Window cleaning · Portland, ME
Eleven years of Portland salt, off your glass.
Eleven years on Portland glass. Priced per pane so you can check the arithmetic, with screens, tracks and sills included rather than quietly billed as extras.
Before & after
Six jobs, and what was actually on the glass.
Salt, pollen, minerals, paint and soot all look like “dirty windows” from inside. They are five different problems and they do not come off the same way.
Salt film, East End
- What was on it
- Nine months of sea spray. Looks like haze until the light is behind it, then you cannot see the harbour.
- What we did
- Two-pass wash, deionised rinse. No squeegee marks because nothing dries on the glass.
Pine pollen, Deering
- What was on it
- Late-May yellow, baked on by a week of sun. Rain spreads it rather than removing it.
- What we did
- Softened first, then washed. Rushing this scratches the glass with its own pollen.
Sprinkler spotting, Falmouth
- What was on it
- Hard-water spray from an irrigation head aimed six inches too high for three summers.
- What we did
- Polished out with a cerium compound. Caught in time — another season and it would have been etched.
Post-build spatter, Munjoy Hill
- What was on it
- Paint spots, plaster dust and a stucco splash the builder said would "come off in the rain".
- What we did
- Bladed wet, then washed. Slow work, and the only method that does not leave arcs.
Chimney soot, West End
- What was on it
- A winter of wood smoke drifting back onto north-facing sashes.
- What we did
- Degreased before washing. Soot is oily; plain water just moves it around.
Tracks and sills, Rosemont
- What was on it
- Sand, grit and two dead spiders per track. The part most quotes leave out.
- What we did
- Vacuumed, brushed and wiped. Included in our price, which is the whole point of listing it here.
Scope, not labour rate
What every cheaper quote leaves out.
Two window-cleaning quotes that differ by a hundred dollars almost always differ here, not in the hourly rate. Ask any competing quote the same three questions: screens, tracks, sills.
In the per-pane price
- Interior and exterior glass
- Screens removed, washed and refitted
- Tracks vacuumed and wiped
- Sills and frames wiped down
- Ground and second-storey windows
- Cobwebs cleared from the reveal
Quoted separately, and why
- Hard-water mineral removal · $8 – $75 per pane
- Depends entirely on whether it has etched. We test one pane first and tell you.
- Above the second floor · $10 – $40 per window
- Different equipment, different insurance.
- Post-construction spatter · Quoted per job
- Bladed work is slow and it is not fair to fold it into a standard rate.
- Storm windows removed and stored · $6 per unit
- Seasonal, and worth booking with a spring clean.
We do not use ladders above the second storey, and we will not work on ice. Both of those are how people in this trade end up in hospital.
Pricing
Per pane, so you can check the arithmetic.
| What | Rate |
|---|---|
| Standard pane, ground floor | $4 – $8 |
| Per window, both sides | $10 – $18 |
| Large picture or bay pane | $8 – $15 |
| Second-storey premium | +$2 – $4 per pane |
- Small home · 10–15 windows
- $150 – $275
- Medium home · 20–25 windows
- $250 – $450
The US average job is $220. Portland sits a little above it, because the salt means more passes.
Local honesty
Why Portland glass films faster.
An inland house at the same price point is fine on two visits a year. On the peninsula it is three, and the reason is different every season.
- Spring Pine pollen
- Two heavy weeks in late May. It bakes on, and rain makes it worse before it makes it better.
- Summer Irrigation spray
- The single most common cause of permanent mineral etching we see. Check where your heads point.
- Autumn Salt and storm spray
- Onshore wind carries salt well past the waterfront. Deering gets it too, just slower.
- Winter Road sand and wood smoke
- Sand pits the lower panes; soot films the upper ones. Different problems, different passes.
Where we work
Greater Portland.
Peninsula
East End · Munjoy Hill · West End · Old Port · Bayside
Off-peninsula
Deering · Rosemont · North Deering · Riverton
North
Falmouth · Cumberland · Yarmouth · Freeport
South
South Portland · Cape Elizabeth · Scarborough · Westbrook
Clients
What Portland says.
“He tested one pane for the mineral staining, showed me the difference, and told me the other four were too far gone to polish. Did not charge me to try anyway.”
“Two other quotes were cheaper until I read what they covered. Neither included screens or tracks. Clearwater was the same money once you compared like for like.”
“Rescheduled himself when the forecast turned, which I appreciated more than if he had turned up and done a bad job in the wind.”
“Eleven years of salt on a 1902 house. I did not know the glass was that colour.”
Common questions
Before you book.
How often does Portland glass actually need doing?
Three times a year on the peninsula, twice off it. Salt is the reason — an inland house at the same price point would be fine on two. We would rather tell you that than sell you four.
Do you clean in winter?
Yes, down to about 25°F with the right solution. Not in ice, not in high wind, and not when the forecast says the glass will freeze before it dries.
What happens if it rains the next day?
Clean glass sheds rain and stays clear. What makes windows look bad after rain is the dirt that was already there. If yours spot badly within 48 hours, call us and we will come back.
Can you get hard-water stains out?
Sometimes. If the minerals sit on the glass, a cerium polish removes them. If they have etched into it, nothing removes them and anyone who says otherwise is about to take your money. We test one pane and show you before quoting the rest.
Do I need to be home?
For exterior only, no. For interiors, yes, or leave access arranged. We text on the way and send a photo of the finished glass either way.
Why is your quote higher than the one I got yesterday?
Almost always scope. Ask the other quote whether screens, tracks and sills are included. If they are, and it is still cheaper, take it — genuinely.
Get a quote
How many windows, roughly?
A count and a storey is enough for a number. Fields marked with an asterisk are required.