Window cleaning jobs

Window cleaning splits into domestic rounds and commercial contract work. Rounds are repeating routes of houses cleaned every four to eight weeks, worked from a van with a water-fed pole system. Commercial work covers shopfronts, offices and schools, and at the top end moves into rope access and cradle work on tall buildings, which is a different trade with its own tickets.

Employed positions with established round operators are the normal way in, and they teach the pole system, ladder safety and route pacing. The unusual feature of this niche is that rounds are assets: window cleaners buy and sell customer lists, so experienced cleaners often move from employment to owning a round. Physically it is outdoor work in most weather, and adverts value a full driving licence almost as much as experience.

Main method

Water-fed pole from ground level

Work pattern

Repeating rounds, 4-8 week cycles

Often required

Full UK driving licence

Progression

Employed → own round (bought or built)