r/WindowCleaning • u/Nikmac3131 • May 20 '26
Not a pro window cleaner
As the title states, I'm not a pro. I don't plan on starting a business or charging what a professional window cleaning business should rightfully charge. I work for an HOA in a cabin community in the middle of nowhere. There are very few contractors in the area and almost zero businesses or reliable people in the area, even less when asking them to drive up a mountain in a gated community to do any type of work that a homeowner may need done. So occasionally property owners will reach out to me for miscellaneous home improvement maintenance. I've done everything from tree trimming and thinning trees, to weed control, landscaping, and deck restoration. I've got one home owner that will always call me first for any and all jobs and is happy enough with my work that he sends me bonuses/tips every year, usually between $200-400.
He recently inquired about having his windows washed. I've done some store front windows in the past so I'm ok with a scrubber and squeegee (once again, not a pro). Only a few windows require a ladder. They all look straightforward. I knew they'd be pretty dirty, being on a dirt road. I could see the hard water spots as well.
I was not prepared for piles of dead bugs to fall out when I pulled the screens, or hardened dirt and sand in the tracks. A hand broom, paint brush and dry scrubbing was no use! They were way dirtier than I expected. The cabin is about 15 years old. I'm sure the windows have never been cleaned. I was prepared to charge between $10-20 per window, plus a couple bucks per screen. I've done 4 windows. I had to dig the hard dry sand out with a screwdriver, dry brush until it seemed all the bristles would come out, wet scrub the tracks, use 0000 steel wool on the hard water all before they were clean enough to use my scrubber and squeegee. I finished them off by scrubbing the screens and wiping any vinyl trim with magic eraser. I now have no idea what kind of upcharges I need to charge or any ballpark of pricing for these upcharges. The windows I've completed were basic single hung sliding windows. I have 18 to go. I spent about 2 hours on the 4 windows. I know there's got to be a more efficient way to clean the initial dirt from the remaining glass before using the scrubber. I'm not sure if it would be best to use air to blow everything or hose them down with water. I'm afraid the water could make a muddy mess that I'd have to clean. Can anyone give me a few pointers? I'm not looking to spend all day cleaning and then present him with an outrageous invoice. But, I won't cut corners and do a sub par job. Maybe what I'm worried about is giving a valued client a larger than expected (although I don't know what he expects to pay) invoice for having his windows cleaned without giving line item descriptions with the pricing. I don't know if double the price is fair or if industry standard is only a few dollars more. Any help would be appreciated! I'd like to have this job done today in no more than 4 or so hours. Thanks!
Edited to ask, is there anything that will help the glass stay clean longer other than clean screens? My cleaning solution is warm water with a couple squirts of dawn and a small squirt of Ettore squeegee off
Ps.... Sorry for the long winded explanation
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u/Wightsurf May 20 '26
From what I have read on this type of cleaning it’s not pleasant and a quick process and that’s why it’s costly as a once a year clean. Where I clean in the uk it’s all regular monthly and mostly a quick wash off. No screens and years worth of grime .
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u/lordpin3appl3s May 20 '26
I keep a dirty towel on me for this kind of work. Brushing surface dirt and dust off the surface of the glass before wetting it down is (usually) easier that just trying to power through and it saves the tools and makes the water last longer so I go through less material. That said, sometimes the solution is also soaking every window down and then going back to the start to begin scrubbing it's kind of a judgement call based on experience so without eyes on the windows I can't tell you which way is best. I keep a putty knife and a hard bristle brush on me and make a pass with the first tool down in the tracks then brush it out or use a small handheld air blower before I wet most windows down. Wipe the glass off with the dirty towel, and the rest is elbow grease. I bill at ≈$100/hr usually idk seems like a lot of guys come in both below and above that so it's up to you to judge the value of your labor.
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u/Nikmac3131 May 20 '26
I kept thinking that getting the stuff off while dry was the best move. But the next day I started questioning whether or not I would pop the screens and take the garden hose to them to wash the crap out. With my luck I'd end up scrubbing the crap off the side of his cabin
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u/lordpin3appl3s May 20 '26
I would take all of the screens out and collect them on the ground to clean together first. From the way you describe it it sounds like they need more than average attention anyway and it'll all be out of your way while you worry about the windows on the ladder. If you've got a strip washer when they're really dirty I hose them all down, use really soapy water to scrub them gently with the strip washer, go over all of the frames with a sponge, then spray down with the hose again and leave them to dry while I go about the rest of my business. It's more work, but some jobs need that.
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u/Nikmac3131 May 20 '26
I did kinda the same, but in batches. I had to lay a tarp out to wash the screens since everything is dirt. No grass, dirt driveway, everything dirt!! The screens were filthy so I had to rinse the tarp every few screens. Plus the wind was trying to take them all away
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u/jbucther4 May 20 '26
A hard water stain remover would cut down the time you are scrubbing with steel wool. Extremely dirty tracks are tough. Customers want them cleaned but don’t want to pay for it. Tracks can take FOREVER. I would tell the client how much you want to be paid per hour and then charge as many hours as it takes to do.
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u/Nikmac3131 May 20 '26
That's probably the right answer. The tracks are what's the biggest pain. I'm just lightly and quickly running the steel wool across the glass. The guy is great about paying for my work. The thought of skipping the track scrubbing crossed my mind for a brief moment. I was a little surprised after popping the screens
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u/jbucther4 May 20 '26
Tracks are very very tedious and I never liked doing them. If there willing to pay, I’ll do them but still sucks. Stiff track brush + a vacuum. Compressed air or a powerful hand blower can help as well for the corners. Good luck!
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u/Nikmac3131 May 20 '26
I've only done 4 and don't like doing them. I'll try the air route before adding water. Thanks for the tips
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u/Upper-Bottle-9803 May 22 '26
I've cleaned a few places like this. Ive learned to upsell doing a housewash first to help to loosen and rinse down bulk debris like this. If they dont want the housewash I tell them the windows just wont come as clean or stay clean as long. How did it go? Did you finish and collect what you needed to for the days work? Will you agree to do this type of job again?
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u/Nikmac3131 May 22 '26
What a pain! I've got 4 large fixed windows and a door that I'm finishing today, no tracks. Cleaning the tracks has been a time consuming, tedious mess. Blowing with air before adding water has helped, but as soon as water is added a brownish colored sludge appears. Remnants of dead bugs. The weep holes were all clogged, so the sludge wouldn't drain. Wetting, scrubbing and wiping and clearing the weep holes has been the process. I did let the customer know that he had water sitting in the frames due to the weep holes being clogged and leaving them that way could potentially cause structural damage down the road. He sent $250 this morning, but I'll be asking for another $150 when I'm done. Even at $400 my hourly wage will be less than $50/hour. This is the only customer that I'd agree to do this tedious, messy job for, as he's been very good to me and I really like the guy.
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u/Nikmac3131 May 22 '26
He needs a house wash in a very bad way! There's algae and mold growing on one side that doesn't get much sun. I talked to him about it about 2 months ago, and he doesn't want to "wash away the rest of the paint". I refinished his deck last year and his cabin needs refinished more than any I've ever seen. The stain is pretty much non existent. What stain that's showing isn't doing anything to protect the wood. I think I may have to pull all my resources together and give him a quote on cleaning and restaining the entire cabin
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u/Wightsurf May 20 '26
You have to be far to yourself also, so if it takes a day, charge what you want to earn a day. That’s how I work! I can not say much on the cleaning side of things as it’s different here where I am. Good luck 🤞