The housing market has changed dramatically over the years. This is especially true of the design of homes compared to years ago. Years ago the average size home ranged anywhere from 1,200 square feet to possibly 1,800 square feet, which for the most part were one story floor plans. Today it is not unusual for the average family to live in homes in the 2,500 square feet to 3,000 square feet range with many others in the 3,000 square feet to 4,500 square feet range and most of these are two story floor plans.

Years ago the average homeowner did not find it a challenge to perform prevetative maintenance chores around the home. The task of changing a light bulb to painting the house were for the most part within his reach. However that too has changed! Due to the fact that most dwellings are two story structures, even the task of changing a high ceiling light bulb or cleaning a higher than normal light fixture becomes a risky endeavor. Another change that I personally have noticed in the design of homes is the amount of windows through out the floor plans of today's homes. Ten years ago my home was not only a one story 1,600 square feet structure but it also only had 15 windows with 5 screens that the average person could clean at a whim. My current home in south Orange County is 2 story 3,150 square feet and has 60 windows with 25 screens. That is not unusual for Orange County! The increase of what it takes to maintain a home today brings with it the need to be careful of how to go about it. That is why for example window washing companies are in such high demand. The average homeowner is not about to climb a 24ft. ladder to clean his high windows and screens due to risk of injury.

Of the many different types of trades and services it takes to maintain a home, to keep it presentable and to keep it's value up are the services of window washing, pressure washing, bird pest control, chandelier and exterior light fixture cleaning and rain gutter cleaning and repair. These are services that our company provides. We thank you for taking the time out to get acquainted with us.

Window Cleaning and Other Services

We at Fred Murrieta Building Maintenance are proud of our 20 years of home maintenance. In a day when time is money, you find that this is the mentality of many window cleaning companies, ours is not the concern so much of getting in and out of your home to get to the next job as it is to leave you highly satisfied with our visit. Ours is one of the fewest window washing companies that sends to your home a supervised crew of 3 to 4 well trained personnel with on the average 5 to 10 years of experience each in residential home cleaning maintenance. Most window washing companies will send out one, maybe two individuals. Many of these with very little experience in a high end or upper scale home cleaning environment. A 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 sq.ft. house is a big undertaking for 1 or 2 persons to clean. If your home is their 2nd stop of the day you can well imagine how tired they might be. At this point time is money. More than likely they'll just rush through it. We believe in the saying that haste makes waste and so we direct our crew to work with that in mind. With a crew of 3 to 4 personnel the work load is well shared so that at the end of the day we are still "whistling Dixie". The advantage of having 3 to 4 personnel helps also when someone needs another to help steady or spot him on a ladder and other similar needs. Each individual is dedicated to a particular aspect of the cleaning process. One person is dedicated to taking off the screens and separating them so that the screens go back onto the window that it came off of. He proceeds to wash the screens with a soft bristle brush and soapy solution (biodegradable and friendly to plants) and then rinses and dries them. Minor repairs on screens can be made at the homeowners request. Another team member is dedicated to vacuuming all the interior window tracks and runners and following through with a mild wash where there are stubborn stains. He also will carefully move any furniture that is in the way and see to it that it is put back in it's place. A third person will wash the exterior windows and put the screens back on as he goes from one window to the other. A fourth team member will clean all the interior widows working behind the crew member that is vacuuming. Both individuals will start upstairs and work their way to the downstairs windows. Many have often commented on how well orchestrated our cleaning of windows is. However, before anything happens, before anyone enters your home, what takes place first is what we have practiced for years and what really impresses especially the ladies: We put paper booties over our shoes to protect your flooring and carpet. If there is need to bring in a ladder to clean high windows, white cloth tape is placed over the soft rubber tips of the ladders to protect your walls, flooring and carpet.

Over the years many homeowners have commented favorably on the care and concern we display when entering their home and have often wondered how our cleaning process developed to what it is today. We first started cleaning windows many years ago for home developers. We have been on the vendor list of Lennar Homes of Orange County, Taylor Woodrow, Warminton Homes, Greystone Homes, California Pacific, Fieldstone Homes and Standard Pacific. Over the years we've done new home construction window cleaning for these companies. Primarily we've been assigned to the pre move-in window cleaning phase of new home construction. This entails detailing the windows prior to the new homeowners inspection or walk-thru. Project Managers, Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents need the windows looking there best before the walk-thru by the new homeowner. So we are called upon to deliver the home in a clean and spotless manner. The cleaning process we've developed over the years in pre move-in cleaning has been carried over into our residential cleaning. And that explains why our residential clientele are so happy to have us clean there windows. Because when we leave there home after detailing and cleaning their windows, it reminds them of what their home looked like when it was new. We are also on the vendor list of Merit Property Management, Action Property Management, Villageway Property Management, Keystone Pacific, Seabreeze Property Management, Coldwell Banker and others. These property management companies are confident of our quality and are happy to recommend us.

What is our actual technique for cleaning residential windows? It is the conventional applicator and squeegee method (the most preferred by homeowners). This too separates us from most window washing companies. How So? Most use the ionized water applicator method. This entails scrubbing the exterior window with deionized water through an extension wand or telescope pole and instead of squeezing the window dry, the water is allowed to drip dry. This process was developed years ago for commercial tilt up buildings and is very well suited for that type of application. We in fact use it on our commercial accounts. However, the personal touch of window cleaning a home is lost when using this method. Most homeowners are not aware of the disadvantages of using deionized water on their windows. The tanks that filter the water need to be charged on regular basis, otherwise blotches and spots will appear. Water is left behind on the window sills, tracks and runners to dry by itself. The hoses that are dragged around the house as the windows are being washed often disturb the plants, sprinkler heads and Malibu garden lights. The amount of water that falls to the ground, sidewalk or walkway is usually excessive and increases the chances of someone tracking into the home with wet feet and wet equipment. The conventional applicator and squeegee method is the most preferred because it allows each window to be washed and dried individually by hand. There is no mess or residue left behind. This is the method we will use on your home.

The professional approach when working around your home is also given when cleaning your chandeliers and other light fixtures, cleaning wooden blinds and shutters, pressure washing exterior surfaces of your home, cleaning and flushing your rain gutters and down spouts as well as when dealing with any bird pest problems you may have.

Safety, Training, and Equipment

Mention the tasks of Window Washing, Pressure Washing, Bird Pest Control, Rain Gutter Cleaning and Chandelier Cleaning and concern will soon be raised regarding Health and Safety. You will be pleased that at Fred Murrieta Building Maintenance the Health and Safety of our personnel is at the top of the priority list. That is why we send a crew of sufficient personnel to a home or building, given the sometimes precarious situations in which we work We are also in compliance with SB198 (IIPP), Injury and Illness Prevention Program. Another key feature in ensuring our employees are fully aware of their responsibilities is to provide adequate Training. Not only does this include methods of operation and best practices, but also the vital safety training which is given at regular intervals. All our ladders are commercial rated. All ladders are checked on a daily basis to ensure that they function properly.