Homes & outdoor spaces / Local
Window cleaning
Clean agreed accessible windows within a method and height you can safely manage.
What to price before starting
Price suitable cleaning tools, protective equipment, transport and insurance.
Use your own written quotes, including recurring costs and the cash you could lose. Owning equipment does not establish customer demand.
Skills you must be able to demonstrate
Glass care, surface inspection and safe access planning.
Before the first payment
Confirm the exact windows, access limits and what happens when conditions are unsafe.
Keep the deliverable, exclusions, approvals and payment responsibility in writing. Do not treat a lead, an invoice or a promised reimbursement as money received.
Where this can go wrong
Falls, broken glass and damaged seals can outweigh a possible fee.
Requirements and refusal boundaries
Check local rules and insurance; exclude unsafe height or access work beyond your training.
Confirm the exact activity with the relevant authority and insurer. The references below explain general issues; they do not approve this individual service in your jurisdiction.
A lower-risk validation step
Practice on a safe ground-level window and document excluded conditions.
Set a stop condition before spending: what evidence would make you decline, change scope or stop? A practice sample should never expose another person's confidential material.
Primary checks
- SBA: licenses and permits
Activity and location determine permits; contact the issuing authority.
- IRS: self-employed tax center
US self-employment tax, return and recordkeeping guidance; no tax calculation is supplied here.
- OSHA: cleaning industry hazards
Chemical and workplace hazard guidance, not a declaration that all rules apply identically to sole proprietors.
References reviewed for this publication in November 2026. Rules can change. This entry contains no earnings estimate and makes no assurance of demand.