Marsh Window Cleaning

Summers are traditionally crumby for me because so many of my customers are out of town on vacation. And since this is the home of the Florida Gators, they are waiting for the first football party to serve as the incentive for a major house cleaning. But this summer has actually been pretty good. We picked up a lot of new customers, and people are getting more things done since we offer so many pressure washing services now.

If you are still putting off you window cleaning, you still might get a lot of your pressure washing out of the way now. After all, as the holidays get closer, it may be harder to squeeze in big projects during that season’s rush. And a big part of that should be getting your rain gutters cleaned out. There is still some wet weather ahead, and those gutters had better be able to keep the heavy downpours from filling them up and backing up under your shingles! I should know. It’s happened to me.

We spent last week at Miami Beach to recharge our batteries. I had never been there before, and we really enjoyed the local scene. Of course, that is when so many people returned my phone calls and emails from many days gone by. I hope you are still in need of window cleaning, cuz we are ready to get back to work!

Don’t get the wrong idea. Gutter cleaning is a very small part of my business. But I am doing more of it and I am learning from observing. After cleaning out someone’s gutters, I sometimes discover that they still don’t drain. Sometimes it’s because the downspouts have turns and bends that make it hard for debris to be passed through the system. For instance, this gutter was just cleaned out by the owners. However, water still won’t go down! Then it overruns the sides of the gutter like a waterfall.

In this case, I believe the horizontal downspout is full of debris to a level that impedes the water flow. In other cases, I have seen downspouts that are buried in the ground, making it difficult to clean it out.

I used to refuse to do these jobs. But since then I have figured out how to do these pretty efficiently and safely. It just took some getting used to.

The debris in this gutter has been there for about a year. It’s quite heavy. And there are braces inside the gutter that keep the stuff from just flowing straight out. After this part of the job, I have to blow it off the screen, too, and then clean the dirty deck below.

I just want to thank all my customers who saw fit to make sure I stayed busy this week. Some of you had power washing that I could do. Some of you let us do the inside windows until the weather clears up and we can get to the outside. And some of you have had your windows cleaned for years and are aware that the rain doesn’t get windows dirty; dirt does. Every one of you was an important part of keeping us going this week, and we are grateful!

Sorry it took awhile to get back on this. I just want to say that, regardless of my differences with Tires Plus about what they charge for services, their corporate website is very useful for getting someone to get right on your problem. While I was still fuming over the event I had with their store on 13th Street I went to the site and used the contact form to unload on them about my experience. Within 20 minutes I had a phone call from the store manager, and he was eager to make reparations. I stopped in the next morning and he refunded the difference ($137 and change) and said that he hoped that I would consider continuing to do business with them.

Even with the swift action and refund, I am still going to seek out another garage because even the adjusted price is one that I think can be beaten by someone else by a pretty good margin. However, if you have been a satisfied Tires Plus customer, and you ever have a problem with them, go to the corporate web site and let ‘er rip. It has been my experience that most corporate web sites are nothing more than glitzy billboards in cyberspace, and that hearing back from someone is a rare thing. In this way, they have truly distinguished themselves.

I seldom put this sort of information on my blog, but I am feeling so burned by this particular dealer that I am going to do my part to make them infamous. I have spent thousands of dollars at a local Tires Plus shop on NW 13 Street over the years. The relationship is OVER permanently. I am now searching for another place where my family can get its 3 vehicles serviced, which we do often. I have used them in the past largely because of the convenience of being able to walk there to pick up my car. Now I see that I can probably arrange for limousine service to go to another garage with the money I could be saving.

Any suggestions are welcome in the comments section.

I don’t do too many of these. At least, I leave the really steep ones to other people. But I felt pretty safe on this one. The finished product is shown below, after about 2 and 1/2 hours…

Of course, there was a lot more to this roof than this, but this was the worst of it.

Many of my customers ask me how my business is doing. After I tell them, they often reveal how worried they are about the future. They frequently know someone who is on the rocks, or can tell me that they are not so hot themselves.

This Thursday night there is a live event being simulcast to over 6000 locations. There are 11 of those locations in our town.The event is called Town Hall for Hope, and it is being presented by Dave Ramsey, the personal finance guru with a very popular radio show. I’ll cut to the chase:

Locations:

• Harvest Christian Church

  4820 NW 34th St

  Gainesville, FL 32605 Map

  http://www.hccgainesville.org
  

• Vineyard Christian Fellowship

  3536 NW 8th Ave

  Gainesville, FL 32605 Map

  http://www.vineyardgainesville.org
  

• 1st Assembly of God - Gainesville, FL

  2925 NW 39 Avenue

  Gainesville, FL 32605 Map

  http://www.first-assembly.org/
  

  Notes:
  If possible, please RSVP if you are attending to Craig Morrison (352) 317-8992. Thank you.

• Westside Baptist Church

  10000 W. Newberry Road

  Gainesville, FL 32606 Map

  http://www.westsidebaptist.org
  Notes:
  Westside will host the Town Hall For Hope in the church’s Choir Rehearsal Room. Enter via the double doors on the west side of the main building and turn left in the first hallway. The room will be on the left. *Childcare is not available for this event.

• Abundant Grace Community Church

  12505 NW 39th Avenue

  Gainesville, FL 32606 Map

  http://www.abundantgracecc.org
  

• Grace United Methodist

  9325 Newberry Rd.

  Gainesville, FL 32606 Map

  http://www.gracefl.org
  

• Trinity United Methodist Church

  4000 NW 53rd Avenue

  Gainesville, FL 32653 Map

  http://www.trinitygnv.org
  

• Holy Faith Catholic Church

  747 NW 43rd Street

  Gainesville, FL 32607 Map

  http://holyfaithchurch.org/default.aspx
  

• Legacy Baptist Church

  255 South Main St

  Alachua, FL 32615 Map

  

  Notes:
  This building is AKA The Alachua Women’s Club. Childcare will be provided. Do not use the mapquest format. Please call for directions. 352-494-6636

• First Baptist Church, Alachua

  14005 NW 146 Ave.

  Alachua, FL 32615 Map

  http://www.fbcalachua.com
  

• union baptist church

  6259 se 75 ave

  newberry, FL 32669 Map

  

Once in awhile, Don the window cleaner just needs to get away. My wife, Cindi, and I did just that with a quick trip to our closest resort city, St. Augustine Beach. I just cannot get enough of the ocean, so I take every opportunity to go even if it’s just to feel salt water between my toes. I get up early while the sun is still coming up, and just take in the sea air, listen to the surf and the sea birds, and walk in the waves.

For our accommodations, we stayed at La Fiesta on A1A. It’s a locally owned and operated beach resort with rooms for 2 going from $109 to $159 for something that actually faces the water. I just needed to be able to walk to the water, so we took the lesser option. I talked to another guest later on who said he booked his rook on Expedia and saved 50%. Live and learn.

The room had a couple of twin beds, a microwave, fridge, and coffee maker, and a view of the putter golf place next door. That was fine. I was there for beach access. As an added bonus, there was a heated pool and the water was just right. And that’s a good thing because the water in the ocean is still pretty cold.

After checking out Sunday we went into town and walked around until we got hungry. Some friends had recommended a Greek restaurant on the street called Athena’s. It was a very old building, and they seemed to be grandfathered into a time when restrooms were not required. The quick review is: Service/slow, Gyro/excellent, Lamb Souvlaki/marginal, Water/awful, Prices/ fair. I guess we didn’t choose well.

We also roamed around a couple of galleries that were on the same block. I wish I could remember the name of the artist in this one, but the building featured three stories of his amazing work. All in all, it was a relaxing weekend, and I will get on with returning your calls ASAP!