Some of the bravest people working every day are skyscraper window cleaners, who spend nigh of their days suspended hundreds of feet above the ground keeping buildings sparkling make clean. Information technology's no secret that their work is dangerous, but sometimes, their jobs come with some other unexpected incidents — for both them and their clients. Cleaning contractors and those who've run into them shared some of their favorite bizarre window-washing stories on Reddit.
Mesmerized by Their Job
I was visiting my grandparents in a highrise, looking out their windows a few stories up. Equally the window cleaners went by, I happily watched them make clean, hands folded behind my dorsum, considering the windows were a one-way type thing where they were basically mirrors from the exterior in.
I knew this because I'd seen the building from the outside. Unbeknownst to me, the level of reflectivity changes pretty drastically depending on the fourth dimension of day. I realized later that when the window cleaners were going by, they had to wash the windows while some weirdo (me) stood about 12 inches from the window watching their grade.
–RedditYankee
When I was in the infirmary in labor with my daughter, I looked up from lying over the bed — massive belly, moaning — and what did I run across? A window washer!
The funniest thing was that the windows were reflective and he conspicuously couldn't meet me, or if he could he was a globe champion poker player… He had no idea he was 3 feet away from a groaning elephant-like lady. Despite the hurting, I laughed.
–Katebee2518
Swing Life Away
Sitting in a meeting, I one time saw a window washer in one of those bucket seats at the building across the street, upwards maybe 40 or 50 stories, completely lose control and start swinging effectually, spinning. Anybody in our meeting lost our minds watching this. He regained control and just sabbatum at that place for several minutes clinging to the building. Nosotros all but saturday there watching in full silence. Information technology was scary to encounter. I cannot imagine he didn't quit the chore after that.
–jfcmfer
Service With a Grinning
My therapist and I meet at her office in a skyrise, and we've begun this weird tradition of stopping everything we're doing, even if I'm like in the middle of crying or something, and just smiling these huge creepy smiles while trying not to blink equally the guy washes the windows.
He loses his cool and starts laughing earlier he gets to the stop every fourth dimension, and then waves goodbye at us. Then nosotros resume whatever it is nosotros were talking about.
–Oshidori
Nutrient on the Encephalon
While consulting at an advertizement agency in NY, they gave me a sweet office to utilize on the 25th floor for the six months I was at that place. I had simply come back from a three-martini luncheon with some of the execs and the client. I'm sitting in my chair trying to fight the food coma and martinis. I decided to lean back, unbuckle my pants and loosen upward my belt. My desk is at a 45-degree angle facing away from the exterior windows. Later getting into the most lazy and comfortable position, I hinge towards the window and come across 2 window washers smile and laughing. I guy wrote on a notepad, "I'll have what you had. Where did you go?" We had a back-and-forth conversation for a few minutes by writing messages on notepads.
The CCO knocks on my office door. I had completely forgotten near our scheduled meeting. He comes in and sees me, belt and pants unbuckled with the two window washers, and just mutters "Am I interrupting anything?" I explain the whole thing to him and the window washers are laughing the entire time. They see him laughing and write "All cool?" Then the CCO proceeds to pick up a pen and notepad to join in. Everyone was having such a great fourth dimension that he invited the window washers to lunch, on the states.
–TheFisGoingOn
Along Comes a Spider
My medical schoolhouse is eight floors tall. In that location were often huge spiders outside every window. We were in a small group and kept hearing this loud smack simply we couldn't figure out what it was. The window washer came into view, and he apparently was not a huge spider fan and was smacking all of them. There were hands 30 large spiders on each window. I'm not deathly afraid of spiders, just forget that.
–amandashartstein
Best Timing Ever
In that location was a mandatory video briefing with the CEO of our company. In the middle of his speech at his desk-bound, a window cleaner comes down and starts wiping his window in direct line of sight of the photographic camera to the entire company. It was probably the most interesting function of the phone call. We all had a good laugh at the mystery cleaner interrupting the CEO. I hope he didn't get fired.
–foxbase
Cypher Similar a Good Deed
We were getting work done on the house. There were a lot of guys right outside our windows working and trying to do work in sweltering heat. I would write little notes like, "I hope you take a nice mean solar day 🙂 " and "Keep up the adept work :)" and tape them to my window so they could see them. And so one day I got dwelling house from schoolhouse early and one of the guys asked about the notes. He thanked me because no i did stuff like that for them. I had also brought them h2o and permit them borrow my radio because I didn't often utilise it.
–MusicalPigeon
Some Additional Discomfort
I was seen by the cleaners, and not in a good light. It was not even my office. We were given some work by a house and were given a small function to work from. I was there in the early morn later on arriving. I felt some discomfort down there. I locked the door and dropped my trousers and underwear. A few seconds later, I was done, and I tried to retrieve my apparel. I looked up and in that location they were! 2 guys looking at me. I don't remember everything just I remember trying to grinning. I don't know how much they saw.
–cbcking
The GIF That Keeps on Giving
When we know the window cleaners are coming to our edifice, nosotros mostly effort to mess with them. I time nosotros put the same SpongeBob GIF on loop on every screen we could. Some other time, we just frantically hid whenever they came into view. They usually laugh and seem to have fun with it, and then nosotros try to think of something new every time.
–woogychuck
Getting Busted past a Washer
I got kicked out of my apartment because a window washer snitched on me. The apartment managing director had them show up and never put out a notice about information technology. I lived on the 13th flooring, so I didn't have blinds. Being that high up, I figured I didn't need them for privacy. Unfortunately, while I was at work, they were washing my windows and saw straight into my chamber. They clearly saw inappropriate items sitting on my dresser and told on me. I came home from a 12-hour shift to an eviction notice.
–breakinbread21
The Doctor Is In
I was at the gyno for my annual visit waiting for the physician to come in. I'm sitting in the chair, feet in the stirrups facing the window, when I start to come across the ropes of them coming up to the next flooring. I have never been frozen in fear like that in my life. Luckily the receptionist ran in at the final 2d and closed the blinds before they totally came up.
–surra_day
This Will Haunt Them Forever
I went to visit my parents, who happened to exist getting some gutter and roofing piece of work washed at the time. They forgot to mention this, and I went out late the first dark and got wasted. I woke up the adjacent day hungover and stumbled my way into the bath to do my business. As I'm sitting there moaning with my face in my hands from the headache, I hear a tapping on the window. I look up and in the window in front of the toilet there'due south some dude in his 40s with the most uncomfortable look in his eyes I've ever seen.
Something tells me he wasn't planning on watching a hairy, 250-pound, 6-pes ii-inch ginger sit down on the toilet when he woke up that morning.
–deleted user
Everyone Hates a Copycat
At my office, we would run across the ropes come downwards, and we would know to shut the blinds while the window washers were doing their matter. Ane day I decided to mess with the window washers. I cleaned off the windowsill and jumped up on it with a bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels. The guy swings into view actually quick, and past the time he had slammed his suction cup to the window I was following his every movement with my bottle of Windex and paper towel. For 30 seconds we stared at i another until he finally laughed and connected downwards the building.
Later that year I got anybody in my part, most 4 or v people full, to stand on their windowsills and practice the aforementioned matter mimicking the guys outside. Then they got a new company to come in and clean the windows.
–deleted user
It's Honest Work, Dude
I in one case had a window cleaner leave all his stuff at my business firm. He rode there on a cycle with a ladder and things and never came back. And then i twenty-four hours I'one thousand out riding around with this stuff, trying to figure out where the guy lived, and I run into an old college friend. Turns out his career is doing great, certainly better than mine, and he leaves without asking how I'thou doing.
Then I realize he thinks I'm a professional window cleaner. The worst part is, a few days later I get stuck on a roof (long story) and another window cleaner has to let me down to the ground. On the way down, I run across my quondam college friend and, excited to tell him I have a better job than a window cleaner, I start yelling to him that I'grand not a window cleaner, I have a existent job — all that. And then I realize I've just belittled this guy who's getting me off a roof. Not my finest 60 minutes.
–Diddlydinkbong
Ready to Strike
I did high-ascension window cleaning for a summer. I got out when I decided I enjoyed living for a long time. I never really saw anything out of the ordinary looking through windows (to be honest, I was also decorated to bother staring in at people's lives), but I was very closely buzzed by some inquisitive hawks most xx stories upwardly the side of a building. In that location wasn't a whole lot I could have done if they decided to attack me.
–SydneyRoo
The Drop Heard 'Round the World
I was in a classroom for some work thing in a tall glass building overlooking some older brick buildings. We tin see downward on the roofs of 2 of these buildings, 1 taller than the other by near five or six floors and overlooking the roof of the other.
A guy comes out on the roof of the taller edifice and starts assembling his ropes. Information technology'southward the kind of rig where he sits on a lath and can swing over from window to window. He took a long time getting everything laid out and rechecking. It seems like a long time, over an hour.
Finally he gets on the rope and starts over the edge. He gets to the get-go window — bum in the sling, feet on the wall — and he…drops his squeegee.
–Bargeral
Must've Had a Crude Night
On this particular morning, a colleague and I were washing a window on some guy's apartment at around half-dozen a.m. This guy in his 40s comes up one-half asleep, blissfully unaware we were in that location. And in that location he was…pantsless, yawning and scratching his head while his shirt that was a size or 2 short raised up.
–Haynzzy
That's Affection
Once while cleaning a highrise apartment, an old lady kindly asked me if I was hungry and proceeded to open up her window and hand me a pizza slice. So I saturday in that location, 27 stories up, tangling on my chair and eating pizza. It was a proficient twenty-four hour period.
–zappasbestfriend
Getting Ready for the Mean solar day
I was washing the outside of the windows at the group home I piece of work at. I walk up to 1 of the bedroom windows to wash it off, and evidently the resident hears me outside somehow even though he had his radio turned upwards to nigh 9,000 like he always does.
He rips upwards his blinds and starts slapping himself repeatedly in the forehead and screaming. This was pretty normal for him, merely it's definitely the strangest thing I've ever seen so far in my life while washing a window.
–mopsarethebomb
Polly Want a Cracker?
I had six ladders stacked and I was cleaning a 3rd-story window at a private residence. As shortly as I made the climb upwards the ladder and to the window, I scared the crap out of a parrot sitting in a cage on the other side. This parrot permit out this shriek that scared the you lot-know-what out of me because I didn't see the bird at first.
I was already nervous being three stories upwardly on a sketchy ladder. I swear I almost fell backward. I just hugged the ladder and messed myself and had to get back downward because I was and so shaken. Climbing down I was so nervous, and I've done information technology with ease before. Once y'all get used to it as a brusque guy like I am, you don't get scared unless an unexpected parrot screams at you.
–sirmcchris
A Costly Mistake
I worked as a commercial cleaner for ii years in the '90s. One of many window cleans involved cleaning an air traffic control tower's glass — the controllers had to visually place the planes as they talked to the pilots. Later on 1 of my not-so-skillful window-washing efforts, the controller wrongfully identified an aircraft through his window and refused a passenger airplane access to the runway. This toll many thousands in extra fuel and delayed several flights for the twenty-four hour period. I lost my job and my employer lost the contract. All because of that middle bit of the window.
–deleted user
See What'due south Next
As a skyscraper window washer, working at the Sears Tower is next level. Nosotros wore airplane pilot oxygen masks, safety parachutes and magnetized shoes. The things I witnessed while being upwards at that place were amazing. Every time I passed the 32nd floor, they'd all stop working, accept pictures and cheer me on. I'yard in many selfies with those people.
I was cleaning a window and saw a man watching Netflix on his phone. He looked upwards at me and turned the phone towards me. I Bluetooth-ed my headphones to his phone and we watched two episodes of a show.
–Romanc12345
Cat Got Your Natural language?
I did window cleaning for a summer with my cousin who's a full-time window cleaner. I client we had to do was an old cat lady, and unfortunately it was an within and out task. Inside her apartment she had true cat urine stains all over the carpets with soggy paper thrown on the ground in places. There was one corner where I pulled a mantle away to get at the window and in that location was cat puke in the corner. I lost count of how many times I gagged from being assaulted past a new wave of putrid smells. Thankfully I had a stiff enough stomach to go on my tiffin down.
–mistymist1081
Not Your Lucky Day
My family and I went to a casino hotel once when I was about x, and I call back lying on my belly early on one morning staring out the window from under the curtains while I waited for everyone to wake up. Slowly a window washer descends. We lock eyes the entire time, not knowing what to practise, every bit stunned and unable to say anything due to the thick glass in the mode and sleeping people. Eventually he washes our window and descends. Continue in mind this unabridged time I've only been staring at him.
–NikkyB123
Gotta Scare the Students
We clean a 32-story dorm three times a year thanks to students constantly vomiting off the balconies and wind updrafts spreading information technology everywhere. Everyone gets pretty upset when this building comes up on the schedule to service. Anyway we usually e'er find kids sleeping, and their headboards are normally right against the drinking glass.
We become out of our way to smash the suction cups as difficult equally we tin can against the drinking glass to freak them out and startle them awake. This has caused some kids to jump up out of bed insanely fast since it's not a usual place to hear a dissonance come up from. Usually a few of us are on the same side of the building and we all get a good express joy at whoever we "get." It's pretty fun.
–t3khole
Bark Raving Mad
I was in a behavioral psych unit when I was in high school, on the fifth floor of a regular onetime infirmary. Let me tell you lot — it gets ho-hum. One mean solar day when we saw the ropes come downward, I waited by the window until the guy got to our floor and started barking my barrel off. A couple of the other patients joined me. It was fun for a while. I doubtfulness it fabricated much of an impression, only it was an outcome at the time.
–JetCooler
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