‘I’m a window cleaner – here’s a cleaning technique you might not know about and customer comments annoy us.’

If you’ve ever spent your morning commute dreaming of starting your career afresh, this feature is for you.

Every Monday, Money Blog talks to someone from a different profession to find out what it’s really like. Today we speak to Kieron Fosher, window cleaner and owner of KF Specialist Exterior Cleaning in Kent…

Most people want to enter the industry… Either buy an existing round or start from scratch with basic equipment and build up slowly. If you really want to, you can start with a ladder and equipment for under £1,000, but to run a professional setup with a van and purified water system, you’re probably looking at costs of £5,000 to £15,000.

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Chasing payments can be frustrating… The physical work is the easy part. Admin and managing cash flow is where the real business side comes in.

An employed window cleaner in the UK can earn somewhere.

An employed window cleaner in the UK can earn somewhere between… £22,000 and £30,000 per year depending on experience and location. If you’re self-employed and have a solid round trip, it’s very realistic to take home £30,000 to £50,000 before tax. Once you start building a team and running multiple vans, it can go much further than that.

My top tip for avoiding streaky windows at home is… Do not clean them in direct sunlight, as water dries very fast. Use a proper squeegee and wipe the blade after each pass. Most streaks occur because people use too much soap or dirty clothes.

A small drop of washing-up liquid in warm water is… More than enough for clean windows. People overuse products, which leads to mess.

The price depends on many things… The size of the property matters, but so does accessibility, how often the windows are cleaned, where the house is located and how efficiently it fits into your driveway. A typical three-bed semi will cost between £18 and £30 in many parts of the UK.

People often think it’s just a quick wipe down… But professional window cleaning involves specialist equipment, pure water systems and running a proper business. You’re paying as much for reliability and stability as you are for cleanability.

The smartest financial decision I made early in my career was… Investing in a proper water-fed pole system. This made work safer, faster and more consistent. It also meant I could take on larger properties and commercial work. Spending money on the right equipment at the right time makes a big difference.

People value reliability more than anything else… If you come when they ask and do a satisfactory job, they stick with you for years. It has also taught me to be flexible because the weather doesn’t always cooperate and you still have to keep things going.

People forget that we are outside… More often than you expect. You quickly learn to remain professional and look away when necessary.

Read more from this series:
Marine biologists reveal the one thing you can do to save the planet
‘I could lend someone £100,000 an hour’: the life of a moneylender
‘I am a nanny – this is the misconception in society about child rearing.’

My strangest encounter was on the stairs… When I knocked on the front window to let someone know I was there. It turned out that it was a bedroom window and someone was sleeping inside. Of course, it was a quick apology and a professional finish to my explanation.

You have surely noticed pets behaving very differently… When they think no one is watching. Dogs in particular think that pole is some kind of game.

Have you ever found it frustrating when someone mentions that you’ve missed something before you’ve even finished the task?

To get work done in winter… Good layers and waterproof clothing are essential. Thermal gloves help a lot. The greatest challenge is frozen equipment or snowy mornings, so sometimes you start a little late and plan according to the weather.

During the cost of living crisis… Some customers have increased their cleaning frequency slightly, but overall demand is still strong. Clean windows make a home feel better and are one of the more affordable home services, so many people continue to do it.

A technology that people might not know about… Most professional cleaners now use pure water systems. The water is filtered so that it becomes completely stain-free without the need for wiping. This way we can clean the windows above and still get a perfect finish.

My best tip for earning more without working long hours is… improve efficiency and gradually increase your average price. Narrow routes and excellent prices matter more than trying to cram in more jobs.

If I could go back and change one decision in my career, I would… I raised my prices early. Many window cleaners charge low when starting out and spend years trying to make it big. Charging properly from the start saves many headaches later on.

Most weeks I work out about 35 to 45 hours… My schedule is usually daytime because we are dependent on daylight, so around 8am to 4pm. In the summer, we can stretch it a little longer, but winter is more difficult. If you run your own business, there’s always extra time in the evening for quotes, messaging, scheduling and paperwork. The hours spent on the business equate to more than 60 hours a week.