Have you ever wondered about the latest technological developments in professional window cleaning? Probably not, and I don't expect that you would. For years, and years the squeegee, hands down the greatest invention ever, has been the undefeated go to tool for perfect window cleaning - and I will not disagree. Invented by Ettore Steccone, the rubber squeegee is regarded by all as the end all be all due to it's versatility and ability to completely remove water from glass, leaving no streaks (when used properly). However - times are changing .. .

For over 50 years there has been another tool known as the water fed pole, or WFP that has slowly gained popularity in the window washing community due to the removal of the ladder. Only until a few years ago the WFP used soaps and detergents to attempt a wet window wash technique that would dry without streaks. The new science is simple and it's results are proven! Read this:

Using a portable water purification unit (De-ionization) the minerals that are collected by H2o molecules by electro static energy, are removed from the H2o through this process, providing PURE WATER without any foreign particles or residual minerals that can dry and leave unwanted spots or drops. The PURE WATER dries free of any particulates on the glass. This is best window cleaning product on earth today. And it only makes me laugh to know that as an ECO Friendly company, not onl yard we doing the best to give results, we are doing ZERO harm to the environment.

To sum this up, the system is not cheap, it costs a LOT to invest in this stuff. Thanks to you, the client, I was able to invest in this so that The Window Viper can stand strong behind it's ECO standards, and provide the public with the best latest technology that will protect and clean your property. This is not a replacement for the almighty squeegee, but more like the squeegee's heavy artillery division, ready to blow away large commercial jobs efficiently and safely.

Another really challenging situation put me to the test. A house with an entire ceiling made of glass, separated by wooden post and beam construction. How to reach the interior and wash it? Well lately I've been brushing up on my extension pole skills and decided this was the quickest, and safest method to use in the situation before me. The results were very nice so I decided to set up the camera phone and document it for all to see. I love how every day this work brings a different hurdle to overcome, and how if you are smart, you can turn it into a field goal. Enjoy this little film 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY6X8l9JpIE&feature=youtu.be

The 2014 spring cleaning season has hit and it has hit hard! Trying to keep up with the steady stream of calls and estimates is almost as demanding as washing 500 windows a day -without a break. (yes that's how we roll!)

Ok, now that you know how tough we all think we are and if you're still reading this, then let's get to the meat and potatoes of window washing season. ..

The year began with a bang in March with the completion of an 18 storey high rise in Nanaimo. The weather was nasty for most of the week, we were cold and the rain fell hard. Even with rain gear, the Nanaimo Harbour managed to unleash it's wrath upon us. Maybe it was just too early of a start, or bad luck for stealing the biggest window cleaning contract right out from under the noses of our Nanaimo competitors. May the best team win :)

Soon after we had a call from Knappett Projects in Victoria. They needed the new Salt Spring Island Public Library's windows cleaned inside and out. This was a great moment for us since we'd just expanded out services to the small island community. If you look close at the picture you can see the aluminum sun shades on the top windows and a parking lot below. Safety was a MAJOR concern, as was preservation of property. These are some pretty pricey building materials and there's no way it's getting damaged on our watch.

In May The Window Viper set up a booth in the Cowichan Home Expo. This was our second expo and as you'd expect, the response was very positive. (aside from the odd ophidiophobiac)
We met a lot of other exhibitors and made a lot of good connections. We even had the pleasure of meeting some fellow window cleaners from Island Clean in Nanaimo who had a booth almost directly behind us. It was nice to swap stories and act as comrades and not competitors. But after all was said and done, it was time to get back on the street and make sure that they remain in that same position as at the Expo - behind us. :P

Thy ground hog hath spoken! And it's not clear that the warmth of spring will be coming any time soon, but this winter has turned out to be one of the driest I can remember. I feel like I'm back in Calgary!
I'm already staring to consider making my spring calls due to the amount of early bookings that are already piling up.
I've been working very hard over the last couple months on some new marketing strategies, website upgrades, tweaking the logo, putting decals on the vehicle, and lots more. I joined the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce and am proudly taking care of the new visitor centre next to the forestry museum. I'm also now affiliated with the Society of Professional Ropes Access Technicians, and am about to get my certification. We sealed the deal to do a huge high rise clean, twice year on a Nanaimo Harbour high rise know as 'The Pacifica'. So much has been going on that i feel very confident going into the busy spring season this year. I have a feeling that you might see me with a helper in my passenger seat a lot sooner than I anticipated. You will definitely  be seeing me and my set up again at the Cowichan Home Show this May, and I will post more info about that a little later. As anticipated, GST is now being added to all invoices since the company no longer is views as a 'small supplier'. All of this news is good, and should definitely set us up for an even better year next year. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, there's a lot of work coming and The Window Viper will continue to uphold its values of grassroots community commerce, the highest eco standards on the market, five star customer service, and 100% satisfaction guarantee. Thank you to all of the Window Viper client base for your customer loyalty, and if you're a potential new client, thank you for taking the time to visit our blog. 

I'll see you on the ladder!

It's ALL green at The Window Viper. It's a grassroots company based in the very green Cowichan Valley of course. I drive a green truck, my uniform is green. All my tools and equipment are green. So what's it all for? What does it represent?

The fundamental aspect under it all is that The Window Viper set the example not only in service, but in maintaining a very high eco standard. I'm not doing this because it's fashionable, or to attract a certain clientele. I do it because it's the RIGHT thing to do, period.

For example - Moss Removal is a common add on which can be very tedious and time consuming but must be done to prevent your roof from any moisture damage. There's no shortcuts. You can't just go slap some TIDE on the roof and kill the moss. You still have dead moss on the roof that must be removed by hand. So, why bother with the detergent in the first place? Roofs run into gutters, which run into your perimeter drains which run into our watershed. The typical house needs 2-3 boxes of detergent to cover the roof. After one good rain all that stuff goes straight into our drinking water - gag!

Another example is siding washing. I was recently on a job in Cobble Hill and the home owner was astounded at how clean his vinyl siding was from me just using pure water and a water fed tucker pole. We got into conversation about how all these consumer cleaning products are all just worthless gimmicks that don't even do anything. They leave chemical residue on everything, cost an arm and a leg, and no matter how bio degradable it says it is - it's still a chemical. I had to strip my deck last year with a "bio degradable" deck stripper. Some got on my skin and I still have a scar from the acid burn! Scrubbing those high walls and gutters is hard work that can be done without the help of any such products. Pure water runs off your house and into the ground where nature can recycle it.

Water restrictions are another issue in the summer months and the equipment I use, when idle, can be switched off to avoid wasting our limited water resource. At the end of the day my dirty window rags are washed in a cold water ECOS high efficiency washer cycle. 

There's much we can do as individuals to reduce our impact on the environment. It doesn't take much to see the simplicity in keeping up a green standard in a business like mine, but oddly enough, most companies just don't care.