With clean windows, you can brighten your own home and bring the outside in
By Mitch Allen
Dirty windows are easily apparent in your vehicle. Drive east on I-480 during sunrise and you can’t miss the grime, smudges, bird droppings, dog saliva (maybe that’s just me), and who knows what else blocking your view in the morning light. Once the windows are clean, however, you feel like you’re driving a brand-new vehicle.
Consider the windows in your home, too. If they haven’t been cleaned in a while, odds are good that you and your family are not experiencing the full benefits of sunshine, let alone the mental well-being that comes from living in a clean, fresh, bright environment that lets the outdoors in.
In addition, glorious fall colors, candles and holiday lights are all muted if your windows are not clean.
Rick Winrod, the founder of Rolling Thunder Window Cleaning & Pressure Washing, agrees. “I look at a dirty window in the moments before I clean it and imagine what it’s going to look like clean,” he says. “When you clean windows on a house that haven’t been cleaned in months or years, it can be a profound experience. It changes everything.”
Rick started cleaning windows back in 1993 and has since expanded his business to include other home maintenance services, including house washing, driveway cleaning and sealing, gutter cleaning and installing holiday lights.
You know those stunning photos of gorgeous holiday interiors in home magazines and on Pinterest? One of the secrets is the reflection of holiday lights in crystal clear windows. This “prism effect” just can’t be achieved with dirty windows.
“Window cleaning is an art,” Rick says. “Eliminating dirt, grime and smudges without leaving streaks is virtually impossible with a bottle of glass cleaner and a paper towel. It takes specialized equipment and techniques.”
Gutter Cleaning
Right now the fall leaves are filling our gutters and they have to come out.
“Gutter cleaning is essential,” Rick says. “Overflowing gutters can cause expensive problems to your foundation and your basement. That’s why we even get in the nooks and crannies. I’ve been cleaning gutters for years and I know there’s a true science behind it. If we clean your gutters, they’re going to be free flowing when we leave. Water will be diverted where it’s supposed to be, not into your basement, and you won’t have mulch washing onto your driveway.”
Power Washing
Rick uses professional-grade, top-of-the-line power washing equipment that is both effective and safe for your siding, roof and concrete surfaces. Although Rolling Thunder pressure washes all kinds of homes, Rick specializes in the popular vinyl-sided homes found throughout Westlake, Avon, Avon Lake and surrounding communities.
And unlike large firms, you’ll actually see a key representative of the company on every job to make sure it’s done right.
“We’re a small, family-owned company and we have a 27-year reputation to protect,” he says. “We don’t take chances with quality or safety. This is difficult and dangerous work we do. I’m not going to send anybody on a job who’s not going to do it as properly and as safely as I would do it myself. And we’re fully insured, which—unfortunately—not every company is.”
Holiday Lighting
It’s not too early to start thinking about holiday lights, and Rolling Thunder offers full installation. They climb on the roof so you don’t have to. But, Rick says, he is almost booked for the upcoming season, so you should get on his schedule now.
The Rolling Thunder Window Cleaning offices are located at 33480 Liberty Parkway in North Ridgeville, but the company services homes throughout Northeast Ohio. For more information or to receive a free estimate, call 440-897-6317. The website is RollingThunderWC.com.