At NIW this is a time of year for thanks, and we have many blessings

Thank you!

Another Thanksgiving is upon us and, with it, another opportunity to reflect on our reasons for gratitude. Here at Northern Illinois Windows, we have a lot to be thankful for. First and foremost, we’re grateful for our customers – those who have invited us out and trusted us to clean their windows, clean their gutters, install window film on their windows or install their holiday lights.

Our customers are the reason Northern Illinois Windows exist. They’re the purpose of our business. They’re the lifeblood of our business. And, each time you invite us to provide our services, you offer us an opportunity to shine. We thank you for that opportunity and strive to make the most of it.

We are thankful for all the testimonials we receive. These are more valuable than all the marketing and advertising in the world. We like to remind ourselves that our work gives our customers a clear perspective on their world. When they look through clean windows and are pleased with the difference, we have lived up to our goals and their expectations.

We’re also grateful for the window-cleaning technicians who make up our crews that go out, usually, six days a week, to clean those windows and gutters, and install that 3M window film or install those holiday lights. Our crews go out in the rain. They go out in the burning sun. They go out in the cold (yes, we clean windows in temperatures below zero).

We believe we have the best crews at Northern Illinois Windows. We demand the best and our goal is to reward excellence. We try to create an atmosphere where our crew members are inspired to do their best to ensure the full satisfaction of our customers. But, we have wonderful crews at Northern Illinois Windows because we’ve had the good fortune to hire some of the best workers in the industry.

We’re grateful for family and friends. And, we’re grateful to live in the best country in the world where the entrepreneurial spirit is rewarded with the opportunity for those who are willing to work for success. We’re in our 26th year of cleaning windows and gutters, installing window film and holiday lights. Surely, that proves just how blessed we are.

And so, at this special time of year, we would like to say Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving. We hope the joy of this holiday carries on to a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, as well.

Could Cpt. Kirk have used shields to keep the leaves out of his gutters?

Aboard the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, you might hear Cpt. Kirk giving the order, “Full power to the shields, Mister Scott.” With any luck, the hypothetical spaceship’s shields would repel the proton torpedoes that a Romulan Starship had fired. Well, if they can create a force field to protect a spaceship, how hard would it be to create a force field to keep leaves out of your gutters and downspouts?

Imagine you’re looking out the window in mid-October and you notice that the leaves are starting to fall. You turn to your husband and say, “I think it’s time to deploy the gutter shields.”

“What power do you want?” he asks.

And you tell him, “Full power to the shields. We’ll keep those leafy invaders out of our gutters.”

Of course, force fields are currently a product of imagination. The leaves falling from trees around your home, however, are very real. And, while less explosive than a Romulan proton torpedo, they can cause damage to your mothership – your home.

It’s not the leaves themselves that do the damage, it’s the water. Any time of the year, if your gutters are clogged, water can back up and sneak under your home’s shingles. Diabolically, some might say, the leaves come down to clog gutters just before winter sets in. It’s as though a Klingon High Council plotted to arrange a perfect storm that would leave your roof and roof structure in tatters.

How does this fiendish plot play out? With cruel simplicity. In the Spring, buds appear on trees. Over the summer, those buds turn to bushy bunches of leaves. Then, in the Autumn, the leaves fall from the trees. They fall in such abundance that, though many land on the ground, where you have to rake them, there is enough left over to fill your gutters and clog your downspouts.

Then, with your gutters clogged, Winter brings snow and ice. The snow builds up on your roof, which radiates heat that melts the lower layers of snow and ice. Unable to wash down the gutters and downspouts, because of the leaves, the water backs up the roof. That’s not the direction water is expected to go on a roof.

Roofing is designed to shed water as it flows down. But, when the water rolls up, it can roll right up under the shingles where it invades your home while rotting the plywood under the shingles. It can cause substantial damage.

The solution, since force fields haven’t actually been invented yet, is to clean your gutters. You could send your husband up on a ladder where, hopefully, he won’t fall and break his neck. Or, you could send out a desperate message to the Federation Starship Enterprise to swing by and use its lasers to destroy the leaves. Of course, that’s only an imaginary option (sorry, Trekkies). The other option is to hire some professionals who know how to safely climb ladders and have proper insurance in case the unexpected happens.