How many of you guys have “formal training” ? And perhaps my idea of formal training is different. When you say formal training I’d assume you received some type of certificate of achievement from a creditable institution proving that you have studied or completed some type of course directed by professionals that also have a higher understanding that is also certified and recognized by the same institution. I believe a lot of “formal training” comes from one window cleaner showing another guys his own self taught skills and techniques and then poof he’s had formal training. What’s best ? Being self taught or formal training? How did you learn ? And would you consider it formal training? For example there is a large company here in my area. I’ve seen their guys work and they would say I have formal training, simply because that company had taught them how to clean windows. But in my opinion after seeing them work they would have to be retrained completely. I suppose you could consider the company the institution and the owners the ones with higher understanding but then it’s all ones opinion, I haven’t seen a real standard of training that can be agreed on across the board.
@luke3636 Did you show a training certificate in a recent video? I meant to ask you about that.
Sorry to derail carry on!
methinks that certificate was a joke?
Ha yeah I did! Lol
I thought so… Couldnt recall the details…
I believe most people have been trained by the company’s that hire them or by the “school of hard knocks, oops that doesn’t work, try again” and then other are trained by you tube.
High rise guys get certified for safety though, but still the window cleaning part is still basically self taught.
oh ya, what are you getting at Luke with this thread? 
Focus buttercup Focus! 
I see a lot of guys kinda knock other guys for not having formal training or being self taught. So my point is what is their formal training? Bring shown by another window cleaner ? Idk it’s interesting to me I guess.
Most of them if not all them where self taught also…LOL
Its a good basic Sat morning topic its easy to follow!
Its interesting to me as well. Over the years a lot of the window cleaners that worked for me went out on their own, many are still around. I think about how the guy that taught me influenced how lots of other window cleaners currently clean glass. I taught my people what he taught me and they taught it their people.
He trained me very informally, and I formalized it. Likely now it’s been de-formalized. Interesting stuff.
Anyway, I think there are lots of reasons for formal training. Over the years there have been various window cleaning academies, school’s and Universities. We get asked quite often for a recommendation to a formal program. But we usually just refer them to YouTube as there not much out there.
I trained with window cleaning monks in the Himalayas. They took me in as an orphan and I started as a bucket filler. After 5 years I was promoted to mop wringer. From there the rest is history.
My master was blind but he could feel the window and you didn’t even see the squeegee move.
luke3636 prob does not know this but i can honestly say my “formal training” abt 80% - 90% comes from him. the remainder is trial and error from on the job. and also keith kelfas, he mostly motivated me to try window washing. i remember having bought all my gear from home depo and being too insecure to go out and start. for almost two weeks my gear was in the garage collecting dust. then i watched Keith’s video on how he started, all desperate walking into stores and being pushy and kinda making them a client. after i remember watching one of lukes videos, don’t remember which one but at the end it was the annoying guy flexing who kept saying >DO IT" JUST DO IT". and i stopped thinking about it and got up and just did it.
thanks so much guys, you don’t realize how much your videos help people. i did lawns before but couldn’t keep doing them anymore (im50yrs). by making those YouTube videos you saved me from loosing my house!!!
thanks Luke
p.s. i think you should send me a formal certificate stating my completion and graduation from your training course.
p.p.s im serious send it!
Very interesting topic, Luke.
I’ve always been a do-it-yourself kinda guy and i really like figuring things out on my own and creating new systems myself. That said, I’ve also discovered the value of not reinventing the wheel. I taught myself guitar from books…when I finally start learning drums, I’ve decided I’m definitely getting a teacher at least in the beginning to learn the fundamentals.
I really wish i could have had someone teach me the basics of window cleaning in person. Bad habits die hard; also, you can waste a lot of valuable time with trial and error. Sometimes, though, trial and error leads to innovation and out-of-the-box thinking. That might be harder when you’re used to one “right” way you’ve been taught. Nevertheless, i think it’s still better to have a solid core of fundamentals. Then, when you really understand the process and it’s nuances, you can innovate and improve.
Since i had no opportunity for someone to teach me, it had to be books, YouTube, and this forum. Honestly, this forum put me lightyears ahead of where i would have been without it. To be honest, it’s put me lightyears ahead of where i think i would have been with “formal” training because it is the collective wisdom of many of the best window cleaners in the world. A teacher may be stuck in a pattern he’s used to. Here, I’m learning from many.
A friend of mine coined this saying: “Actions speak louder than words, but RESULTS speak louder than actions.” Ultimately, the result matters. Trace any craft back far enough and the original person had to invent it himself. He couldn’t validate his work with anything other than the results. So, whether you learned from a teacher, YouTube, books, experimentation, or a dream, if you consistently produce great results, in my book, that’s what counts.
Man I think that is the biggest compliment I have ever heard. Thanks man. I make those videos in hopes that it will help somebody or at least entertain. I am glad it has inspired you and has helped.
A guy I knew (back in '97) heard I was looking for a job and encouraged me to go into window cleaning. He was something like 5 years in at the time. He taught me how to clean on a restaurant window at 6am on a Saturday. I cleaned it about 10 times before he was happy I had the basic technique down. He then just told me to practice and apply for a job.
My first day working for a window cleaning company I was in the office of the owner. The guy was a chain smoker and he kept a few french pane windows in his office. He pulled one out and set it on an easel. The glass was gray from the cigarette smoke over who knows how many months. He showed me himself how to clean french panes. Then he watched as I copied him. Then he showed me how to fan on a window in his office. He watched as I copied him. Then he sent me out with an employee and I was with that guy for a week. I was on my own after that.
Over here certain organizations require all cleaners to be certified, for window cleaning this a joke due to the module they train you to is that of wet up window straight pull with squeegee then spray with a windex type chemical and buff to finish, and honestly most of my competitors clean windows with this crap method, it does not require any skill or knowledge.
I learned the commercial way I guess which I was taught by other experienced WCers, when I started my own I had to tweak things for resi .
I imagine the best “Formal Training” would be 6 months long at the most, at the local community college.
It would cover:
- tools, different types, and applications/techniques for using said tools (from squeegees to ladders & lifts)
- slip & soap (because you can F up glass using too much of the right/wrong stuff for too long, or even in sunlight…)
- abrasives and application
- physical fitness (poling and carrying ladders all day 5 days a week ain’t easy work)
- job site safety, with equipment and chemicals used & stored
Now the question is: who or what (person or organization) will say what is right and wrong? The problem with “formal” training for window cleaning is everyone will have their own standards (be it: “good enough” or not “good enough”), structure, style, solutions (chemicals & problem solving), and personalities which will play in all of this. I personally would be against someone/organization in California, Texas, etc… having ‘authority’ to say I’m not “qualified” to clean windows here in Indiana. So at best: schools and certifying authorities (again would be who?) would be best limited to the individual States/local region. Then we’ll have customers being all “oh he’s not certified, find someone else”, nevermind the guy/lady is actually really good. The end result would be just another money sinkhole, and some logo to put on your website to tell ignorant consumers “this organization says I can clean a window”.
My formal training: every day I work, every problem I solve, and every work flow I optimize.
“Plus my razor work is flawless”
That line and that cut to video killed me. Hilarious!
Definitely no formal training. Got hired in '99 to supervise CCU’s. Having no experience at all in any kind of cleaning I learned window cleaning and general CCU, including pressure washing, from those I was supervising. A rather odd situation. Staying with the company, the same became true for learning all kinds of floor care, carpet cleaning and general janitorial. There was a lot of turnover there so it was not long before those I learned from moved on and the rest was being self taught.
