Join us April 20th in our California location as we celebrate with you all the 2013 Window Cleaning Season! This event is free to attend and theres always lots to learn as well as lots of giveaways and demos.

We will also be hosting one in our California location April 16th.

SCHEDULE

8:30am – 9:00am Introductory by John DePalma

9:00am – 10:00am Aileen Cleary Unger

10:00am – 11:00am Larry Green Safety Training

11:00am – 11:30am Rich Westor Core Products

11:30am – 12:30pm AC Lockyer Soft Wash

12:30pm – 1:30pm Lunch

1:30pm – 2:30pm F9 BARC Presentation (Experienced Applicator Demonstrate)

2:30pm – 2:45pm StonePro Video on Natural Stone Counter Top Problem solving

2:45pm – 3:30pm Steve Blyth WFP Tips

3:30pm – 4:00pm Raffle

RSVP:

Pattie Johnson
800-221-3748 x 303
pattie.johnson@jracenstein.com

Join us April 16th in our California location as we celebrate with you all the 2013 Window Cleaning Season! This event is free to attend and theres always lots to learn as well as lots of giveaways and demos.

We will also be hosting one in our New Jersey location April 20th.

SCHEDULE

8:00am  – 8:15 Steve Blyth Introduction

8:15am  – 9:00 Steve Blyth  Water-fed Pole tips

9:00am  – 10:00 Rob Fairfield StonePro – Natural Stone Counter Top Problem  Solving

10:00am  – 10:30 Phil Moerman Americas Introduce new line of window cleaning tools

10:30am  – 11:00 Carlos Gonzalez EnvirobioCleaner Introducing EBC for Concrete Cleaning

11:00am  – 12:00 AC Lockyer Soft Wash Roof Cleaning

12:00pm – 1:00 Lunch

1:00pm – 2:00 – Craig Front Line Presentation Concrete & Stucco Video

2:00pm – 2:30 – Rich Westor Core Products

2:30pm – 3:30 – Harold Giddish High Rise Safety

3:30pm – 4:00 Raffles & Giveaways!

4:00pm – 5:00 WFP and Purification Demo’s

Window Cleaning Contest- 6 Contestant spots open for 2 contests

Fastest Hose Wrap Competition – 6 Contestant spots open

LOCATION:

J.Racenstein CA Office
20925 Chico Street
Carson, CA 90746

DATE: April 16th, 2013
TIME: 8:00am – 5:00pm

COST: FREE

RSVP: Pattie Johnson
800-221-3748 x 303
pattie.johnson@jracenstein.com

Click here to RSVP on Facebook

Click here to order

A great little gift idea made by one of our customers who wanted to give back some props to the hard workin’ window washers of the world. This is a custom photo frame, perfect for desktop display and really easy to use: Just push the image out the back and pop in a 1.5″ by 2” pic of your favorite window expert!

This product was handmade by a seasoned window washer over the rainy break, it has Old-World charm and rugged good looks, just like a window washer!

Buy it for a friend, buy it for yourself, or just casually leave this page of the website open for someone else to discover, Whoops! who left that there?

Either way, its about time people noticed how much the world really loves its window washers!

Fits 1.5 x 2in photo. Frame stands 4inches tall by 2.75inches wide.

Register Today for the IWCA Safety Training in Columbus, Ohio, April 19

The IWCA Safety Training Seminar provides your workers with comprehensive safety training, giving your company the edge it needs to succeed in the window cleaning industry. Preventing accidents through proper training not only reduces your liability, but also improves worker performance and quality of workmanship.

The IWCA Safety Training Seminar provides both extensive classroom training and hands-on instruction of boom-lift safety, ladder safety and self-rescue techniques. Each participant will have the opportunity for one-on-one instruction on proper safety procedures under the direction of qualified safety trainers. The next seminar is Friday, April 19 at the Doubletree Hotel Columbus/Worthington in Columbus, Ohio.

Don’t miss our vendor Open House and Reception the Night before. You can make your hotel reservations by calling 800-870-0349 and ask for the IWCA special rate of $105 plus tax.

The deadline for this rate is April 3, 2013. Please reserve your hotel room before April 3.

Register online today or download the Columbus Safety Training brochure now.

Purchase Your Summary of Glass Committee Bulletin For Your Customers

Order the one-page summary today of the Systematic Cleaning and Restoration of Architectural Glass bulletin. This new bulletin provides scientific evidence and answers to the question: How often should I have my glass cleaned, and why? This document will prove to be invaluable to window cleaners who wish to provide industry evidence as to why a glass cleaning maintenance schedule is required to maintain the long-term integrity of their glass.

With every order of the one-page summary, we’ll include a copy of the full 10-page bulletin.

Click Here to Order Today!

Click below for more details. Hopefully they are in your local area.

Hosted by the Master Window Cleaners of America

The event will kick off with a “Show and Tell” session with Unger. Bring your modified tools and accessories to show others your best invention. Unger will be bringing all of their new products. This event will be held at the hotel on Friday night starting at 6pm.

Saturday’s topics of discussion are social media marketing, safety, ad-on services, wfp science, and USP (unique selling point). With speakers like John Lee, Mike Draper, and Kim Little.

Maryville, TN (March 22-23) : http://on.fb.me/YRl0qB

Hosted by the United Association of Mobile Contract Cleaners

Learn about Lifts, Ladders, Waterfed Pole Training, Softwash Demos & Training, Commercial Concrete Washing Training, Chemical Demos with Roofs & Concrete.

Somerdale, NJ (March 22-23) : http://bit.ly/Zjh2XN

*links have been shortened.

Also, save these dates for our yearly warehouse seminars:

April 16th for CA

April 20th for NJ

We support, sponsor and host events to provide you guys the support you can use to enhance your business. Showing you the latest in equipment, offering safety courses, teaching you possible add-on services and much more.

We thank you for your patronage at J.Racenstein. 

March 22-23, 2013

MWCoA will be hosting a
FREE seminar in Maryville, TN.

Name: Ernie Nales
Company Name: Quality window cleaning
Location: Honolul Hawaii
Website: windowcleaning.com/honolulu

What type of business do you specialize in?
High Rise window cleaning ,residential, and commercial.
Do you offer any other services? yes carpet cleaning and some light pressure washing.

How many employees do you have? Do you like it that way? 
I have 2 employes and a couple of subs..Its enough for now.

How did you start your business?
I started out with small ad in the newspaper, a couple of ladders ,a bucket a pole,and a Buick 4 door sedan. i forgot the name but i would just tie down the ladders on top the car. then I also started doing some sub work for this other company also because i would be able to buy the work truck from him, for $500, so we transferred the title to my name. i worked about a year till i quit..but i keep the truck and kept it running for years. it was a pretty ghetto truck,,i hung up a piece of wood on the ladder rack and spray painted “Dirty Windows? call…” with a stencil kit at least.. but we got calls! amazing I thought. I don’t know, Maybe the felt sorry for me,or maybe they thought my price would be cheap too! lol eventually we made enough money to get another van.

What is your favorite piece of window cleaning equipment?
Brass Ettore squeegee, I love the classics.

What is the best new thing you’ve seen in the industry lately?
Unger cleaning pads. are cool.

Do you utilize WFP in your business?
Yes but not all the time, only when i need too. i don’t like to waste water,water is precious here in the islands and should not be wasted for the sake of cleaning a window.

What is something you need help with to better serve your customers? 
Not sure

What do you most like to do in your business?
sitting on the beach in the sun or on my boat,sipping iced tea and taking phone calls..

Least like to do?
louvers ! lol

What do you need to get your business where you want it to be?
I need the right kind of people on my team.

Whats the tallest building you have worked on?
i don’t know they are all about the same with the height limit here.. I’d have to say nauru tower 45 stories.

Whats your favorite building to work on and why?
i don’t have a favorite but the ones by the ocean are always nice.

What style of building to you dislike?
ones with block and tackle work involved , its so much easier to just get in your chair and go!

How competitive is the marketing for high rise window cleaning?
how low can you go seems to be the name of the game around here,,very competitive.

So you recently were part of a reality TV Show pilot called “The Drop”…

What was your experience on during the process?
Well, they wanted to make it seem more exciting and dangerous than what it actually is, while being entertaining at the same time. with dialog or what they call “sound bites” if not the show wont get far if it is just all plain window cleaning, guys not talking.. so they suggested rousting each other. then the interviewed me in this hotel room , they turned the ac off! to noisy thy said.. then asked me all these questions in front of the camera.. i was sweating it out. then we had a meeting set up at o tools Dino and i showed up , but Derick did not.. we talked about a lot of thing that never made it to the pilot. no biggie .

How hard is it to clean windows in Hawaii?
I don’t know i never cleaned anyplace else

How would you best describe your crew?
hardcore

Can you tell us, how really difficult the Hawaiian First Tower really is?
Its not difficult at all , but for the price they are willing to pay ,,its just not worth it.

You came in as the middle bid. Who ended up winning the contract?
Derick , hes the lowballer, so have fun with that dude!.. me and Greg did the construction clean up on it in the 90s anyways.  kind of a pain with all the frame wiping that needs to get done.

How did your employees feel about the show?
2 were stoked! but Greg thought it was stupid lol

Would you be on this reality tv show permanently if it actually were to be broadcasted on TV?
not sure , just depends how much money we would gain or loose..

What do you believe would be the outcome for future business for yourself? 
we’ll be around for a long time for sure. this business has been successful with out even trying. just do good work and more will come my way. word gets around fast on a small island.

Click here for more details & register

From the novice to expert, whether you provide wood restoration, power washing, a commercial, residential or industrial service, Albany is the place for you to be this March. You will obtain information that is pertinent to survival in this challenging economy. Minimizing your risk and liability, maximizing revenue from every project location, understanding your profit and loss, water reclamation, Clean Water Act compliance, and expanding services are all issues that are key to increasing your profit.

We will also be one of the speakers at the event on the topic of Pure Water Window Cleaning.

We hope to see you there!

Schedule of Events

Click here to register.

Wednesday March 13^th – Pre-seminar Education Programs Start
Continental Breakfast in hotel (included with room)
The first day of the Pressure Washing and Wood
Restoration Certification Class
Your Lunch is on Us!

Thursday March 14^th – Pre-Seminar Education Programs
Continental Breakfast in hotel (included with room
Second Day of the Power Washing and Wood Restoration Class
Wood Restoration Education Class
Repair, Maintenance and Troubleshooting Education Program
Presented by Sam Jackson, Hydroteks Senior Technical Adviser and Educator
Your lunch is on us!

Thursday Evening March 14^th – Seminar Kickoff!!!
Seminar Reception Party 7pm until….
Registration 6-7pm
You will find appetizers, a keg on tap and a whole lotta networking going on!
Vendor and sponsor  Networking with contractors throughout the evening

Friday March 15^th
Continental Breakfast in hotel (included with room)
Registration 715 to 8 am
General Presentations Friday Morning
Catered BBQ lunch with Robs and Chicken around noon time
Indoor and outdoor pressure washing demonstrations in the afternoon
Vendor and sponsor  Networking with contractors throughout the day
Friday Evening  8pm until… – “The Pressure Washing Power Hour”
Grab your beverages from the lounge and head across the hall to the conference room for an informal evening roundtable of Old Fashioned  Networking. Come talk shop and get your questions asked and answered!

Saturday March 16^th
Continental Breakfast in hotel (included with room)
1 General Presentation first thing, followed by 2 tracts offering expanded topic choices for the attendees to choose from
The Feast  – A full buffet with many dishes and desserts to choose from. No one left hungry last year. The grand prize giveaway happens here

Click here to register.

Location:

Best Western Albany Airport Inn
200 Wolf Road
Albany, New York

This aluminum sectional pole attached to a wet/dry vac allows you to quickly suction out the debris from gutters up to 30ft without the need of climbing up a ladder to scoop out by hand.

We haven’t stocked this product yet, but introduced it at the IWCA show and received plenty of interests. We currently have it at on special as a pre-order price. Give us a call if you are interested or click here to add it to your shopping cart.

Click image to purchase

Available in 3 sizes. This cleaning towel offers a great combination of Microfiber towel material and scrubbing power in the pocket corners. This cleaning towel is Ninja strong.

The 4 corner pockets allow for easy positioning on a pole or over your hand for cleaning in corners or on a pole above your head.

Microfiber towels are great for your cleaning and polishing tasks.

Often used with a foaming spray cleaner Microfiber is used to clean:

• French panes (cutups)
• Entry Door glass
• Chandeliers and Pendants
• Auto Glass and interiors
• Appliances
• Stainless Steel

Visit here to purchase Ungers new Ninja MicroSwipe towel:
http://www.jracenstein.com/item/24-26/microwipe-16×16-ninja-pocket-towel/

]]> http://www.jracenstein.com/blog/new-product-ungers-new-ninja-microswipe-towel/4141/feed 0 http://www.jracenstein.com/blog/new-product-ungers-new-ninja-microswipe-towel/4141 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/JRacenstein/~3/jbv7qC4jt5k/4134 http://www.jracenstein.com/blog/iwca-recap/4134#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:15:57 +0000 Jenny http://www.jracenstein.com/blog/?p=4134 We are back from the International Window Cleaners Association‘s annual trade show and convention. We got to catch a few cool things in the industry.

Unger has released quite a few items recently and have many other products coming up later this year. Currently available are the new Ninja Microfiber towels. These babies have corner textured pockets and will work great for detailing on an extension pole. They have also introduced an on/off switch for water control on your waterfed poles.

Winsol will be releasing soon a new and improved formula for the APC-100 called APC-120. Should be a better grade of soap for cleaning windows!

We have recently started carrying the Moerman line of window cleaning tools and they introduced at the show a t-bar attachment for abrasive pads. Should help you clean the glass better just by pressing on the pad.

Our booth had tons of giveaways! And we showed off our new machines, the H2Pro line. We also introduced an entry level tank and applicator for softwashing. Currently in prototype stage. We are also very excited to carry a GutterVac for ladderless gutter cleaning! Even sold one at the show. These should come in sometime in March. Get your pre-sale order in soon. A few of you probably have already seen the laddermats and Can Do Gloves in this blog. Also, the Facelift poles were at our booth, a reintroduction back into the market of waterfed poles!

There was a company at the show that sold body harnesses and roof anchors. Those products might be in our extensive collection of products in the new future… Keep an eye out?

A shout out to Glass Renu and Lee Burbidge for visiting us!

For fun, here’s a video of the speed cleaning contest provided by Lee @ Window Cleaning Magazine UK

Click image to purchase LadderMat

A window cleaner who knows the risks associated with ladders invented this product. Ladders can be a problem on sloping or uneven ground. How do you climb up to clean windows, clear gutters, or paint without toppling to one side? Or on a smooth surface, how do you stop the ladder feet from sliding away from the wall? Or sinking into soft ground? Laddermat can provide the solution to all of these.

Four mats, made from heavy-duty rubber matting with nodules, are linked by a sturdy metal loop and offer adjustable anti-slip blocking to go under the ladder foot needing extra height. Or can be put under both feet to reduce the risk of slipping or sinking into soft ground.

Each mat 24 x 17cm (9” x 6.5”).

Quite a few people have asked if this product is OSHA Certified. Something to know is, OSHA does not certify or endorse any products. If you use the product sensibly, within its tested parameters, at the ladders correct angle, the length of the ladder should make no difference.

You may view the test reports here: http://www.jracenstein.com/jrcstore/docs/LadderMat_TechnicalReport.pdf

You may also read about ladder safety on the OSHA website by clicking here

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A SET!

A company designed a robot window cleaner called the WINBOT.  Cameron Riddell, President of J.Racenstein discusses the demand for these types of window cleaners along with other window cleaning business owners in the industry.

Click here to read the full article.

Orange insulated gloves made even better by inventor Paul Mahon. A window cleaner in Canada. He produces the Can Do Glove specifically for cold weather cleaning use.

These are the quickest winter gloves you can own. Paul has ingeiously attached hook and loop pads on the gloves to allow one glove to hold the other while you are cleaning. This allows easy removal of your hand for those small, quick deleterious tasks and then an easy slip back in for warmth.

INTRO:

DEMO:

One of our customers, Josh the window washer out in Westbury, NY calls in and mentions pure water window cleaning.

Listen to the podcast here:

Mister Dangerous Dave has been working on some new ideas lately. Here’s his dramatic presentation video of what will be coming to the store for 2013. Bullrings will be customizable to your preferred choice of color and we will also be introducing *drum roll please* The Bull Ring Holster!

Steve  and Jenny introduce the new 3-Star 5 Stage Reverse Osmosis Deionization System for Waterfed Pole, pure water window cleaning.

This system features three 14in RO membranes. A 30in Carbon and a quick change 30in DI filter.

Comes in basic, battery and electric pump versions. Includes a digital water meter and 2 pressure gauges. With this system there is a shut off valve that will allow you to turn off the water leading into your DI and just run RO water by itself. Ideal for solar panel and awning cleaning.

The frame is very sturdy, with a powder coated red frame. Easy maneuverable.

Shop the systems here: http://www.jracenstein.com/category/1983/3-star-ro-di-water-purification-systems/

What type of business do you specialize in?
Started as a window cleaning route company.  We specialize in high rise window cleaning and pressure cleaning.

Do you offer any other services?
Multiple other services- Waterproofing, garage restoration, window stain removal, light bulb changing, caulking

How many employees do you have? Do you like it that way?
30  – yes we have been up to 60 before.  However, since 2008, we’ve downsized plus we have sold off our routes in smaller markets

How did you start your business?
I am a 3^rd generation.  My father took over his father’s business.  The business has grown and developed over the years.

What is the best new thing you’ve seen in the industry lately?
Waterfed poles, lighter weight

Do you utilize WFP in your business?
yes

What is something you need help with to better serve your customers?
Educating clients that bottom dollar buys you bottom level of service and insurance, and assurances

What do you most like to do in your business?
Business development

Least like to do?
Nothing really, I hated having to let people go when the economy was bad though

Window cleaning elves – Do you work for santa?!
Yes, the children sure thought that they did

Who’s idea was it to clean windows as elves?
Readily available costume and that’s why Santa’s and elves were used.  We knew we’d be in costume for the service and with the holidays, we knew the kids would LOVE elves & Santa.

How did the children react to the window cleaners?
They truly loved it.  Most of the kids thought they were elves from the north pole.

How did the parents feel about the window cleaners?
Loved that it cheered the kids up.

How did it make you feel to clean the hospital as dressed up characters?
The employees absolutely loved it.  I thought it would be a problem to get them to dress up but they did it for 2 weeks!

Which one of your guys played elf the best?
Probably the littlest guy named Luis cuz he is physically small.  They all smiled and danced around thoughJ

How jolly were your Santas?
Very jolly.

Whats the best memory you can share about this experience?
All of the workers told me that their best memory was the smile on the kids faces.  Also how EVERYONE stopped and took pictures with them.

Coming from me, you know window cleaners are normally just window cleaners there to do a job.  This time, they were heros at work and they all loved it!

Heard you guys wore different costumes the rest of the week, what were they?
Santa and elves were rotated.

Any plans for future costume cleanings? Maybe a leprechaun for St. Patricks or the Easter Bunny?
Actually, orange men.  Like the blue man group, but orange men due to our company name.  We will dress up at children’s hospitals.  We plan to dress up for our next service at Arnold Palmer Childrens hospital.

Mike Draper discusses the professionalsqueegees brand of rubber. Customers looking for an alternative, we found professionalsqueegees. An inexpensive high quality rubber thats long lasting and durable.

We’ve gotten very good feedback throughout last year when we first launched this rubber. So if you’re looking for an alternative rubber at a reasonable price, give professionalsqueegees rubber a try.

Made in Italy

Click here to check out professionalsqueegees rubber