Most people only notice a shop or office window when it’s gone wrong, not when it’s clean. We’ve listed the most practical signs to help you decide whether or not your building needs a window clean rather than you leaving it to another month.
Streaks and watermarks from the pavement
Streaks, smears and water marks on the glass can be visible from the pavement or car park. Many of these marks are caused by previous attempts to clean windows, sometimes with dirty or poor quality water. Some of these marks will be caused by uneven drying of condensation on the glass, or by rain running down dirty glass, forming tide lines on the ground below.
Grime collecting in corners and frames
Much dirt gathers in the corners of the glass, along the edges of the frames and on the sills. This is an area that is not reached by rain but is often inaccessible to wipers. Buildings near busy roads can have problems with airborne pollutants and fumes from traffic. National monitoring stations for surface air pollution measure the amounts of particulate matter that fall on exposed surfaces in built-up areas. It is worth taking a look at the corners and sills of your windows as well as the main glass area.
Hard white spots that won’t wipe off
Small white spots on windows that won’t come off with a cloth and water are usually limescale deposits. These are left as a residue from rain or from a sprinkler system. As the water evaporates the minerals in the water are left behind to form hard white spots on the surface of the glass. These need to be descaled and the treatment left on the glass for a time before being washed off. Sometimes these spots can be left on the glass after window cleaning and be perceived that the windows have not been cleaned properly.
Cobwebs and insect debris near entrances
Upper floor windows and entrance doors of shops and offices are particularly prone to attracting cobwebs, dead insects and general debris. As these areas are not frequently disturbed the dirt can quickly accumulate in corners of the frames and soon become visible. If your shop front or office has an upper floor then a view from ground level will give you an instant indication of any problem.
Bird droppings left to dry on the glass
If bird droppings fall onto your windows they can etch into the glass within a few weeks, particularly on sills, ledges and flat glass near the roof line. If they are left for too long the marks can become very difficult to remove using conventional methods and in some cases can even leave permanent staining. The sooner bird droppings are cleaned from windows the better.
Rooms feeling noticeably dimmer inside
The rooms within your building which contain windows will often look dimmer than normal. It is only after some time has passed that you will realise that the glass has become dirty. People sitting at desks near windows are the first to comment on a decline in the lighting within a room and it is only after these comments have been made that people realise that the cause of the problem is the dirty glass.
Comments from customers or staff
Visitors can be quite vocal about your dirty windows. Look for a combination of the above signs and if you are still unsure then ask a professional to carry out a site visit to provide you with a free no obligation quote. Commercial Window Cleaners Gloucester serve all areas of Gloucester including the city centre.
Signage and displays harder to read
When a window display or building signage forms part of a shop front, the dirtiest part of the glass can make the signs unreadable. If a sign, logo or advertisement that used to read clearly from across the road now appears dull and muzzy then the problem will almost certainly be the glass. This could affect trading in commercial properties in a very negative way.
A quick final check worth doing
In terms of access and safe working practices, commercial window cleaners will work in line with the occupational safety and health guidelines for working at height on commercial sites. With regards to local business regulations in Gloucester, most commercial cleaning contractors will have to adhere to the trade waste regulations as well as any restrictions that may apply to accessing shared or public areas of a commercial or public premises. Checking that any window cleaner you use is a member of the Federation of Window Cleaners will ensure that they are working to the required standards to complete the work safely and effectively.
None of these signs need to be recognised by you, just go and take a good look at your premises and buildings from outside and inside. If you notice two or three of the above points then it is time to get the glass of your building cleaned before it starts to affect how your premises look to everybody that walks past.