how to clean windows
I moved into my little downtown apartment in San Francisco nine years ago. I chose this particular unit, with its shoebox measurements, tiny appliances, and lack of closets, because of the enormous bay window that makes up the entire southern wall.
I often sit in my comfy chair gazing out, or just enjoying the sun floating into the room beyond me. This is my favorite thing about my home, (well, since my landlord took away the roof deck that was part of the original rent agreement) and one of the things that has made me picky about new places.
A couple of weeks ago I noticed I could no longer read the street signs through my windows because the layer of city dirt on the outside had gotten too thick. I reached out to my property manager and asked them to hire a window washer. I was pretty sure they hadn’t been washed in the time I’d lived here. The response?
“I wanted to let you know that I was able to speak with Ownership and the request for window washing has been denied. Tenants will be responsible for cleaning their windows. Please let me know if I can help with anything else.”
I’m not that surprised, but I’m frustrated. So I threw back the question to them — just how would they advise I go about doing that?
Today I decided to give it my best, and it was just too entertaining not to share.
Looking through my windows:
This is the filth that falls in every time I open my windows. I clean it weekly.
My windows open both up and down. So I first tried to open them from the top, hang over them, and clean the outside by reaching as far as I could. I did pretty well, but I couldn’t figure out how to get to the bottom/inside window.
So then I tried opening it from the bottom and leaning out while looking up. No dice. Bottom window is fully inside and now I’m hanging out the building.
I tried putting one arm outside the window and could get the bottom half of the bottom window. But even that’s only because I have freakishly long arms.
And half a clean window wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. Here’s the view of the street sign through the clean and dirty halves:
Also of note are the numerous wood chips that fell every time I opened or closed a window. Someone should probably fix that. :)
And of course, I looked ever so lovely after this attempt:
So I ask again — just how am I supposed to go about cleaning my windows?
California Civil Code section 1941 states that when a landlord is responsible for keeping proper “habitable”. This includes clean and sanitary buildings and grounds which are free from debris and filth. Windows also have to be able to open safely halfway. I think there’s a strong argument that this much grime and soot getting into the apartment upon opening makes it unhabitable, but I’ll have to let you know how far that gets me.
I think my stronger case is that a wrongful death suit filed because I fall cleaning those god awful windows is a hell of a lot more expensive than a window washer.
