Questions, answered properly.

It depends on the count and type of glass, the number of storeys, and access, which is why we quote on a walk around rather than off a rate card. What we can promise is that the number you get before we start is the number you pay at the end. If we find something on the day that changes the job, we stop and talk to you about it rather than adding it to the invoice.

Yes, and there is no obligation attached to one. If our number is not right for you, that is a perfectly reasonable outcome and we will not chase you about it.

Because an honest one would have so many conditions attached that it would tell you very little. A thirty pane Craftsman sash and a single storey ranch with eight modern windows can have the same floor area and take three times the difference in labour. We would rather spend ten minutes looking at your actual house than publish a number we would have to walk back.

A week or two is comfortable for most of the year. Late November and early December are the busiest stretch, and if you want a clean before the holidays you want to be asking in October or early November.

Not for exterior only work, as long as we can get to the gates and the dogs are settled. Interior work needs someone to let us in, and we would rather walk the finished job with you at the end either way.

Light rain does not stop exterior window cleaning, which surprises people. Rain alone does not make glass dirty. Heavy rain, wind, or anything that makes ladder and pole work unsafe does stop it, and we will call you and move the visit rather than hurry through it.

Yes. Tell us who approves the spend and what hours residents will tolerate, and we will shape the quote and the schedule around that.

Water fed poles from the ground wherever we can, which reaches roughly three storeys, and ladders where a pole will not do the job and the footing is safe. On a hillside lot the pole is frequently the only sensible option, which is a large part of why we run them.

Water with the dissolved minerals filtered out. Ordinary tap water leaves those minerals behind as spots when it dries, which is why hosing a window down makes it worse. Purified water dries off the glass without leaving anything, so a pole rinse can be left to dry rather than squeegeed, which is what makes reaching a third storey from the ground practical at all.

The pole work is purified water with no additives at all. Where we use a cleaning solution it is a standard professional glass detergent, used in small quantities and rinsed. Keep pets inside while we are working, mainly because open gates and moving ladders are a poor combination.

Twice a year suits most homes. Once before the dry season and once after the winter rains. Three times a year is more realistic under heavy tree cover, near the Bay where salt film builds, or under the airport corridor in Millbrae. Sheltered, shaded homes away from all three can often stretch to once.

Most likely sprinkler overspray that has dried in direct sun repeatedly, or salt residue near the Bay. Note that this is not the same as the hard water story you will read on most competitor sites. The regional supply is roughly 85 percent soft Sierra snowmelt through the Hetch Hetchy system, and Cal Water's own published figures for the Peninsula are in the moderately soft range, so blaming the tap is not well supported. Fresh spotting cleans off. Spotting left through many cycles has begun to etch the glass surface, and that needs a separate restoration pass, which we will tell you about honestly rather than quietly scrubbing at it.

No, and neither can anyone else. That is a failed seal letting moisture into the sealed cavity between the panes, so the dirty surface is inside the unit. It needs the glazing unit replaced. We will point it out rather than charge you for cleaning the outside of it.

We walk the finished job with you and fix anything you point at before we leave. Beyond that, ask us directly about a written guarantee and we will give you a straight answer rather than printing a slogan here.