For a shop, cafe or office, the windows are part of the shopfront. Customers notice smeared glass and bird mess long before they notice your new signage, and in a city like Oxford, with its mix of old stone buildings, busy streets and plenty of trees, windows get dirty quickly. The question for most businesses isn’t whether to have them cleaned, but how often and by whom.
How often should business windows be cleaned?
It depends on the type of premises and where it sits.
- Shops, cafes and restaurants at street level usually need a clean every one to two weeks. Traffic dust, rain spots and fingerprints on doors build up fast.
- Offices and professional premises often work well on a monthly schedule, with upper floors less frequently than ground floor glass.
- Premises near main roads, building sites or under trees may need more frequent visits, especially in autumn.
A regular schedule is usually cheaper per visit than occasional deep cleans, because the dirt never has the chance to bake on.
Water-fed poles vs traditional cleaning
Most commercial window cleaning now uses water-fed poles. Purified water is pumped through a brush on an extendable pole, so cleaners can reach upper floors safely from the ground. Because the water has had the minerals removed, it dries without leaving spots or streaks, and no chemicals are needed.
Traditional squeegee cleaning still has its place for ground-floor shopfronts and interior glass, where a hand finish gives a quick, sharp result. A good company will use whichever suits each part of the building.
Safety when cleaning at height
Working at height is one of the biggest causes of serious injury at work. Water-fed poles mean most jobs can be done from the ground, which is safer for the cleaners and removes the need for ladders on busy pavements. For taller buildings, ask how the company plans the work, what insurance it holds and whether it carries out risk assessments for your site.
What affects the price?
The main factors are the number and size of windows, how many floors there are, access (parking, pavements, courtyards), how dirty the glass is and how often you want visits. Inside and outside cleaning is usually priced separately.
Other services worth combining
It often makes sense to have gutters cleared and solar panels cleaned by the same company. Blocked gutters on commercial buildings lead to damp and stained stonework, and dirty solar panels generate less electricity. Combining visits usually saves on call-out costs.
Questions to ask a window cleaning company
- Are you fully insured, including public liability?
- Do you use purified water, and what happens on the upper floors?
- Can you work around our opening hours?
- What happens if a clean is missed because of the weather?
At Made4Pressure, we provide window cleaning in Oxford for shops, offices and homes, using water-fed poles and purified water for a streak-free finish. We also offer gutter and solar panel cleaning. Get in touch to arrange a quote and a regular schedule that suits your premises.
