The short answer
How often should commercial windows be cleaned? As a guide, shop fronts and food outlets need cleaning every week, pubs and car showrooms every two weeks, offices, hotels and care homes every four weeks, and schools and industrial units every three months. Every site is different, though. Traffic, trees, birds and building work nearby can all mean more frequent cleans.
There’s no single right answer to how often commercial windows should be cleaned. It depends on what your building is for, who sees it and what’s around it. Here’s the guide we start from when we quote, and the things that change it.
How often commercial windows should be cleaned, by type of building
| Building | As a guide | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Shops, cafés and restaurants | Every week | Your windows are your shop window, and customers judge food outlets on how clean they look. |
| Pubs, bars and car showrooms | Every 2 weeks | Lots of glass on show, and customers expect it to sparkle. |
| Offices | Every 4 weeks | Clean glass lets in more daylight and makes the right impression on visitors. |
| Hotels | Every 4 weeks | With the entrance and restaurant glass cleaned more often. |
| Care homes | Every 4 weeks | Residents spend a lot of time looking out. |
| Apartment blocks | Agreed with the managing agent | Often timed with the communal clean, so the whole block looks cared for. |
| Schools and colleges | Every 3 months | In the school holidays. |
| Industrial units and warehouses | Every 3 months | Less glass on show, but dust and traffic film build up quickly. |
These are starting points, not rules. Many sites mix frequencies: the entrance and ground floor every week or two, for example, and the upper floors less often.
What makes windows get dirty faster
- Traffic. Buildings on main roads, beside car parks or near loading bays pick up traffic film far faster than those on a quiet business park.
- Trees and birds. Sap, pollen, leaves and bird droppings, especially in spring and summer.
- Building work nearby. Dust from construction or roadworks settles on glass quickly.
- What happens inside. Kitchens, workshops and production areas can leave a film on the inside of the glass.
- Height. Lower floors get dirtier than upper floors, because most of the dirt comes up from the ground.
- Low sun. In autumn and winter, low sunshine shows up every streak, so dirty windows are more noticeable, not less.
Don’t forget the frames
Window cleaning isn’t only about the glass. Dirt left on frames and sills runs back onto the glass the next time it rains, and frames that are never cleaned become stained and look tired. We clean the glass, frames and sills on every visit, which the water-fed pole method makes easy. How we clean.
Inside and outside
Inside glass usually needs cleaning less often than outside, unless it’s a shop front, a reception area or a glass partition that people touch. We can clean inside and out on the same visit, or put the inside glass on its own schedule.
Why a regular schedule works better
Windows that are cleaned regularly never get bad enough to need extra work, and nobody has to remember to book. Our scheduling system plans every visit in advance and confirms the date with you, so the clean happens around your opening hours without you chasing anyone.
Not sure what your building needs? Tell us about it and we’ll suggest a schedule with your quote. What affects the price.
Questions
How often should office windows be cleaned?
As a guide, every four weeks on the outside, with the inside glass cleaned less often. Offices on busy roads, or with a lot of visitors, may need more.
How often should shop windows be cleaned?
Every week for most shop fronts, cafés and restaurants, because customers see the glass up close every day.
Do you clean the frames as well as the glass?
Yes. We clean the glass, frames and sills on every visit.
