window cleaner charges

[bananabrain]

Hi,
Just wondering how much window cleaners generally charge as I think ours seems expensive.
We have one downstairs window at front, plus a conservatory across the back (smallish house but a fair number of separate window panes on conservatory.) Then 4 windows upstairs which are washed with a long pole thingy. It seems to take 10-15 mins max.
We're in East Anglia, if area makes a difference. He charges £15 (started at £11 and has crept up....) How does that sound??
If that's the going rate I think we might just have to start doing them ourselves.... or more likely leave them to get dirty as we did before!

[HappyHendo]

I know this is a super old thread but it did give me food for thought.
My partner just arranged a window cleaner to come today. He cleaned our front two bay windows and charged £10. Is that about average now? We live in Bristol. Id thought that the window cleaner might also do the back windows for that price... maybe its just me. Good to hear other thoughts on this :)

[Knittedfrog]

Oh ffs that's the second one today for me!

[cozietoesie]

A zombie thread.

[Knittedfrog]

2x big bay windows
6x various size windows
2x sets of patio doors
1x front door

£11.00 in east anglia

[Jasonpitt2010]

Hi. After reading this discussion I just had to write somthing. I'm a window cleaner and it is my only job not a hobby like a lot of people may think. I have to pay insurance, pay for a van, Pay for materials. Pay National insurance contributions, pay tax, pay into a pension. Holiday pay, So it's not a minimum wage job it's a real business and there is obviously a market for it. Take into consideration that like all businesses I have expenses and there for to come on a regular basis and offer the service and pay my bills I have to charge you a reasonable price including the above. People seem to forget that we are people just like you trying to make a living. I'm not making millions out of you so don't just think about your self when paying for a window cleaner.

[KatyTheCleaningLady]

In some areas, you don't have a choice about who cleans your windows. They are territorial and won't go onto another cleaner's patch. They often have to buy a patch from someone getting out of the business

Window cleaning is hard work, and people who make assumptions about what they "ought" to be making annoy me.

I am a house cleaner, and I sometimes run into people who assume that I should be happy with just above minimum wage. It's usually middle class people who think like this.

Well, I pay insurance, taxes, business expenses, and I don't get sick or holiday pay. So of course I charge far more than minimum wage.

And I don't have to work outdoors in all weather!

[MrsDexter]

My window cleaner doesn't use water but uses a brick shaped object to rub down the window with. Does anyone know what it is? Just worried it may scrap off the lead we have on them.

S

[ilovepowerhoop]

this is a 3 year old thread.

p.s. I pay a £5 for a 4 bed detached house - all windows cleaned, front and back of house

[PigletJohn]

I too think BeenBeta has failed to grasp the difference between wages and running a business.

Where do you think the money comes from for holiday pay, sick pay, pension, National Insurance? And to buy the van and equipment? The time to canvass for new customers? Are the accountant's fees free? Business insurance? Who pays the wages when there is no income due to bad weather?

[mamij]

Goodness! We are in the outskirts of London and ours charge £20 for the windows (small one downstairs, and 6 upstairs), which they did in about 15 mins. They charge £35 for the conservatory. They come in every quarter.

[shammie]

REPLY TO BeenBeta and JimmyBen

BeenBeta, you have little understanding of running a business or of what cleaners actually earn. I found it a bit arrogant to presume ALL cleaners earn the minimum wage, in fact many cleaners earn considerably more than the minimum wage. I have been in business for over 20 years and 7 years as a window cleaner. A water fed pole system can be costly and add time to preparation. Some machines are 4k fitted into the van, if he has a trolley system he may have to used resin to make the water pure, each house can use 25 litres of water, which can take 10 minutes to produce. Therefore a window cleaner cleaning 20 houses a day will have to spend 3.5 hours purifying the water. If it takes you 5 hours to actually clean the windows, there is another 3.5 making water and probably 1.5 hours driving if not more.
There are the costs of the equipment and running costs, the cost of the van, insurance, diesel, running costs, loan repayments. Then there is cost to collect payment which can take hours. 25 hours cleaning time can easily result in 50 hours work if your not careful. Then there are the days you cant work because of the weather. Why would someone want to take all those risks and put in all that work to charge the minimum wage. 15 quid is fair. If you think its money for old rope do your own.

Jimmyben

If your charging 4.50 for a large 4 bedroom house, your off your rocker. If you dont value yourself dont expect anyone else too

[Jimmyben]

I have been window cleaning for about 4 years now and bananabrain, I think you pay too much. I would probably charge £7.50, my prices are quite average.

Of course you have to factor other issues into why the price maybe higher, eg, does he travel far to get to you and not do any other houses around you? Do you have leaded windows that are much harder to clean?

It sounds as though your Window Cleaner uses the Pole System which cost more for him to run, but lets him get through work much faster.

Speak to him about his price being high. I don't mind when a customer asks me so long as they are resonable and appreciate that a full day Window Cleaning with ladders can be dangerous and exhausting. Some people have a funny view of how much they should pay, one customer of mine resents paying £4.50 for a large 4 bed house with massive bay windows. They gave me a 50p xmas tip!
Another lady insists on paying me £8 instead of £3.50 for her small bungalow.

Also bear in mind there are two types of Window Cleaner. 1) The benefit cheat looking for cash in hand 2) The legal fully insured tax paying window cleaner. Naturaly window cleaner 2 has to charge more.

[newpup]

Mine costs £25. I have it done every 8 weeks. I do have a large house but that does not include 2 side windows they can't get to and 4 roof windows I can flip over and do myself.

They use those spray hoses on a broom type things.

[dixiechick1975]

£10 every 3 weeks including 2 conservatories oop north.

[melondrama]

we're in n.yorks, £6 every month, 3 bed terrace front and back windows. 3 guys with ladders. i always feel quite embaressed that i obviously never wash inside of windows, but forget immediately until next month..

[drivingmissdaisy]

We're in east anglia and just get the outside of the windows done. We have 7 downstairs windows, including a patio door and 6 upstairs windows and he charges £7 once a month.

[whatname]

£5 just for the front windows, exactly the same as IsItMeOr. We are terraced in London too, ours is lovely though and will clean the back if i ask him.

[nappyzoneloveslindor]

I pay £5 once a month. We have 5 downstairs windows (quite big ones and one is a bay) and 5 upstairs ones. It takes him about 20 mins.

[ruddynorah]

we pay £5 and he comes every other week.

him and his mate do 4 normal windows, one big french door and the front door as well as all uPVC and ledges. they use ladders.

and they like to draw pictures on the french doors in their soap for dd if we're in

we are in west yorkshire.

[Ponders]

3-bed Victorian terrace with bay window at front, 6-pane French windows at back, 3 bathroom windows & 2 in kitchen - £5.50 per time (every 2 weeks for us)

(He never does glass above front door though - dunno why!)

[TeaOneSugar]

I pay £6 for a large front bay, 5 average sizes windows and full sized french doors, every 6 weeks.

[SparkyToo]

I do my own - but have been teased by neighbours for hanging out of the windows in my dressing gown (didn't know the neighbours when I once did wash them, but hadn't actually dressed first!!). Oops

[bananabrain]

I did see in his notebook (nosey ) that someone above me pays £8. Of course it might not be a neighbour with same size house and might be someone with far fewer windows .... but it did cross my mind that other people might haggle more and certainly might not agree to increases every couple of months or so when they mysteriously pass the business on to someone else...
It def took them less than 15 mins today (2 of them).

[BeenBeta]

Assuming window cleaning is a minimum wage job like all cleanng jobs are. The full 'cost' to the window cleaner of the delivering the service is about £15/hour if he/she had an employee working for their business rather than carryng out the work themselves.

Assuming he/she takes 15 minutes to do the job and 15 minutes to travel to your place that should cost £7.50.

In other words, he/she is charging double the actual cost of delivering the service if you ar epaying £15.

I only had a window cleaner once and I just thought it was money for old rope. Like a lot of these types of businesses they charge what they can get away with and they know women are less likely to negotiate. I would say £10 is more reasonable - especially in East Anglia.

[IsItMeOr]

I wish mine would clean the UPVC and ledges...[pouty emoticon]