Window cleaning challenges: Empire State versus Gherkin

We regularly see our local window cleaner cleaning windows up a ladder and i’m sure you’ve also seen commercial window cleaners on cradles outside office blocks. But what happens when a building even bigger than a normal skyscraper needs it’s windows cleaned?

The Empire State building is iconic, but does that make it a window cleaner’s heaven or window cleaner’s hell? Well i guess it depends how much a window cleaner loves his job!

The Empire State building reportedly takes five professional window cleaners four weeks to clean. So in about 20 weeks just one of them could have cleaned the lot. I’m sure most the windows will need cleaning again after that time. What about london’s notorious Gherkin? That takes nine professional window cleaners ten days, which is just over a month and a half of full time window cleaning. For those window cleaners with a good head for heights they can abseil down the sides of the building as they clean the windows, and can stop for lunch at the top of the building.

However, iconic both the empire state building and more recently London’s gherkin, the Burj Dubai is an even bigger everest for window cleaners. I can only guess how long that must take to clean, which can’t be an easy challenge especially with all the sand getting into the crevices, but i believe the professional window cleaners will manage even this monster.

So the next time you see your local window cleaner ask him how it would take him to clean all the windows on the Empire State building or the Gherkin and how much he would charge....