Here is how to choose a window cleaner in Metro Detroit: ask every company the same questions, and compare the answers side by side. Ask about insurance, how they clean the outside glass, what's in the price, who runs the company, how they give the quote and where their reviews are. The table below lists each question, why it matters and our answer where we have one.
Questions to ask before you book
Two quotes for the same house can be far apart. The gap comes from what each one covers, and these questions bring that out.
Question to ask | Why it matters | Our answer |
|---|---|---|
Can I see your certificate of insurance? | Ladders go up against your house and people work on your property | Ask any company for the certificate before the day, and check its dates |
How do you clean the outside glass? | Tap water dries into spots | Deionized pure water through a water-fed pole. The glass dries clear with no spots |
Are screens, sills and tracks in the price? | They're where totals split | Yes, on every interior cleaning. Screens come out and get washed, sills get wiped, tracks get vacuumed |
How do you reach upstairs windows? | Ladders in flower beds and on soft ground | A water-fed pole from the ground, with any window that needs a ladder pointed out at the quote |
Who runs the company? | Who answers when something goes wrong | Independent and owner-operated in Northville since 2014 |
How do you give the quote, and what does it cover? | The count and the extras decide the total | A free quote from your address and an approximate window count. Storm and divided-light windows are noted separately because they take longer |
Where can I read your reviews? | Reviews show how a company handles real jobs | 5.0 on Google. Read them on our reviews page |
Can windows and gutters be one visit? | The order decides what stays clean | Yes. House wash first, then gutters, then windows |
Ask for the insurance certificate
The FTC's advice for hiring any contractor is to ask for proof of insurance. Window cleaning puts ladders against siding and people at work on your property, so the question fits.
Ask for the certificate itself, and check that its dates cover your appointment. Then ask a second question: what happens if something gets broken? Get that answer in writing too. A company that answers both plainly before the day will be easier to deal with after it.
How the outside glass gets cleaned
There are two common ways to clean outside glass. One is soap and a squeegee, worked by hand from a ladder. The other is a water-fed pole, a brush on a long pole that feeds filtered water onto the glass and rinses it.
Spots on a window are minerals. The U.S. Geological Survey traces water hardness to calcium and magnesium and names hard water as a common cause of cloudy glassware. Rinse a window with tap water, and those minerals stay on the glass when it dries.
We clean outside glass with deionized pure water on a water-fed pole. The water goes through reverse osmosis and then a deionizing resin, so it carries nothing that could dry onto the pane. Nothing goes on the glass but water, and nothing has to be wiped dry. Inside, every pane gets cleaned by hand.
Either method can leave clear glass. Ask which one a company uses outside, and ask how they keep tap water from spotting it.
What should be in the price
Screens, sills and tracks are where two totals split. Every interior window cleaning we do includes them. Screens come out and get washed. Sills get wiped. Tracks get vacuumed, because the grit packed in a track turns to mud under a wet rag.
Some companies charge for screens and tracks by the piece. That's a fair way to price, as long as you know before you compare. Ask what's included, and ask to see the extras listed on the quote.
Storm windows and divided-light windows take longer than a single sheet of glass. A storm comes out of its frame, gets washed front and back, and is refitted square. A divided-light sash can hold a dozen small panes. We note both separately on the quote so the time is planned from the start. Ask any company how they handle them.
Upstairs glass and hard-to-reach windows
A water-fed pole reaches the second-story and dormer windows on a typical house from the ground. That keeps ladders out of the flower beds and off the gutters. Where a porch roof, a deck or a garden bed is in the way, the pole can't get the angle and a ladder goes up. We flag those windows at the quote.
Inside, the tall glass over a two-story foyer is ladder work. Ask how a company sets up for it before the day, and where the ladder will stand.
Who runs the company
Franchise or owner-operated, the questions are the same. Ask who will be at your house, who you call if something's wrong, and who sets the price. Either kind of company can do good work. You want clear answers to those questions before anyone sets up a ladder.
Glass Guru Window Cleaning is independent. Bernard Marsalese and Andrew Bradley started it while they were students at Michigan State, it has been owner-operated in Northville since 2014, and it isn't a franchise. There's more on our about page.
How the quote is given
Companies quote in different ways: over the phone from a count, from photos, or from a visit. Any of those works when the count is right and the extras are named. Before the day, get the price in writing, along with what it covers. The FTC says a written estimate should describe the work to be done and give the price.
We give free quotes. Give us your address and a ballpark number of windows, and we'll send back a price. Prefer that we do the counting? We can come by and count them.
How to read a window cleaner's reviews
Read the reviews for the service you're buying. A company with plenty of gutter reviews may have few about windows. Check the dates, so you know the reviews describe the company as it runs today. Read how the owner replies, too. That's how they'll talk to you if something goes wrong.
Glass Guru is rated 5.0 on Google. You can read the reviews on our reviews page.
Booking windows with gutters or a house wash
If you want more than one outside job, ask about the order. We wash the house first, then clear the gutters, then clean the windows. The glass gets cleaned last, so nothing runs down it afterward. Our gutter cleaning and pressure washing pages cover those services.
When to book in Michigan
We clean outside glass from March to November. In freezing weather the rinse water would ice over on the glass and the sidewalk. Inside glass we clean year round, and January and February are the quietest months on our calendar. Two cleanings a year suit a typical house here: late spring after the tree pollen, and early fall. Our residential window cleaning page has the full service.
We clean windows across Metro Detroit, including Northville, Novi and Plymouth. The full list of towns is on our window cleaning service areas page.
Questions people ask
What should a window cleaning quote include?
A window cleaning quote should name the windows it covers, say whether it's inside, outside or both, and list what's included, such as screens, sills, tracks, storm windows and divided-light windows. It should also give the price in writing. With all of that on paper, two quotes for the same house can be compared line by line.
Is professional window cleaning worth it?
It is for the glass that's hard to do well yourself: second-story windows, storm windows that come off, and outside panes that spot when tap water dries. Ground-floor glass inside the house is easy enough to keep up between visits. A professional cleaning twice a year handles the rest, with screens and tracks done at the same time.
Should I hire a franchise or an owner-operated window cleaner?
Either can do good work, so ask both the same questions. Who will be at your house, who do you call if something goes wrong, and who sets the price? Get the answers before you book. Glass Guru Window Cleaning is independent and owner-operated, based in Northville since 2014, and is not a franchise.
How do window cleaners count windows?
It depends on the company. Some count each opening, some count each sash, and some count each pane, which makes a big difference on divided-light windows. Ask which way a company counts, and get the count written on the quote. That way two quotes for the same house can be compared side by side.
Do window cleaners clean screens and tracks?
Some include them in the price and some charge by the piece, so ask before you compare totals. Every interior window cleaning we do includes the screens, sills and tracks. Screens come out and get washed, sills get wiped, and tracks get vacuumed before they're wiped, which keeps old grit from turning to mud.
Get a quote
Use Get a Free Quote to send your address and an approximate window count, and ask us any of the questions above.
