Mayo window cleaner Chris goes to great ‘panes’ to please customers
By Tom Gillespie
TWO years after getting married in 2014 Chris and Sara Cutrera visited Belmullet on a holiday from England and immediately fell in love with County Mayo.
Chris used part of the vacation researching local property prices and realised, with still depressed prices following the global financial crises, they could sell their home in the UK and pay off a mortgage on a small ‘fixer-upper’ dwelling here.
Professional window cleaner Chris told me: “We did that in 2015 and moved to a small ex-council bungalow near Aghamore.
“It was tricky finding appropriate employment when I first arrived and I spent about a year on jobseekers’ allowance, a provision I was extremely grateful to the Irish welfare system for.
“I was then offered a back-to-work enterprise scheme which allowed me to set up a small business and keep any revenue generated, while slowly decreasing the amount of welfare I would receive over the following two years.
“I had already run a successful window cleaning and property maintenance business in England with the help of my wife Sara. So I decided to re-establish myself in a space where I was already experienced and skilled in.”
He continued: “In between all of this we had our little boy Ezra, who's now four years old and attends creche in Kiltimagh. We moved house to Kinaffe, not far from Julian's pub in Midfield, Swinford.
“Our charming house here was derelict for many years, but we had the privilege of restoring it to its former glory and it now makes for a beautiful family home for us, our border collie, BB, and our sheep, Eunice.
“We've been warmly welcomed by the local community and have some fantastic neighbours, which is a real privilege.
“The business has expanded over the past two years and I've made investments into a van, a state-of-the-art water purification system and associated equipment. This enables me to clean almost all windows, including difficult to reach areas, from the safety of the ground and up to three/four storeys in height, depending on the building.”
Chris continued: “The water used has been ultra-filtered using sediment filters, a reverse osmosis unit, and finally passed through a deionising resin. This results in absolutely pure water, stripped of any impurities, minerals and heavy metals. This means the windows can be washed, rinsed and left to dry naturally to a streak-free finish.
“Most external glazing is cleaned using the pure water method called Reach and Wash. I use telescopic poles and brushes to clean windows safely from the ground and that eliminates the need for ladders.
“So how does it work? The equipment is installed in my van, including pre-filters, reverse osmosis membranes, de-ionising resin and a 600 litre storage tank.
“This equipment takes ordinary tap water and removes 99.9 per cent of all contaminants and dissolved minerals. The water is stored in the tank and then pumped via hoses up through the telescopic pole, on to special brushes, and used to clean your windows.
“Because the water has been purified it dries without leaving any residue or contaminants, resulting in a streak-free shine.
“I've received many positive reviews which can be referenced on my Google listing. I'm always happy to give free quotations and a more in-depth display of the equipment I use if people are interested. I service both domestic and commercial customers and folks can set up a regular, repeat service or just a once off clean when required.
“I have over 10 years experience in cleaning windows and would be most happy to provide a professional and second to none service for customers. I currently service over 500 regular customers in Mayo and Galway as well as countless other one off jobs.”
Chris admitted: “I take my work very seriously and always strive to leave windows in pristine clean condition.
“That said, I'm not perfect, so if there are any mistakes please let me know. I promise not to take offence and I'll gladly return and correct any errors!
“On larger jobs and contracts I have approved contractors who at times work alongside me. We feel it's very important to show the utmost respect to our customers and their property. So with this in mind, we promise to stick to these basic rules - we will always contact you before your regular clean to arrange a convenient date and time; we will always work in a safe and sensible manner, ensuring our safety and the protection of your property, and we will care for your property as if it were our own.”
To arrange a window clean or price estimate please complete the contact form on ChrisCutrera@hotmail.co.uk, ensuring to include your eircode, or he can be contacted on (087) 3148627. Chris operates Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.