BREREI NordWest – Gebäude- & Industriereinigung
Cleaning large office windows with a washer and squeegee

Glass cleaning in Bremen: glass surfaces, frames and the way up

Glass cleaning concerns a component and not only a pane: frame, rebate cavity and seals determine whether a glass surface stays clean in the long term.

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Discuss your glass surfaces

Category
Glass and facade cleaning
Reachable
Mo–Fr 07:30–17:30 Uhr
Site visit
Free of charge, on site
0421 87757597Discuss your glass surfaces

In short

Glass cleaning covers more than the pane: frame, rebate cavity and seals decide whether a glass surface stays clean in the long term, because that is where aggressive dirt collects. The usual methods are hand work with applicator and squeegee, and cleaning with demineralised water. Mineral deposits already burnt into the glass can no longer be removed by cleaning.

Problem und Lösung

The challenge

Glass cleaning is the most visible cleaning service in the building. No other surface is assessed so directly and so often – by the customer in front of the shop window, by staff at their workplace, by the tenant in the stairwell. The four common complaints all have a technical cause: panes that soon look cloudy again because a surfactant-based cleaner leaves a dust-binding film or because a mineral deposit was never removed at all; cleaned glass with untouched frames; streaks because the cleaning solution dried on in direct sunlight; and porous seals with oxidising frames because the rebate cavity was not cleaned for years.

Our solution

What is recorded first is what exists: which glass surfaces are present inside and outside, how they can be reached and whether a coating or film has been applied. The component depth is then defined – glass alone, glass with frame, or glass with frame and rebate cavity – and the method is derived from it, as access permits. With demineralised water, water treatment including its maintenance is part of the service, because an exhausted resin bed or a worn filter produces exactly the spots that the method is meant to avoid. The interval is set per surface type, not for the building as a whole.

Scope of service

  • The subject of the contract is the property-specific schedule of services, which names the glass surfaces and the respective component depth.
  • Window glass inside and outside: cleaning of the glass surface including the edge zones.
  • Frames: cleaning of the frame profile inside and outside, in aluminium, plastic and timber.
  • Rebate cavity and seal: removal of the dirt from the rebate area, plus gentle treatment and care of the seal.
  • Window sills inside and outside: wet cleaning, where access is clear.
  • Shop windows and entrance glazing: cleaning in the closed state or before opening.
  • Glass partitions and internal doors: both sides, including finger marks in the handle area.
  • Glass facades and mullion-and-transom constructions: cleaning of the building envelope with the method that reachability permits.
  • Glass roofs, rooflights and sawtooth roofs: only with safe access; biological deposits are the norm here.
  • Louvres, external venetian blinds, venetian blinds and conservatories: a separate module with a brush system or by removing them for cleaning – to be tendered as an item in its own right, not as an ancillary service.

Typical subservices

  • Window cleaning inside and outside
  • Shop windows and entrance glazing
  • Glass facades and mullion-and-transom facades
  • Internal glazing and glass partitions
  • Rooflights and glass roofs
  • Louvres, external venetian blinds and conservatories

Suitable for

  • Retail and branches – shop windows as selling space, cleaning before the shop opens, often in the same rhythm as the window display.
  • Office buildings and administrations – internal glazing, glass partitions, mullion-and-transom facades; demand follows the external appearance of the building.
  • Car dealerships – large continuous glass fronts with a representational requirement and standing areas that can take a piece of equipment.
  • Practices and law firms – manageable areas, a high requirement for discretion, cleaning outside operating hours.
  • Commercial properties with a glass facade – scheduled cleaning of the building envelope; here access technology determines the workload.
  • Rooflights and glass roofs – a special case with biological growth and the requirement of safe access.

Your advantages

Tailored to this service – aligned with site and industry.

  • Cleaning protects, it does not repair

    Once mineral deposits have reacted with the glass surface – commonly called glass burn – no cleaning helps any more, only glass refurbishment or replacement of the pane. Naming this boundary openly is part of the advice; anyone who promises to wipe it away promises something that is technically impossible.

  • Frame and rebate cavity as the site of damage

    What is at risk is not the pane but its surround: acidic dirt collects in the rebate cavity over years, the seal becomes brittle, water penetrates, aluminium profiles oxidise. This only becomes visible once the damage has occurred.

  • Interval per surface type

    A shop window follows commercial interest, internal glazing follows finger marks, an external facade follows the weather and a rooflight follows growth. Those are four different rhythms, not one shared rhythm for the building.

Process

How your project runs

  1. 1

    Record the glass surfaces

    Inside and outside, height, reachability and any existing coatings or films are recorded – without this schedule, every quotation remains an estimate.

  2. 2

    Define the component depth

    Glass alone, glass with frame, or glass with frame and rebate cavity are three different workloads and three different results.

  3. 3

    Choose the method according to access

    Hand work with applicator and squeegee is the more precise method and makes sense inside, on glass partitions and wherever the surface can be reached. Demineralised water via telescopic poles is intended for external and high-level surfaces that can be reached from the ground.

  4. 4

    Clarify access, standing area and road space

    What is required is a load-bearing, clear standing area close to the work. If the equipment stands in the public road space, a no-stopping zone or a special-use permit is added; whoever applies for that belongs in the contract.

  5. 5

    Record the interval per surface type

    The schedule of services sets out a separate rhythm for each surface type; for special surfaces an event-related deployment remains possible.

Methods and equipment

  • Hand work with applicator and squeegee: the cleaning solution is applied, then drawn off in strips and the edges followed up with a cloth – the more precise method, because the cleaning step is carried out in a controlled way.
  • Demineralised water via telescopic poles: mains water is demineralised through an ion exchanger and brought onto the surface with a water-fed brush; the glass dries in the air.
  • What matters is the water quality, not the pole: only demineralised water dries without residue. An exhausted resin bed or a worn filter produces exactly the spots that the method is meant to avoid.
  • Maintenance of the water treatment is therefore part of the service and not an accessory – resin and filters belong in the description of the contract.
  • The choice of method follows accessibility and not quality: both get the glass clean, the difference lies in access, speed and follow-up inspection.
  • In direct sunlight the cleaning solution dries on before it is taken off; the time of work is therefore part of the method and not merely a scheduling question.
  • Osmosis and pure water are the market names for the same process described here as demineralised water: tap water is demineralised through an ion exchanger or a reverse-osmosis unit. What is meant is a water quality, not a particular device — an osmosis unit with a spent resin bed or a worn filter leaves exactly the marks the process is supposed to prevent.

Technical and legal framework

This service sits within a framework of statutory duties, technical rulebooks and operational practice. The distinction matters because it determines who is responsible for what.

Glass burn is irreversible
Rainwater that runs over concrete, cement or sand-lime brick surfaces and then drips down glass leaves mineral deposits. As long as they lie on the surface, they can be removed. After prolonged exposure they react with the glass surface and become part of it; this condition is commonly called glass burn. After that no cleaning helps any more, only glass refurbishment or replacement of the pane. Regular cleaning is the only effective prevention and is therefore protection of the fabric, not a cosmetic item.
Frame, rebate cavity and seal
If only the glass surface is cleaned, acidic dirt collects in the rebate cavity over years. The seal becomes brittle, water penetrates, and oxidation sets in on aluminium frames. The damage arises invisibly and is only noticed once it has occurred. Whether the frame is cleaned as well is therefore not a question of specification but a question of maintenance.
Coated glass and films
Modern glazing carries functional coatings – solar control, thermal insulation, self-cleaning layers. They are sensitive to abrasive cleaning equipment and to strong alkaline or acidic cleaners. Because the glass surface does not reveal this, manufacturer specifications for the glazing take precedence over any industry rule; their effect arises through the purchase contract, not as a statute. Professional review of the manufacturer's specifications in their full text is required. Removing films and lettering is a separate category of work and belongs in the schedule of services as an item in its own right.
Work at height
Work at height is governed by a different set of rules than any other cleaning service. The Operational Safety Ordinance requires a risk assessment and the selection of suitable equipment; it is a statutory requirement. The associated Technical Rule TRBS 2121 fleshes out these requirements – it is not a rule of law in the strict sense, but it does carry a presumption effect. For member businesses of the Berufsgenossenschaft (the German statutory accident insurer for the trade sector), DGUV Vorschrift 1 is binding. Professional review of the Technical Rule in its full text is required. In practice it is access, not reach, that must determine the choice of method.
Road space below the work area
If a piece of equipment stands in the public road space, a liability situation arises from the duty of care towards persons on the premises under the German Civil Code – dripping water, falling tools, closed-off routes. Depending on the surface, road traffic requirements are added, such as a no-stopping zone or a special-use permit. Standing areas and traffic safety are therefore planning elements in which the client has a say.

The rulebooks named here describe requirements for how the work is carried out – they are not a certification held by BREREI. VDI and DIN normative texts are chargeable and were not available in full; where a statement touches the normative detail, this is noted in place.

What determines the interval

  • Shop windows and entrance glazing: here it is the external impression that sets the rhythm, not the dirt.
  • Internal glazing and glass partitions: finger marks and contact surfaces in daily use, but less exposure to weather.
  • Windows in workrooms: daylight admission and a sense of hygiene; outside, additionally dependent on the weather.
  • Glass facades outside: driving rain direction, proximity to trees, exhaust and dust exposure, closeness to water bodies.
  • Rooflights and glass roofs: the rhythm follows biological growth – moss, algae, bird droppings – not the calendar.
  • Conservatories and louvre surfaces: a high proportion of frame and joints; with louvres the workload scales with the number of blades, not with the area.
  • The surroundings of the surface: construction activity nearby, the type of use of the property and installations that cause deposits.

What determines the effort and the quotation

  • Glass area and frame length as the base quantity – frame length is the underestimated factor.
  • Component depth of the scope of service: glass alone, glass with frame, glass with frame and rebate cavity.
  • Accessibility: it decides the method and therefore the time required.
  • Access technology: telescopic pole, access platform or scaffolding differ considerably in workload and set-up time.
  • Number and size of the individual surfaces: many small surfaces are more demanding than one large surface of the same total area.
  • Glazing bars, divisions and glass blocks: every interruption costs additional passes; with louvres the workload scales with the number of blades.
  • Type of soiling: biological deposits and bird droppings are more demanding than dust.
  • Time window, barriers and traffic safety, plus water treatment if work is carried out with demineralised water.

Applicable standards and regulations

  • Operational Safety Ordinance (BetrSichV)
  • German Civil Code (BGB) – duty of care towards persons on the premises (§ 823)
  • Road traffic law (StVO / Land road law)
  • DGUV Vorschrift 1 (binding accident-prevention regulation for member businesses)
  • Technical Rule TRBS 2121 (not a rule of law, but carrying a presumption effect)
  • DGUV Information on the use of ladders and steps
  • Manufacturer specifications for glazing, coating and film

These references describe the requirements the work is performed against. They are not a certification, inspection or approval held by BREREI.

Frequently asked questions about this service

Short answers to help you assess whether this service fits your site.

When is pure water used, and when is the work done by hand?

That is decided not by preference but by access. Hand work with applicator and squeegee is the more precise method and is used inside, on glass partitions and wherever the surface can be reached. Working with demineralised water via telescopic poles is intended for external surfaces and heights that can be reached from the ground; the advantage is that the glass dries in the air without residue. What you should specify in the tender: that water treatment including maintenance is part of the contract, because an exhausted resin bed produces the spots that the method is meant to avoid.

Why should frames, rebate cavities and seals be cleaned as well?

Because that is where the dirt ends up that destroys the component. If only the pane is cleaned, acidic dirt collects in the rebate cavity over years. The rubber seal becomes brittle, water penetrates, and aluminium profiles oxidise. The damage is invisible from outside for a long time, until it has occurred. Frame cleaning is therefore not an additional service but maintenance – and it is the item on which cheap quotations regularly save.

Can limescale runs and burnt-in deposits be removed by cleaning?

Only as long as they lie on the surface. Fresh mineral deposits can be taken off with an acidic specialist treatment. Once they have reacted with the glass over a longer period – a condition called glass burn – they have become part of the surface. Then no cleaning helps any more, only glass refurbishment or replacement of the pane. That is why regular cleaning is the only effective prevention.

How is the cleaning of louvres, venetian blinds and conservatories calculated?

Not by area. With louvres, external venetian blinds and venetian blinds the workload scales with the number of blades, because each blade has two sides to be cleaned and has to be reached individually. A small area with a high number of blades is therefore more demanding than a large glass surface. The same applies to conservatories: there it is the proportion of frame and joints that dominates, not the glass surface. What you should specify in the tender: to name such modules expressly as an item in their own right – otherwise they are overlooked from both sides.

Which access technology is needed, and who organises the no-stopping zone and the standing area?

That depends on the height and the reachability: telescopic pole from the ground, access platform, scaffolding or rope access. In every case the client has to provide or clarify two things – a load-bearing, clear standing area close to the work and, if the equipment stands in the public road space, the required no-stopping zone or special-use permit. Who submits the application and with what lead time should be recorded in the contract. Without this clarification it is the appointment that shifts, not the quality.

How often should which glass surface be cleaned?

There is no uniform rhythm, because glass surfaces differ far more than rooms do. A shop window follows commercial interest, office internal glazing follows finger marks, a glass facade follows exposure to weather and rooflights follow biological growth. What makes sense is therefore an interval per surface type in the schedule of services – usually a high frequency for shop windows and entrance glazing, a medium one for windows and internal glazing, and an event-related deployment for roofs and special surfaces.

Related services

Industries where this service is used

The industry page sets out which requirements apply there.

In-depth guides

Technical and legal classification of the topic — for operators preparing a decision.

Request glass cleaning

What matters is not the area but how you get to it. Helpful for a sound quotation: an overview of the glass surfaces inside and outside with height and means of access, details of coatings or films, and the information whether a standing area for equipment is available.

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