Cleaning windows is the type of job that is easy to do but hard to master. Sure, handling a Squeegee isn’t the type of thing you need a degree for, but if you’re thinking about going up against the world’s best professional window cleaners, you’ll need some serious training!
“What I’m doing, people half my age can’t do,” 71-year-old Terry Burrows told The Independent newspaper. You don’t just do this, you train to do this!”
Burrows, who still competes in the World Window Cleaning World Cup, is considered the Usain Bolt of window cleaning. In 2009, he set a world record, flawlessly cleaning three 45” x 45” windows in just 9.14 seconds, a feat that has yet to be equalled or surpassed.
The rules of the World Window Cleaning World Cup are fairly straightforward. Participants are provided with a standard 12” or 300 mm Squeegee with fixed handle, standard 14” or 350 mm applicator (T.Bar) with a fixed handle, a standard 14” Applicator cover, a bucket of water, window cleaning detergent, and one scrim. They have to use these tools to clean three 45” x 45” windows as quickly and as thoroughly as possible.
Under the careful eyes of three judges, participants move their hands in S patterns, guiding the Squeegee across the glass, and following up with the scrim to make sure they leave no streaks. When they are done, they are supposed to shout “Stop!” to stop the timer.
Speed is very important in this competition, but participants must actually clean the windows to win. Every streak, drip, or line on the three windows is penalized by 0.5 seconds, and leaving particularly thick streaks on the glass is penalized by 1 second. The three judges are trained to watch for even the slightest imperfections, so every little mistake is penalized.
The winner of the World Window Cleaning World Cup is rewarded with a £1,000 ($1,350) cash prize, but the true prize is the right to brag among their fellow cleaning professionals.
