When most people think of a window cleaner, they imagine a man with ladders and a bucket. Some people are put off the idea of window cleaning because they don’t like the idea of going up and down ladders or working at height.

The reality is that modern window cleaners don’t generally use ladders at all any more. In fact, in 2005 new laws were passed that severely restrict the use of ladders, including for window cleaning.

These days professional window cleaners use ladder-less systems that are able to clean windows up to 60 feet high from the safety of the ground.

If you’ve never seen a ladder-less window cleaning system in action, you could be forgiven for being a little skeptical. Instead of working at height, the window cleaner uses an extending pole with a soft bristled brush to clean the window. At the same time, jets of very pure water rinse the glass.

The poles (known as “Waterfed poles”) are made from a carbon fibre material and are both lightweight and easy to use. Window cleaners using waterfed pole systems are able to clean windows to just as good a standard as with traditional methods.

Using a waterfed pole takes some practice but is not too physically demanding. Unlike traditional methods, there is no heavy lifting required. For this reason, many people who might not have considered themselves suited to window cleaning are now successful window cleaners.

In fact, the advent of the Reach & Wash system has led to a dramatic increase in the number of women choosing window cleaning as a career.

It’s a simple fact that in all areas of the UK good window cleaners are in very short supply. So great is the need for window cleaners that householders regularly report waiting up to ten years before eventually finding a window cleaner who will call regularly.

This, added to the fact that new housing estates are being constructed at an amazing rate, means that new window cleaning businesses usually have no trouble at all in building a solid customer base.

Tim Edsk, a window cleaner from Somerset relates an experience that is typical among those starting up a window cleaning business;

“I was made redundant in March 2006 from my job where I’d worked for over 17 years.

At the age of 42 I really did not know what I was going to do until a friend suggested that there was good money to be made providing a window cleaning service.

“After making a few enquiries I soon found that good window cleaners are very thin on the ground. I had no idea that such a service would be so needed. I trained with the BWCA and later purchased a ladder-less reach & wash system. Within six months I was earning more than my old job with my feet staying firmly on the ground.

“I have never had my own business before, and not having a boss takes some getting used to. Window cleaning is good, honest work. I would recommend it to anyone, and I have no hesitation in saying that because I know there will never be enough window cleaners to satisfy the demand.

“If you’re thinking about doing it but you’re worried about getting enough customers, don’t be. Every day I turn customers away because I simply can’t do anymore work than I am now! If you provide a good service customers will literally flock to you.”

Although running a window cleaning business is quite straightforward, it will help if you:

The amount a window cleaner is able to earn is dependent on many different factors, such as location, how fast they are able to work, their pricing structure and so on.

It is therefore difficult to give an accurate level of earnings. However, it would be fair to say that £20-£30 per hour is a generally conservative estimate for a domestic window cleaner.

To illustrate, an average charge for a 4 bedroom house is about £20, and an experienced window cleaner would be able to complete it in approximately 25 minutes (including setting-up time). There will be time spent travelling (which obviously depends on the individual round), but almost all window cleaners using reach & wash systems are able to quite comfortably turn over at least £200 per day.

Unlike most businesses, window cleaning has extremely low overhead costs and so almost all of the cash earned can be drawn as income. Proper business planning, as with any venture, is very important and there is more guidance on this in our start up guide (use the form below to request it).