"Glass Act"

This window washer takes great pains with your panes.

By Kathleen Doane

Photograph by Carmen Nauseef

Michael McCarthy
Window Washer
Triangle Cleaning Service, Bellevue
Contact: (859) 581-4422

Meet the Pro >> Sixteen years ago Michael McCarthy took over Triangle Cleaning Service, a company founded by his grandfather, Ralph Vater, in 1946. McCarthy had been CEO-in-training for most of his life, tagging along on jobs with his grandfather and his father, Steve, and learning early on that cleaning a dirty window was a drop in the bucket when it comes to making a small business thrive.

Skill Set >> McCarthy claims the most important part of being a first-class window washer isn’t learning to wield a squeegee, it’s relating to customers. “You’re often working inside people’s homes, and you have to be respectful of their property,” he says. Still, he claims he has the perfect formula for a streak-free window: “It’s water with a little Palmolive dish washing detergent.” For tinted glass, water and baby shampoo. “None of the commercial cleaners work as well.”

Above and Beyond >> Although the lion’s share of Triangle’s business is residential window cleaning, McCarthy and crew also do new construction cleanup. “People want a brand new home spotless when they move in,” he says. Despite off-and-on rain showers, house party and wedding reception hosts demand spotless windows for their big events. “Yes, we’ve been known to wash the same windows three times within a day.”

Personal Best >> The hardest part of the job? “Cleaning atrium windows in new homes that are often 20 to 30 feet from the floor and impossible for the homeowner to reach,” McCarthy says. “What was the builder thinking?” Working in a 19th century house can be just as daunting. “We do a couple of what I call the castles of Clifton,” he says. “Those have towers and turrets with windows, but old glass is harder and cleans up beautifully.”

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