The brief
Three days sounds like a lot for glass, until you count it.
The brief was every piece of glass on the villa. Outside, the windows and doors on every elevation, the glass balconies and the solar panels. Inside, the other face of every window, every mirror, and the shower glass in each bathroom.
The balcony glass is where the time goes. Every panel has two faces in the open air, catches salt on the wind and spray from the irrigation, and sits at eye level from the terrace, so it is the glass you look through most.
How we worked it
Each kind of glass got the method it needed. The exterior glass was done with a water-fed pole, washing and rinsing from the ground. Solar panels were washed and rinsed with care. Inside, the mirrors and shower glass were treated for limescale and soap film before being finished.
Exterior first, top down
Outside faces before inside ones, high before low, one elevation at a time.
Balcony panels treated as two-sided glass
Every balcony panel washed on both faces, edges included. Salt and irrigation spotting comes off wet; a dry cloth on a gritty panel is how glass picks up fine scratches.
Solar panels washed, not wiped
Angled glass holds dust and marks where they land. Panels were wetted and worked properly so the dirt comes off rather than spreads.
Mirrors and shower glass treated for scale
Limescale and soap film treated first, then each screen and mirror rinsed and finished streak free.
Floors protected, rooms put back
Protection down before any interior work, furniture moved by us and put back exactly where it was.
Both faces checked before packing up
The glass gets checked in raking light from inside and outside before the van moves.
What was included
- Windows and doors on every elevation, both faces
- Glass balconies, every panel on both faces
- Solar panels
- All interior glass
- Every mirror in the property
- Shower glass, treated for limescale
- Frames, sills and tracks
- Floors protected and furniture put back
The result
Being straight with you about shower glass
Most limescale and soap film comes off. Shower glass that has gone years without proper treatment can be etched, and at that point the cloudiness is in the glass rather than on it. Cleaning improves it a lot. It will not make an etched screen new, and we will tell you which ones are which before we start.
The same goes for the outside. Hard-water spotting that has dried on the same pane for years can etch into the surface. Cleaning improves it, and we will point those panes out at the survey rather than after.
Common questions
How long does it take to clean all the glass on a villa?
This one took three days with two of us, because it covered every window on both faces, the balcony glass, the solar panels and all the mirrors and shower glass inside. Windows only on a smaller villa can be a single day. We give you the honest time at the survey.
Do you clean glass balconies?
Yes, on both faces. Balcony glass is a real part of the job rather than an extra, because it has two faces exposed to the weather and it is the glass you look through most from the terrace.
Do you clean mirrors and shower glass?
Yes. They are treated for limescale and soap film first, then finished streak free.
Can you clean solar panels in the same visit?
Yes. Doing them with the windows saves a second set-up, and clean panels get more light.
Do you cover Pinhal Velho and the rest of Vilamoura?
Yes. Vilamoura, including Pinhal Velho, is part of our core round along with Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo, Almancil, Loulé and Quarteira.
