Who to hire for windows to clean

Short answer

A window cleaning business. The thing that changes the price and the risk is height: anything requiring a ladder above single storey, a rope access system or an elevated work platform brings real work health and safety obligations, and it is the reason a two-storey quote is not double a single-storey one.

Plan itThere is time to get more than one quote, which is where the money is.

What to do before anyone arrives

  1. Count the windows and note which are reachable from the ground.
  2. Decide whether you want tracks, sills and flyscreens done. They are usually separate and they are where most of the visible dirt is.
  3. Check for hard water staining. Mineral etching from sprinklers or rain running off metal is not dirt and does not come off with a normal clean.
  4. Clear access — furniture inside, plants and bins outside.

What to ask when you book

  • Are tracks, sills and screens included?
  • How are you reaching the upper windows, and do you have the insurance for it?
  • Can you treat hard water staining, and is it guaranteed?
  • What happens if it rains the next day?

What changes the price

No dollar figures here: this directory holds no price data and an invented range is worse than none. What follows is what makes one of these jobs cost more than the same job next door, which is the part you can actually use when comparing quotes.

  • Number of panes and whether both sides are done.
  • Height and access method.
  • Tracks, sills and screens.
  • Hard water stain removal, which is a separate and much slower process.

What you can do yourself

Is this licensed work?

Not licensed. Rope access and elevated work platform operation require specific competencies, and public liability insurance matters more here than in most cleaning work.

There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state the work is happening in.

Licensing thresholds and certificate requirements differ by state and change with amending regulation, so this page describes the mechanism rather than quoting a figure. The regulator’s own page is the current answer.

Common questions

Who should I hire for windows to clean
A window cleaning business. The thing that changes the price and the risk is height: anything requiring a ladder above single storey, a rope access system or an elevated work platform brings real work health and safety obligations, and it is the reason a two-storey quote is not double a single-storey one.
Why do my windows still look marked after cleaning?
If it is a uniform cloudiness that does not shift, it is likely mineral etching from hard water — sprinklers hitting glass, or rain running off galvanised metal — which has chemically altered the surface. It needs a specific restoration treatment rather than cleaning, and in bad cases it does not fully come out.

Find a Cleaner near you

3,843 cleaners in this directory, ranked on published evidence rather than on advertising.

Who to hire for

General information about who does what, not advice about your specific job. Licensing, consumer law and council rules differ by state and change; the regulator for your state is the current source. More guides to hiring a tradesperson.