photo by blastedrestoration
What extra services can I provide as a window cleaner?
The window cleaning industry is one that provides a niche service that beautifies peoples’ homes, storefronts, and even industrial buildings by making their windows and glass doors shine. But whether it be the dreaded slow season, a slew of fluke customer cancellations, or a rise in local competition, sometimes a window cleaner’s calendar needs some TLC and some more work scheduled to keep them afloat.
Luckily, there are a variety of services that you can add to your list to fill up your calendar. Window cleaners already have many of the tools other trades would require, such as extension poles, ladders, and the essential cleaning gear like scrubbers, towels, soap, buckets, and more. Not to mention, many cleaners have vehicles that are capable of transporting large pieces of equipment.
Since these investments have already been made, it can be simple to add other services to your roster. That’s why in this week’s Window Cleaner University article we’ll talk about what extra services you can provide that aren’t far off from what you’re already an expert at doing.
Power and Soft Washing
Since window cleaners are already in the “beauty business” for buildings, so power and soft washing is something they’d be able to adapt to quickly. One would use high-powered pressurized water to aggressively clean homes and businesses. Your customer’s siding, roofs, driveways, and sidewalks need cleaning, too, and this could make a huge impact for your business.
Power washing uses jets to quickly remove natural debris and residue such as tree sap, dirt, bird droppings, and grime that can come from rainstorms. Great candidates for this kind of service are residents with lots of trees around their home and industrial businesses that deal with lots of truck traffic that can leave soot and oil along the walls of a building. Pressure and soft washing brings professionalism back to businesses like these making them bright and clean for their visitors and employees. Plus, carrying a hose reel such as the kind that comes with the IPC Eagle Pressure Washer Kit and a pressure washing rig is easy to do on the back of a pickup truck or inside a commercial van.
Folks who own pools surrounded by concrete, decks, or those who have patios or porches made with stone, ceramic, or other kind of masonry can also benefit from having a visit from a power washer. The wonderful thing about power washing is that you don’t need expensive chemicals to do the job. A blend of soap, bleach, and water is generally all you need. This combination of chemicals is gentle enough to clean roofs, as well as wood, and can be used for outdoor furniture and house siding. Plus, when applied to concrete driveways and sidewalks, power washing can even remove stains and chewing gum.
As a window cleaner, adding power washing to your docket can help fill your schedule in no-time, as there are so many things that need a good cleaning. Bringing your A-game, being cautious of the other objects around you, and making sure you reseal the more delicate surfaces you wash will show your customer that you’re serious and could potentially book you for other services, too.
Gutter Cleaning
Well window cleaner, you’ve got the ladder, you’ve got the extension pole, and you’ve got the iron stomach for dealing with all things gnarly: why not try adding gutter cleaning into your mix of services?
If your calendar in your fall and spring months is looking lonely, try sending out postcards to all residences within 10 miles of your business’s home base to advertise for gutter cleaning. The best times to do this are right before winter, to ensure all the leaves that will fall have, and after it, once everything has thawed since it can get pretty grungy in the gutters. Send out your postcards hastily and sure enough, you’ll be able to fill up your calendar in no-time. Gutter cleaning for homeowners who don’t have much experience up on a ladder can be a risky situation, as they could potentially fall and injure themselves, or could run into electrical wiring or sharp edges on the gutters. You, who knows better of what to expect when up on a ladder and has access to thick work gloves, can scoop out leaves, broken-down organic matter, twigs, and bugs swiftly using gutter cleaning tools like the Gutter Sense Gutter Cleaning Tool. Especially if your customer is elderly, they will certainly be thanking you for doing this for them.
Window Tinting and Applying Film
Window cleaners across the board make sure to avoid cleaning tinted windows with certain kinds of abrasives so as not to damage them. Being able to see what windows are tinted and the complexities of window film can be a total advantage so you should consider adding applying film and window tinting to your list of services. In locations that receive hefty amounts of sunlight, people benefit from tinting their windows to stay cool and to improve privacy in their homes. There is even window film for other uses such as decorative or aesthetic purposes, to protect the home from burgulars, and to improve energy efficiency by absorbing and reflecting up to 99% of UV rays from the sun, regulating the indoor temperature.
This work takes care and dexterity which is something a window cleaner already utilizes. Applying window film requires that you leave behind no air bubbles or wrinkles, and that everything is smooth and nearly perfect.
Light Fixture Cleaning & Dusting
Whether you were cleaning windows inside or outside on your residential site, you’ve probably noticed that your customer’s light fixtures, hanging lamps, ceiling fans, or chandeliers could have used some attention. Often times, people will neglect cleaning these because they’re hard to reach, and with more delicate pieces like chandeliers that have sometimes hundreds of pieces, dust accumulates and homeowners decide that it can live there rent-free out of inconvenience. Dust, bugs, dirt, and even grease can accumulate on fixtures like these. If you’re looking to beef-up the services provided for your customer during a window cleaning visit, inquire about their fixtures. Offering dusting and deep-cleaning services for furnishings like these, especially high-end ones like crystal chandeliers, can be high-ticket items so you can bring home the bacon. Something fantastic for dusting more delicate items would be the ultra-plush Ettore Elite MicroSwipe Duster. If you need to get cobwebs with fallen bugs in it out of the way, go for a more robust one like the Ettore Elite Cobweb Duster.
Mirror Cleaning
It can be surprising how many mirrors are out there in the world that need to be cleaned just as windows would. Mirrors lining walls of restaurants, gyms, dance studios, art college campuses, commercial convex safety mirrors in warehouses, industrial complexes, and on streets, and even the smaller ones in your customer’s homes need cleaning. If you live near a city, theaters with practice halls in them could use a window cleaner to spruce up their mirrors. You can contact your local highway department to see if they have anyone hired to clean the safety mirrors on the road or reach out to commercial buildings who use them for incoming and outgoing shipments. You’ll want to wink at your reflection for snagging these kinds of jobs. Sometimes the most obvious work is right in front of you!
The Frozen Aisle
Speaking of obvious, another great service you can provide is cleaning somewhere you visit so often you may forget about how much glass it has: the grocery store.
Think about all the grocery stores in your area. There are likely many of them, and they’re packed with refrigerators and freezers that are all covered with glass doors. Not only can you tackle these, but consider gas stations, pharmacies, convenience stores, and even liquor stores. Making sure those doors are crystal clear and without any food remnants is ideal for selling the items behind them, which is a selling point you could offer. Even bakeries and ice cream shops have cases or refrigerators that need glass cleaned frequently. When you start thinking about all the surfaces in the world that could be cleaned, the possibilities are endless.
Don’t Put it Off!
Diversifying your skills is a sure fire way to build your customer contact list as well as fill the empty boxes in your calendar. Whether it’s power washing, cleaning out gutters, or shining up the case before an array of 31 ice cream flavors, getting creative with what you’ve got can bring you the confidence to succeed no matter what your usual customers throw your way.
Still Have Questions?
Don’t sweat it! If there is anything you’re unsure about, want to learn more about, or need advice on, do not hesitate to reach out to us. Window Cleaning Resource is here for you 24/7, with the help of our super-friendly window cleaning experts.
Having owned their own window cleaning business, too, they have tons of information on window cleaning products, business tips, and more, even if you want to talk shop.
This equipment and HUNDREDS more products can be discovered on our fantastic Window Cleaning Resource platforms!
For product reviews, discussions, information, and more:
