How often should commercial windows be cleaned?
As a general guide, most commercial premises in Dublin have their external windows cleaned monthly, with client-facing frontages such as shops, showrooms and hotel entrances cleaned fortnightly or weekly. Coastal premises and buildings on busy city centre roads need cleaning more often, because salt spray and traffic film settle on glass faster than in sheltered suburban locations.
Glass is the one part of a building that shows neglect from across the street. A reception can be spotless inside and still look tired if the windows have three months of road film on them, and that is the first thing a visitor sees before they reach your door.
This guide covers how often different types of premises actually need cleaning, what changes the price of a quote, how upper floor glass is reached safely, and the gap most businesses do not realise sits in their cleaning contract.
New Vision Cleaning is a Dublin based cleaning company working with businesses across Dublin and the surrounding counties. If you are earlier in the process and still comparing contractors, our guide on how to choose a commercial cleaning company in Dublin covers the checks worth making first.
Recommended frequency by premises type
There is no single right answer, because the correct frequency depends on how visible the glass is, how quickly it soils, and how much the appearance of the building matters to the business. These are the patterns we see most often across Dublin.
| Premises type | Typical frequency | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Shops and showrooms | Weekly to fortnightly | The frontage is the shop window in every sense, and street level glass soils fastest |
| Hotels and restaurants | Weekly to fortnightly | Guest-facing glass, entrance doors and handprints on a constant cycle |
| Offices, ground floor | Monthly | Visible to visitors and staff, exposed to road film and rain splash |
| Offices, upper floors | Monthly to quarterly | Less visible from the street, and access arrangements often set the schedule |
| Apartment block communal glass | Monthly to quarterly | Entrance doors, lobbies and stairwell glass, usually driven by the management agreement |
| Clinics and consulting rooms | Monthly | Presentation matters to patients and glass is often part of the hygiene impression |
| Warehouses and industrial units | Quarterly to twice yearly | Large panes, lower visibility, often more about daylight than appearance |
Dublin factors that shorten the interval
Two premises of the same type can genuinely need different schedules. Move the frequency up if any of the following apply to your building.
- Coastal exposurePremises near the bay, from Clontarf and Howth round to Blackrock and Dun Laoghaire, pick up salt spray that dries into a visible film far faster than inland glass.
- Heavy traffic frontageBuildings on main routes and busy city centre streets collect traffic film continuously, and it is noticeably worse at ground and first floor level.
- Nearby constructionActive building work anywhere close by puts fine dust on glass that rain then streaks. If a site opens next door, expect to increase frequency until it closes.
- Trees and plantingSap, pollen and bird activity around mature trees will mark glass between scheduled cleans, particularly in spring.
- High footfall entrancesGlass doors and side panels around a busy entrance are handprint magnets and often need attention between full cleans.
What affects the price of commercial window cleaning
Commercial window cleaning is priced on the number and size of panes, the height of the highest glass, the access method needed to reach it safely, and how often the clean repeats. Two buildings with the same floor area can be quoted very differently if one is a simple two storey frontage and the other has glass at fourth floor level over a pedestrian street.
For that reason there is no standard price list for commercial window cleaning, and any figure quoted before someone has looked at the building is an estimate rather than a price. The section below sets out what moves a quote up or down, so you know what you are being asked about.
Why the first clean can cost more
If glass has not been touched in a long time, the first visit is a restorative clean rather than a maintenance one, and it often takes two or three times as long. Contractors sometimes quote that initial clean separately from the ongoing schedule. Ask which you are being quoted for, so you are comparing the same thing across providers.
How high level windows are cleaned safely
Most commercial window cleaning in Dublin is now carried out with water fed poles, which use purified water and allow glass to be cleaned from ground level to several storeys without ladders. The water is filtered to remove the minerals that leave spots, so the glass dries clear with no detergent and no squeegee marks.
Beyond pole reach, the job becomes a work at height activity and the method matters a great deal.
| Method | Typically used for | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Water fed pole | Ground level up to several storeys | Operator stays on the ground, no detergent, minimal disruption to the building |
| Traditional squeegee | Internal glass, doors and low reachable panes | Still the best finish for internal work and detailed frontages |
| Powered access platform | High glass with firm ground and space to set up | Needs a trained operator, and often a permit if the street is involved |
| Cradle or building system | Tall buildings with installed access equipment | Only usable where the building already has a certified system in place |
| Rope access | Tall or awkward elevations with no platform space | Specialist certified work, arranged in advance rather than on a routine schedule |
Work at height is governed by health and safety law and enforced in Ireland by the Health and Safety Authority. Whatever method is proposed, a contractor working above ground level should be able to produce a risk assessment and method statement, commonly called RAMS, before the first visit. If you are a landlord, a managing agent or a facilities manager, that paperwork is not a formality. It is the document that shows the work was planned rather than improvised.
- A quote for upper floor glass with no mention of how it will be reached.
- Ladder work proposed for anything a pole could reach.
- No risk assessment or method statement offered for work above ground level.
- No public liability insurance certificate produced when asked.
- A price for a tall building that looks the same as a two storey one.
The gap in most cleaning contracts
Internal glass such as partitions, glass doors and reception screens is normally included in a routine commercial cleaning contract, while external window cleaning is usually quoted as a separate periodic service. A lot of businesses assume that having a cleaning contract means their windows are handled. Frequently it does not.
The reason is practical rather than commercial. External work needs different equipment, a different frequency and often a different time of day to a daily or weekly office clean. It sits on its own schedule because it behaves differently.
| Usually in the routine cleaning contract | Usually a separate window cleaning schedule |
|---|---|
| Internal partition glass | All external glass and frames |
| Glass doors and reception screens | Upper floor and high level glass |
| Interior side of ground floor windows | Shop frontages and entrance canopies |
| Mirrors and splashbacks | Atrium, skylight and roof glass |
| Spot cleaning of handprints | Restorative first cleans after neglect or building work |
Worth checking too: after a refurbishment or fit-out, glass usually needs a specialist clean to remove plaster splashes, adhesive residue and protective film, and that is normally part of an after builders cleaning scope rather than the routine window schedule.
Commercial window cleaning across Dublin
New Vision Cleaning works with businesses across Dublin city centre, North Dublin, South Dublin and the surrounding counties, from single unit premises to multi-tenant buildings. Our own base is in Blanchardstown in Dublin 15.
Glass is usually cleaned alongside a wider arrangement rather than on its own. Most of our clients combine it with commercial cleaning services, whether that is office cleaning Dublin for a workplace or hotel cleaning for hospitality premises.
Getting an accurate quote
Before you contact anyone, note the number of storeys, roughly how many panes you have, whether internal glass is needed, and how a vehicle would access the building. Send the same details to everyone you approach and the quotes you get back will actually be comparable. Contact New Vision Cleaning for a free assessment and a written quote.