Window Cleaning

Does anyone else find it strangely satisfying watching a window cleaner at work? There’s something hugely efficient about the way they clean the soapiness off the window using an implement that looks a bit like an upmarket windscreen wiper. I always wanted one of those tools, and suspect that I would have been considerably more inclined towards cleaning if I had one.

Our landlady has pre-paid a window cleaner to do our windows. So he just turns up and gets on with it. The first thing we know about his presence is a scraping sound on the window that wakes you up and gives you the fright of your life. If, in a dozy and confused state, you open the curtain’s to find out which particular assailant is trying to break in through the window, you are liable to get a nice jet of water and possibly soap suds squirted through the open window at you. He doesn’t worry if the windows are open. Water and soap comes flooding in over the curtains and any other household objects that happen to be located within splashing distance. The most impressive aspect of the ‘clean’ is that he has no ladders, instead favouring giant wobbly extendable tubes that reach my window on the second floor. Which means of course that he doesn’t get to use the windscreen wiper implement, and therefore all enjoyment of the process is gone.