First of all I want to thank everybody here for all the good advise. I am in the process of starting up a window cleaning service and am grateful for all the tips I have discovered here at WCR. The only question I have which I don’t see addressed here is what do you do about curtains? Do you remove them before cleaning or do you just pull them out of the way and cover them with a clean towel? It seems to me that if I am removing and replacing draperies it could add a lot of time to the job and if I am simply moving them out of the way I run the risk of dripping on them. What is your procedure?
We move them back. Some customers ask if we want them to take down the curtains before we come. That’s even better.
Open them all the way and either hold them aside with one hand and clean with the other or toss them over my shoulder to get behind them. The method I use will be determined by the dust and smell factors I encounter when I open them…
we just move them to the side and hold them unless the customer asks us to remove them, which in my 3 yrs, i think only one customer has asked us to remove them. some will tell us to be careful with the blinds because they are new. never had a problem.
You can use a chip clip or a good spring clamp to clamp the curtain to one side to allow access. I’ve done this on several homes where the curtains don’t draw open enough for access. Frees up both hands and is less agrivating than holding the curtain back with one of your hands.
How do you keep your chip bag closed then Richard? lol
I bought a big bag of those spring clamps at Lowe’s. I use them on all the chip bags as well as other packaged food items. The chip clips are free for use on curtains at my customers houses. 
I use the chip clip method as well. I use the black paper clips they sell at Staples. I also carry two large ribbons to tie them back. The chip clips and ribbons method can wrinkle some fabrics so I need to be careful. My favorite method is using the bottom two sections of my Unger 30 foot window washing pole. They are big and heavy. One on each side of the window frame with the drapes on the outside of the poles.
work around them, hold them with one arm and clean with the other…sometimes, if there is a chair nearby, I will drap them over a chair OR table, treadmill, nordic trac, weight bench, door or whatever is available…
Maybe throw them over your head and tuck them into your back pockets 
I have a policy that my guys cannot remove blinds or curtains. 99% of the time blinds or curtains can be lifted up or pushed to the side. If blinds absolutely have to be removed we tell the customer to remove them themselves before we do the job. They are just too much of a pain in the arse.
I usually just move them to the side and pull them back if needed, but if the curtain rod extends far enough I loop the curtains over the excess outside the brackets. This makes it real easy and safe.
Thanks a lot you guys. I didn’t expect so much feedback so soon.
we were bored ; )
