[Dave Anderson]

Here in .NL most window frames are wood (upvc is not that common) so I have in the past years spent many hours cleaning up after painters and all the soap they use and of course all the finger, & hand marks they leave behind them.....

A few years ago I stopped being a doormat and started charging customers to clean up after their painters had finished.... just today out of 12 houses cleaned 4 were charged double to clean up after painters..... Now just to be straight I'm not having a pop at painters. I  do not get up close and personal with a scraper to remove paint spots.... just remove all the mess they leave in their wake.... what else do you charge to remove which you do not consider 'normal' maintenance dirt?

Cheers Dave.

[p1w1]

I charge extra to customers who put up swallow nest boxes  above windows if i have to clean tons of bird mess of the ledges while there nesting.

[simon123]

I would charge at least 5 x times normal clean, or  not bother at all.    If a tradesperson doesn't clean up after themselves then they shouldn't be paid for the job !

[paul alan]

I get offended by having to clean up for other people.

If l see a trade where lm working l will telll the customer to make sure they clean up after themselves.

I once left a note for someone to tell the gardiner to clean the grass off the windows when hes done as when l have to clean it off it takes me longer than what lm charging for....and may need to put price up. Never a blade since.

[nathankaye]

Dirty windows due to the elements and birds fouling windows is expected. Anything additional to this is chargeable.

Im fortunatr in that I have a compact round of loyal (huge majority are) customers and they all have my contact number from my cards I leave. Its not happened much but I have had some calls to come clean windows after trick or treat nights or kids have been out with a box of eggs. Yet they all know I charge double or tripple my usual fee, due to the additional mess and calling out of routine.

[Splash & dash]

We would only remove general dirt paint , silicone, etc would be an extra charge and generally not intrested in removing it unless the price is right

[P @ F]

This is exactly why i dont carry blades or ladders 

[rosskesava]

I would charge at least 5 x times normal clean, or  not bother at all.    If a tradesperson doesn't clean up after themselves then they shouldn't be paid for the job !

I thought you sold your van(s).

Maybe I have made a mistake in saying that. If I have, then appologies.

So for a £20 regular job you'd charge £100 or more? What would the customer expect for that type of price?

[Stoots]

Anything that's not dirt, insect or bird muck I leave. Paint spots, sticky tape etc I don't scrape unless they ask. In which case if it's just one little bit I would probably just do it. Every window needs scraping then charge accordingly.

[slap bash]

I have found customers think your job is to clean paint and painters tape off the glass I have also found a conny with about 2 sq feet and a 1/2 inch thick of silicon on the glass. I tell them it`s the painter or conny fitters job, not window clears job. I will clean but will charge a tonne more.

[Dry Clean]

I fell out with a customer a few years back after they got the same painter back who had previously splattered every
window in paint leaving muggins to clean up the mess, told them to give me a shout when the painter had fixed the mess which
they didn't take kindly to.
The problem was that I hadn't charged enough the first time as I had underestimated the time and effort needed so it must have been cheaper to get the same painter back with me doing the repair work than to pay a painter who does a decent job.
As has been said if your going to do it put the arm in.

[Dave Anderson]

Have also come across the odd enthusiastic homerowner with their new toys i.e karcher type  pressure washers, garden sprinkler systems, home diy projects, bbq oil/grease spots/marks, diy attempts of FSG cleaning ...... all of these I do now charge for  and have on one occassion charged 20 euros to clean one pane of glass because the kid had been out over the weekend and puked and that was on the glass....what else do you charge for ?

[Tom-01]

I had a customer who was always 'can you just wipe over the fascia' 'can you just wipe over the garage door' etc

We hadn't cleaned for about 5 months as he was getting work done including getting his roof cleaned. I was going to out an extra £5 on the job but decided not to as we have 7 more in the little close.

My guy calls me up when he's there saying the customer wants us to clean them twice. As in clean them and go round and clean them again because of the mess, and if it's a problem make that the last clean.

I was just round the corner so went to see him. What a complete idiot he was. An angry man demanding that they should be cleaned twice and it should be part of the service. I just said let's leave it and we packed up and that was it.

The thing is he runs his own business making signs so you would think he would know that time is money etc.

Some people are just idiots.

[Dave Anderson]

Some people are just 'wired' up wrong...... just toodle off knowing he's going to find some mug to do it and will be asking them for this and that for a quid 

[dazmond]

depends on the customer and the work involved.

if its one or two ground floor windows with a bit of paint on ill happily scrape them for the same price if i like the customer(i will usually get a brew!) or they insist on paying me a bit more.

if nearly all the windows are bad including upper windows then i just clean as normal with WFP and if they ask about the paint then ill clean them up for double the normal price(if the windows are safe to reach from a ladder).

TBH though this very rarely happens as the painters usually clean up after themselves generally on my round and lots of my customers have mainly UPVC windows so its not really a common issue.

[Dry Clean]

depends on the customer and the work involved.

if its one or two ground floor windows with a bit of paint on ill happily scrape them for the same price if i like the customer(i will usually get a brew!) or they insist on paying me a bit more.

if nearly all the windows are bad including upper windows then i just clean as normal with WFP and if they ask about the paint then ill clean them up for double the normal price(if the windows are safe to reach from a ladder).

TBH though this very rarely happens as the painters usually clean up after themselves generally on my round and lots of my customers have mainly UPVC windows so its not really a common issue.

Its painted render that's the problem, professional painters will mask off the whole window and then its just a matter of removing the paper, cowboys will just run a roller over the whole wall and splatter every window while doing it.

[M & C Window Cleaning]

depends on the customer and the work involved.

if its one or two ground floor windows with a bit of paint on ill happily scrape them for the same price if i like the customer(i will usually get a brew!) or they insist on paying me a bit more.

if nearly all the windows are bad including upper windows then i just clean as normal with WFP and if they ask about the paint then ill clean them up for double the normal price(if the windows are safe to reach from a ladder).

TBH though this very rarely happens as the painters usually clean up after themselves generally on my round and lots of my customers have mainly UPVC windows so its not really a common issue.

Its painted render that's the problem, professional painters will mask off the whole window and then its just a matter of removing the paper, cowboys will just run a roller over the whole wall and splatter every window while doing it.

One of my customers did this a while ago.  Painted his three story town house and got paint on every window.  Then wiped over them with a wet rag and didn't clean it off.   What a mess.   It's what's going on in their heads that gets me.   They must think we're magicians or something.   Why not clean it whilst you're up there?