5 Interesting Facts About Window Cleaning

Window washing NY dates back to ancient Egypt, where the first glass was made. Back then, it was very rare and valuable. Glass was too precious to make windows; however, the pharaohs might have used it for this purpose. In the middle of the 19th century, glass came into mass production, and that’s when people started using it for windows. Back in the 1850s, the window washing NY business didn’t exist. It appeared in the 1860s together with the construction boom.

Fact #1. Window Cleaning Trade Was Born in New York

The window cleaning trade came to life in New York, which is not surprising since there are so many skyscrapers around. In 1931, there were three thousand window cleaners in the city. Today, this number is significantly lower (less than 800) thanks to the abundance of window cleaning technologies.

Fact #2. Old Squeegees Were Tough to Operate

The grandfather of the modern squeegee was a tool that fishermen used to scale the fish. It was bulky and hard to use. In the early 20th century, the scaling tool turned into a squeegee with a rubber blade. However, in order to change the blade, you had to remove 12 screws. The modern-day squeegee appeared in 1936.

Fact #3. Window Cleaning Is Dangerous

Window cleaning is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. In 1993, the New York window cleaners’ union came up with safety programs that reduced the number of deaths among window cleaners. Window washing in NY is still the most dangerous job in some countries.

Fact #4. Window Cleaning May Become Obsolete

We already have machines that wash our clothes, clean our dishes, vacuum, and wash our floors. The window washing robots exist as well. At the moment, they are far from being perfect and can’t replace a human cleaner. But who knows what the future holds?

Fact #5. Window Cleaners Hold Guinness World Records

On October 9, 2009, a UK citizen Terry Burrows cleaned three office windows (45×45 inches) in just 9.14 seconds. He used an 11.75-inch long squeegee and 2.37 gallons of water to do it. The record was set during a National Window Cleaning Competition in the UK.