Ana. There are several edge city-style developments such as Irvine Business Center, Newport Center, and South Coast Metro.

The county is famous for its tourism as the home of attractions like Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, and several beaches along its more than 40 miles (64 km) of coastline. It is also known for its political conservatism — a 2005 academic study listed three Orange County cities as among America's 25 most conservative, making it one of two counties in the nation containing more than one such city. (Maricopa County, Arizona also has three cities on the list.) It is part of the Tech Coast.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

These communities are outside of city limits in unincorporated county territory.

Planned communities

Orange County has a history of large planned communities. Nearly 30 percent of the county was created as master planned communities, the most notable being the City of Irvine, Coto de Caza, Anaheim Hills, Tustin Ranch, Tustin Legacy, Ladera Ranch, Talega, Rancho Santa Margarita, and Mission Viejo. Irvine is often referred to as a model master-planned city because its villages of Woodbridge, Northwood, University Park, and Turtle Rock that were laid out by the Irvine Company of the mid-1960s before it was bought by a group of investors that included Donald Bren.

Points of interest

 

The area's warm Mediterranean climate and 42 miles (68 km) of year-round beaches attract millions of tourists annually. Huntington Beach is a hot spot for sunbathing and surfing; nicknamed "Surf City, U.S.A.", it is home to many surfing competitions. "The Wedge", at the tip of The Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, is one of the most famous body surfing spots in the world. Southern California surf culture is prominent in Orange County's beach cities.

Other tourist destinations include the theme parks Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim and Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park. Since the 2011 closure of Wild Rivers in Irvine, the county is home to just one water park: Soak City in Buena Park. The Anaheim Convention Center is the largest such facility on the West Coast. The old town area in the City of Orange (the traffic circle at the middle of Chapman Ave. at Glassell) still maintains its 1950s image, and appeared in the That Thing You Do! movie.

Little Saigon is another tourist destination, being home to the largest concentration of Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam. There are also sizable Taiwanese, Chinese, and Korean communities, particularly in western Orange County. This is evident in several Asian-influenced shopping centers in Asian American hubs like the city of Irvine.

Historical points of interest include Mission San Juan Capistrano, the renowned destination of migrating swallows. The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum is in Yorba Linda and the Richard Nixon Birthplace home, located on the grounds of the Library, is a National Historic Landmark. John Wayne's yacht, the Wild Goose or USS YMS-328, is in Newport Beach. Other notable structures include the home of Madame Helena Modjeska, located in Modjeska Canyon on Santiago Creek; Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Santa Ana, the largest building in the county; the historic Balboa Pavilion^[66] in Newport Beach; and the Huntington Beach Pier. The county has nationally known centers of worship, such as Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, the largest house of worship in California; Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, one of the largest churches in the United States; and the Calvary Chapel.

Since the premiere in fall 2003 of the hit Fox series The O.C., and the 2007 Bravo series "The Real Housewives of Orange County" tourism has increased with travelers from across the globe hoping to see the sights seen in the show.

Orange County has some of the most exclusive and expensive neighborhoods in the U.S., many along the Orange Coast, and some in north Orange County.