Tall Building Cleaning: How Times Have Changed
Tall building cleaning has changed over the millenia. At 146 metres, the great pyramid at Giza was the tallest manmade structure in the world for 3800 years, until Lincoln Cathedral overtook it in 1311.
They didn’t have the same air quality issues back then, and everybody was earthbound. Pyramid and cathedral builders didn’t need to consider how to keep their structures clean.
Not until skyscrapers full of workers and residents came on the scene in the last century did architects need to think about how to clean windows and exteriors. They designed hooks on the window frames on the Empire State Building (381m) to which window cleaners could attach themselves via a leather strap while they balanced on window ledges to clean the window panes.
Safety concerns with tall building cleaning
In 1932, New York window cleaners had a hazardous job. Since the advent of the Health and Safety Act in 1974, and the Working at Height Regulations (2005), commercial property owners have been less keen on letting cleaners climb over their buildings without safety equipment.
And once windows became integral to the structure of modern buildings and couldn’t be opened, newer, safer methods, such as gantries, were developed.
Employers these days have greater options to avoid putting workers at risk, such as using high reach poles, or providing much safer options to rickety ladders, such as ‘cherry pickers’.
Specialist cleaning companies like Rainbow International must ensure their employees have the skills and expertise needed to deliver a safe, thorough clean, whatever the building height and the equipment needed.
As building owners retain responsibility for the safety of all workers on their premises, working with a company like Rainbow gives them peace of mind knowing that work is being carried out safely and legally.
Rainbow International for tall building cleaning
Rainbow International provides a high access cleaning service for both internal and external building cleans, especially in hard to reach places. All of our operatives are fully trained to high industry standards, use the best high access equipment for the job in hand and are fully insured.
We clean external building fascia, cladding, masonry or windows, clear gutters, clean ducts and operate within restricted areas.
Rainbow International is the UK’s leading supplier of Disaster Recovery and Specialist Cleaning Services to commercial and industrial organisations, landlords and homeowners.
To find out more about our services, contact our 24-hour helpdesk on 01623 422488 or email info@rainbowrestoration.co.uk