Northern Illinois Windows stands with you in COVID-19 fight

We're all in the fight against COVID-19 together, even
if we have to maintain social distancing. At NIW,
when we're able to go back to work cleaning your windows,
we'll do so while practicing the best possible safety standards.

With the COVID-19 pandemic that has swept across the country, these are hardly ordinary times. At Northern Illinois Windows, we are dedicated to doing our part to support our community while joining the fight against the spread of the disease.

As a concerned business owner, we will follow all mandated state and federal measures to mitigate the disease and shorten the life of the pandemic. Currently, this includes a ‘shelter-in-place’ order from Gov. JB Pritzker. This order requires Illinoisans to remain at home unless their travel is of an essential nature.

Here at NIW, we tend to think of our window cleaning services as essential. However, we understand that our definition may not coincide with the governor's. Therefore, until the order is lifted, we are unavailable for the quality window cleaning, window tinting, gutter cleaning and other services we customarily provide.

In the meantime, we will do all we can to support our community. We will continue to order food, for delivery or pickup, from restaurants in the area. We will shop responsibly for groceries in town and use any other essential services we can during this time of crisis.

At NIW, we’re prepared to do our part after victory over coronavirus 

Most importantly, we are prepared to support the local economy in a broader sense once the crisis has passed. We believe in America and the American spirit of entrepreneurship and enterprise. When things begin coming back to normal, we’re ready to do our part there, too.

When things do return to a semblance of normality, many of you will find that your windows are dirtier than your accustomed to seeing. We intend to be responsive to increased demand at that time. However, as normality may come in stages, while the ‘shelter-in-place’ order may be rescinded, we will continue to provide our services with the utmost care to avoid any spread of COVID-19 or other diseases.

Our strict policy for your safety

With that in mind, we will institute a strict policy for our employees who exhibit any flu symptoms or have come into contact with others who are. Our policy will require that, under these circumstances, they not report into work and will stay home until they are deemed safe to return to work.

Upon request, our staff will wear protective gear and wipe down surfaces in our work area with disinfectant wipes so as to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

When providing window cleaning services for senior homes or other businesses/facilities that serve the aged, we will only clean the outside of windows. This policy will be applied at the homes or businesses of any of our customers who request it.

These are difficult times. But we’re convinced that we will get through this with faith in American ingenuity and by sticking together in these days of crisis.

Let the pros relieve you of the worry of window cleaning for the holidays

Having guests over for the holidays? If so, things can get a bit, shall we say, ‘hectic.’ You have to plan the meals and clean the house. What about entertainment? Will guests require your help arranging accommodations (possibly in your home)? Will someone need to go pick up an elder relative from the city or airport? With everything you have to do, will you look out the window as your husband rolls in the driveway with Grandma only to realize you forgot to clean the windows?

Cleaning the windows for the holidays is often that one-step beyond. It’s the point where something has to give. But, if you think about it, there is a solution. Call in the pros.

Professional window cleaners will do a professional job cleaning your windows. They’ll get your windows clean while you concentrate on other things, such as holiday shopping if the pending event is in December.

As the professional window cleaners clean your windows, you can relax at the kitchen table making your grocery list. And without the extra strain of cleaning windows, you won’t be rushed the way you would otherwise. You’re less likely to forget something you won’t be able to get at the convenient store Thanksgiving morning when the grocery store is closed.

When the holiday arrives, and you’re all sitting around the table comfortably allowing dinner to settle, you won’t be surprised if Aunt Lucy mentions how clean the house is: “Even the windows are perfectly clean.”

And we Thank You for the Opportunity

For Northern Illinois Windows, stories, such as the one above, are among the pleasures of what we do. We love hearing from a customer about how our window cleaning helped set the stage for a wonderful holiday.

As much as we appreciate the opportunities to assist our clients is equal to how much we owe them for the opportunity. We try to show our appreciation by doing a job cleaning windows that is worthy of the quality our clients have come to expect. But, once in a while, it doesn’t hurt to verbalize our thanks.

With Thanksgiving approaching, and other holidays in the month ahead, this is an excellent time to tell people how much we appreciate the chance to assist them with their window cleaning, gutter cleaning, power washing, and holiday light installation. So, thank you and may you have a wonderful holiday season.

Will you risk your health to clean your gutters? Why not hire the pros to do the dirty work?

We could spend this blog listing the proper equipment you’ll need in order to clean your gutters. We could describe, without seeing your home or office how to go about cleaning your gutters. But, ultimately, we can’t guarantee your safety.

There’s a lot to working safely from ladders. It’s a little like trying to teach someone to golf. It’s almost impossible to keep everything in mind at once, unless you’re a pro. Considering the dangers of climbing ladders to clean your own gutters, you might think it’s better just to leave your gutters full. Unfortunately, this isn’t a good idea either.

You need to clean your gutters, particularly before winter, because they don’t allow water to discharge into and out through the downspouts. Instead, the ice and snow builds up on your home or office roof. Under the snow and ice, the heat from inside your home or office defrosts some of the lower layer of snow and ice. If the gutters are full, the moisture released by this defrosting process has no where to go but in.

By in, we mean that the water backs up under the shingles. Serious damage can be done to the wood sheeting and framing under your roof if you don’t clean your gutters. In other words, it’s essential to have your gutters cleaned with winter’s approach. This is all the more the case since winter is preceded by autumn, the season known for falling leaves, many of which, inevitably, land in your gutters.

Obviously, the solution is to bring in a professional to clean your gutters. There are a lot of people advertising as professionals and offering to clean your gutters. Some of these are people with little more experience on ladders than you may have. They simply saw this as a way to make some cash. So how do you determine who to hire.

A true professional has experience. They’ve cleaned the gutters on many houses and offices before. They know what they’re doing. They know how to work safely from a ladder. They’ll have the right equipment on hand to begin with. They’ll also know enough not to do a job, such as cleaning gutters, without proper insurance and bonding.

With professionalism will come attention to detail. The pros will clean the leaves, twigs and that disgusting sludge from your gutters in a way that leaves no doubt they’ve done this before. They’ll test the downspouts to ensure they’re clear. They’ll test for leaks and other problems.

Hiring a professional is well worth the cost. While they safely clean your gutters, you can devote that time to other pursuits.

No, it’s not too early to think about putting up your holiday lights

Have you given any thought to putting up those holiday lights? Yes, it’s still September. You’ve got plenty of time, right? But, if you consider how busy you’ll be when the holiday season is actually upon us, checking one of those projects off your list now is a wonderful idea.

Putting up holiday lights isn’t just another project to check off your Holiday To-Do List; this is one of those monster projects. It’s a get-the-ladder-out-and-risk-your-neck kind of project. And, in late November or early December, it’s quite likely a cold-as-heck, slippery and hazardous kind of project, to boot.

You could get out the ladder now and put the lights up a few months ahead of time. But there is a better way – have professionals put those holiday lights up for you. The professionals don’t worry so much about the cold. They’ll put up your lights while you’re taking care of all those other projects on your Holiday To-Do List, such as baking cookies, decorating indoors, Christmas shopping, planning meals and more.

There’s another advantage to calling in the professionals to install your holiday lights. The outcome of the installation reflects their professionalism. Your husband may do an admirable job but he’s hard-pressed to create the appearance the pros create when they install your holiday lights.

With professional holiday light installation, you receive:

• Quality LED lights that stay lighted
• Energy-efficient lights that make a noticeably happy difference when you receive your electric bill
• Risk-free installation where you or your spouse are safe and the pros are experienced and insured
• The pros will plan and design holiday lighting that comes with the WOW!!! factor that turns heads and prompts compliments from the neighbors

When you call in the professionals to install your holiday lights, you’re sitting cozy and warm inside, sipping some cocoa, chatting with family and friends and reflecting on how much you’re enjoying this hassle-reduced holiday.

Thanksgiving is a good time to remember why we’re thankful

At Northern Illinois Windows, we’re thankful for the opportunity to clean your windows. It’s our way of giving people a clear perspective on the world outside. But there is a lot more to be thankful for than that.

Many families enjoy a Thanksgiving tradition of going around the dinner table to share that which they are thankful for. It’s a good idea to remind ourselves of what we are thankful for. Certainly, living in America, we have a lot to be thankful for. Losing touch with gratitude is often daunting. This is why, here at Northern Illinois Windows, we think it’s important to reflect on the reasons that we’re thankful.

With the approach of the Thanksgiving, since we won’t have a chance to join all of you over a holiday meal, we would like to take this moment now to share why we are thankful.

For us, gratitude starts with our customers. Along with the gratitude we feel for the opportunity to clean our customers’ windows, we’re also grateful when they call on us to clean their gutters, and/or install their holiday lights. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see where we would be without them and all the thousands of other customers we’ve served along the way.

Our customers have allowed us to keep the doors of our business open all these years and to grow our business in the process. Our customers have provided the means for the Thanksgiving dinners on our own tables the second-to-last Thursday in November since 1991.

We are also thankful for the employees who have helped us to serve our customers all these years. Some have come and gone. Others have been with us for years and some are with us yet. But, regardless of how long they’ve been with us, one characteristic is common; their dedication to quality service built our reputation where our customers know they can count us to clean their windows, and perform other services, safely, efficiently and proficiently.

Other employees in the office have helped to serve our window cleaning crews so that they have all the tools and information they need in order to do their magic at the homes, stores and offices of our customers. In other words, we’re thankful for the great team of employees who work together to deliver the services our customers count on.

Gratitude is contagious. It’s energizing. It gives the grateful a sense of peace and purpose. And we are thankful for the opportunities we’ve had to feel the empowering sense of the season.

Yes, those gutters need to be cleaned but at what price?

Gutters are designed to conduct rain and water to downspouts that discharge the water at or below the ground. When gutters get clogged, they’re no longer able to perform this essential duty. Nothing clogs gutters faster, or more completely than falling leaves in the autumn.

At the very least, when gutters are clogged, rain will flow over the gutters and create a curtain of dipping water all around the house. Someone coming to the door is dripped on. Flower beds are dripped on. Over time, the water creates a divot in the dirt all the way around the house. But, that’s not really the worst of it, by any means.

The real problem is when the temperature drops. When the temperature drops, the water can do damage before it ever hits the ground.

Imagine snow is piled up on your roof. Heat from the roof is melting the snow closest to your home’s shingles. That water would roll down into the gutters and down the downspouts. But, with the gutters clogged, melting snow or ice can’t follow the path that was designed for it. The melting snow or ice backs up on the roof where shingles are not designed to stop the flow.

Shingles stop water from getting through to the plywood below with the expectation that the water is coming down from the sky as rain or snow. Otherwise, snow and ice on the roof, when it melts, falls under the control of gravity and flows downward. But, with the gutters clogged by leaves, the water builds upward and under the shingles.

You need the leaves cleaned from your gutters but what about climbing ladders and falls?

Considerable damage can be done to a roof when gutters are clogged. This is why it’s essential to clean your gutters. But, with the risk of falling from a ladder, is it worth climbing up to clean those gutters yourself?

Fortunately, there are professionals who are trained and experienced in climbing up ladders to clean gutters. They’ve studied safe ladder usage, including safety factors about reaching out while on a ladder. These professionals will bring the appropriate equipment, will wear the appropriate clothing, and will clean leaves out of gutters safely.

Don’t risk the fall this fall – let professionals clean the leaves from your gutters

Thinking about getting the ladder out and cleaning the leaves out of those gutters? You might want to think about this first. The cost of having professionals clean leaves out of your gutters is low, particularly when compared to the risk of falling for a homeowner.

Why wait for the holiday madness: arrange professional holiday lighting installation now

Wouldn’t it be great if you could enjoy the holiday a little more? But, there is so much to do that hectic doesn’t adequately describe the days leading up to December 25th. How much more would you enjoy the festivities if you could take even one of those pre-holiday chores off your ‘To-Do List,’ such as putting up the holiday lights and decorations outside?

You could put that off to the last minute, and then send your spouse out to do a frigid, death-defying, high-wire act on the extension ladder while putting up lights, knowing half of them will cease to light once they’re up. Or, you can make arrangements for professionals to come out and handle the entire process for you. They’ll put up the lights in time for the holiday while you’re cozy inside, and they’ll take down the lights while you enjoy the early days of a new year.

More and more people are recognizing the value of having professionals install their holiday decorations outdoors. They’ve discovered there are distinct advantages to having someone else, who is at ease on a ladder, come out and install their holiday lighting professionally, such as:

• They use quality lights that stay lighted
• The lights they use are energy efficient (compare your holiday electric bill from past years to other months and you’ll see the importance of this benefit)
• They take all the risks you or your spouse would otherwise have to take
• They plan and design holiday lighting for a truly outstanding presentation

While you relax with a cup of cocoa and your favorite Christmas movie, the professionals you hire will come to your house (or business), take measurements and, based on your preferences, return with options for you to consider. You’ll choose the design you like most and, when they’re done, the decorations will look just like what you expected - spectacular.

When the season is over, rather than having the lights hang out there through the rest of the winter, the professionals will come out and promptly take them down. Some companies will even store the lights for you until the next year. The following Autumn, you’ll receive a call to schedule the installation of your holiday lights again.

Oh, and there is one other wonderful benefit; your holiday lights will be the envy of the neighborhood.