Short answer: outside glass gets a water-fed pole and filtered water. Inside glass gets cleaned by hand. Here's what that means and why we do it that way on the coast.
Outside: water-fed pole
Tap water has minerals dissolved in it, and those minerals are what dry into spots. We run our water through filters that take the minerals out. That water goes up a hose inside a telescoping pole to a soft brush. The brush scrubs the glass and the frame, then the pane is rinsed with the same water and left to dry on its own. No soap and no squeegee.
Because there's almost nothing dissolved in the rinse water, there's nothing left behind when it dries. It also picks up salt easily, which is the main thing on 30A glass.
Why it suits 30A houses
- Height. Most third-floor glass on a beach house can be reached from the ground or a deck, without ladders against the house.
- Salt. Salt film dissolves in water, so a pure-water rinse takes it off cleanly.
- Frames and sills. The brush cleans the frame with the glass, so salt and sand on the edges don't run back onto the pane with the next rain.
- No soap. Nothing is left on the glass or running down the wall, which matters on white masonry and painted trim.
Inside: by hand
A pole and a running hose don't belong in a living room. Inside glass is cleaned by hand with very little water, and the edges are detailed so nothing drips onto the frame or the floor.
What pure water can't do
- Bonded hard-water spots. Old sprinkler stains are attached to the glass, and no rinse removes them. That's hard-water stain removal, priced after we see it.
- Stuck-on debris like paint or sap. That gets handled by hand.
- Glass the pole can't reach, like a skylight in the middle of a high roof. We'll tell you about those at the quote.
One more thing you'll notice: the glass is wet when we leave. That's the rinse drying. It dries clear, and if a pane dries with a mark, we redo it before we go. More on the full service under exterior window cleaning.
