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What Makes Your Windows Dirty?

The amount of dirt collecting on your windows can be cleaned by a simple window washing service, but are you curious how your windows got dirty in the first place? From pets and kid’s leaving prints on the glass, to airborne particles such as pollen and smoke, the grime on windows may be coming from common actions inside and outside of the house. Follow along in this blog to find out what’s making your windows dirty!

Pets and Handprints

The mess of everyday life can be left behind on your windows if you have kids or pets. Handprints from dirty fingers or paws scratching on the glass are common in a busy household, but aren’t the most ideal situation for your windows. Even your own hands and fingerprints will leave residue from the natural oils on your skin.

Waterborne Minerals

Outside of your home, you might be tempted to point the hose at your dirty windows, but stop right there! The ground water coming out of your faucet and hose contains minerals and sediments. It’s harmless to drink, but if you try to clean glass with it, all those particles will be left over. Once the water dries, it can leave unwanted spots and streaks.

Airborne Contaminants

Pollen is another factor to consider, as the wind picks up the pesky spores and sticks them on the outside glass. In the same way, dirt blown from wind and moved around by rain can have your windows appearing cloudy, which is probably not the look you’re going for. Unfortunately, this dirt can also get pulled into your heating and air conditioning system and wind up on the inside of your windows too!

Conclusion

The buildup of dirt and grime on your windows can make your home’s appearance look less than satisfactory. Get your windows clear and bright by contacting the team at Ernest Windows. We provide expert window washing services for the inside and outside of your home. Visit our website for more information!

Powerwashing: An Origin Story

Power washers have made life easier for millions of people who need to clean up their property’s appearance. With a pressure washer, you can thoroughly blast away grime from hard to wash areas like driveways, decks, even the exterior of a house can be beautified with this powerful technology. The following is a brief history of the invention of the power washer.

Frank Ofeldt’s Garage Floor

In 1926, Frank W. Ofeldt II created the first steam pressure washer in the United States. He invented it while he was working at a Pennsylvania-based company which produced gas-fired water heaters and boilers. While hanging out in his garage designing his portable whiskey, Ofeldt noticed that when his design’s steam outlet was directed downward, wet steam would hit his dirty garage floor and clean the grease off. Because of this, he decided to start his journey to make a cleaning device.

Steam Jenny

His journey began with his search for a pump casting, which is a process where pump parts are designed and cast by different metals or metal alloys. Ofeldt eventually found Homestead Valve Company. Frederick E. Schuchman Sr. saw the potential of Ofeldt’s apparatus, and he took an interest in collaborating on the project. They soon started developing the product, naming it “Hypressure Vapor Spray Generator.” An advertising man by the name of Eltinge eventually caught wind of this invention and requested a meeting with Ofeldt and Schuchman. When Schuchman and Ofeldt told the marketer what the device did, he suggested the name “High-Pressure Jenny”. While Eltinge wasn’t hired as a permanent advertising partner, he was paid for his proposed name. To this day, pressure washers are still called by the names “high-pressure Jenny” or “steam Jenny’s.”

Innovations in Pump Technology

As decades past, and pump innovations continued to improve, so did the design for pressure washers. Perhaps the most important advances in pressure washing came during the 1960s, when “Cat Pumps” established uniflow design piston pumps, which were far superior to previous pumps. Cat Pumps typically lasted 10 times longer than previous pumps and could reach pressures up to 1000 psi. In 1975, because of increased demand for higher pressures, Cat Pumps came out with the sleeved piston pump that had capabilities up to 3000 psi. This is still an industry standard for pressure washers to this day.

Conclusion

Pressure washing has evolved from its humble beginnings in Frank Ofeldt’s garage to a worldwide, multi-billion dollar industry. Today, hundreds of thousands of people have careers thanks to the invention of the pressure washer.  If your driveway, porch, or house is in need of pressurized washing, call or visit the professionals at Ernest Windows today!

Hard Water Stains

A beautiful and clear window in your office or living room can really take your home to the next level. Whether you simply enjoy a nice view of the world outside or the natural light, we can all relate! We have all experienced the irritation – the one that follows when you pull up your blinds to reveal glass that is stained with hard water spots. If you are tired of being let down by these pesky stains, continue to follow along with our blog to learn more!

What is a Hard Water Stain?

At some point in our lives, we will all get the chance to see just how annoying hard water stains are. Once you’ve seen them, you may be left wondering what exactly they are and why they aren’t easily washed away. Essentially, hard water stains can accumulate on any glass surface; this means your business windows, home windows, car windows, and shower glass doors are all at risk. When water that is full of excess minerals is left to dry on a shiny surface, a stain will remain. Sprinklers are one of the biggest culprits, seeing as our cars and windows are near the lawn. However, even if you don’t run your sprinklers, stormy weather can also be a cause.

Why Does Hard Water Stain?

Hard water has an excess of minerals such as calcium and magnesium. While it may not be visible to the naked eye, these compounds can easily stick to the surface of the glass. The true texture of glass isn’t as smooth as many believe. Under a microscope, it is easy to see the true surface of glass is an intricate mix of valleys, hills, and creases. When minerals in water come into contact with glass, the pockets and crevices will trap the minerals. The stain you see from hard water is simply extra mineral deposits that have gotten stuck in the rivets of the glass.

Preventative Measures

After a professional window cleaning, it is imperative that you consider making changes around your home in order to prevent hard water stains from returning. If the stains frequently accumulate on your car, try moving your car to a different spot when you know the sprinklers will be coming on. However, if your home windows fall victim to hard water, you may want to consider moving the position of your sprinklers. You can also consider a different time to run your sprinklers so you can dry the surfaces once the sprinklers have turned off. Another common way that hard water stains accumulate on windows is simply from the lack of knowledge. Many people will wash their window or screens with the hose and then allow it to air dry. If you are someone who washes your own windows, make sure you bring a towel with you to wipe everything down afterward. Also, if your only concern is that your screens are clean, remove the screen and wash elsewhere then place back on the window; this is a great way to avoid hard water from ever touching your windows in the first place.

Conclusion

Considering all the different ways in which hard water stains can occur, there is no doubt that we will all come across these pesky stains in our life. With that being said, it can be a great idea to have a professional window cleaning service you can rely on. Check out Ernest Window’s website to check out all the different ways we can help you!

The Glass of the Near Future

Whether you’re looking at your phone, watching television, or staring wistfully out your window, you’re inadvertently using one of the most useful elements in the history of human innovation: glass. While the Earth has been creating glass for billions of years, humanity has only briefly been utilizing glass in a myriad of ways to improve our daily lives. The following are a few ways scientists are improving glass technology for the next generation.

Smart Glass

We all thought smartphones were a technological breakthrough, but just wait until you hear about smart windows! New smart-window technology can tint glass, changing it from fully transparent to dark in less than 1 minute. This innovation could help cut the costs of heating and cooling buildings by up to 20%!

The technology was developed by Stanford University researchers. The new approach uses a polymer gel containing metal ions applied on a transparent electrode. When voltage is used, the metal ions plate the electrodes, blocking all wavelengths of light. After the opposite voltage is applied, the windows switch back to their inherent transparency.

The technology is not cost-effective enough to be used everywhere yet, but as with all new technologies, as the price continues to plummet we will see smart windows being used in residential and commercial buildings more frequently. For now, the technology is being used primarily by airliners and car companies. In the near future, you’ll be able to tint the windows of your house or apartment simply by pushing a button on your phone.

Nanotechnology

There are few things more irritating than trying to watch TV with sunlight streaming into a room, creating an obtrusive glare. Whether they’re on phone displays or TV screens, reflections can be a nuisance. To solve this issue, U.S. Department of Energy scientists have reportedly found a way of almost eliminating all reflections and essentially making glass become more invisible. The technology involves etching tiny nanoscale cones into a regular glass. The implications for putting this technology into practice reach further than just eliminating annoying glare on products. Eventually, nanoscience could be used in medical devices that use pulses of light, and even in making glass more energy efficient by minimizing the amount of sunlight lost to reflection. Soon everyone will be able to enjoy their favorite media and medical procedure without the intrusion of glare or reflection.

Conclusion

While humanity has used glass over the millennia to improve our standard of life, the progress has just begun. With the advent of smart glass and nanotechnology, we can look forward to many technological advances that make our daily lives more convenient. In the meantime, contact Ernest Windows for all your gutter cleaning and window washing needs, we’re more than happy to help.

A Window to the Mind – The Psychological Benefits of Natural Light

These days, the trope of a depressed person has become a cliché. TV shows and movies depict a depressed person as someone who is shut away in a dark room with shutters covering the windows and discarded bits of food and trash cluttering the floor. However, there is more truth to this scene than we are aware of. Did you know a dim room without any windows to let sunlight in can negatively affect your brain? This blog post will go over the many ways that an open, well-lit window can improve your psychological health.

Increased Productivity

Windows increase productivity in almost every definition of the word. In a work environment, multiple studies have shown that workers are more happy and productive when there are windows in the office. Natural light sparks energy and positivity, and causes workers to have improved mental clarity and problem solving skills. When a workplace is closed off from windows or has darker lighting, employees perform more poorly.

However, this is not just limited to the workplace. A study conducted by Heschong Mahone Group showed that students in rooms with windows scored higher on exams than those in rooms with only artificial light. Another study done by the same group found that Walmart made 40% more sales when their checkout counters were located under skylights. If you want to improve your productivity, do your work in a room with a window!

Decreased Depression

Sunlight has two benefits that help you fight depression: it boosts vitamin D in your body, and it helps your body release more serotonin. Vitamin D is a type of hormone linked to your body’s “feel-good” hormones, and serotonin is one of those “feel-good” hormones that boosts your mood. While spending too much time in the sun can cause sun burns and even skin cancer, a certain amount of time in the sun each day can be incredibly beneficial to your body.

This is where windows come in. Most modern windows are treated to let in light without letting in harmful UV rays. So, windows give you all the good parts of natural light while leaving out the harmful parts. Many studies have shown that taking in natural light helps people feel better because of the increased intake of vitamin D and production of serotonin. Whether you suffer from depression, or if you’re simply feeling gloomy that day, being near a window can improve your overall mood.

Improved Sleep

Your sleep cycle, or circadian cycle, is what makes you wake up in the morning and fall asleep at night. If this gets messed up, you will experience sleep problems related to insomnia, oversleeping, or fatigue. Your windows can help! The National Center of Biotechnology Information conducted a 30-year study and found that natural light affects our circadian cycle. In a different study, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute discovered that people who were exposed to more sunlight had a better quality of sleep, fell asleep faster, and didn’t wake up as often during the night, compared to those who were not as exposed to natural light.

Why does this happen? Not only does being exposed to the morning light improve your mood for the day, but it also lets your body know when it’s time to wake up. After the sun goes down, your brain is triggered into producing melatonin, which is the chemical that makes you sleepy. The natural cycle of the day regulates our cycle of sleep, meaning that our bodies are biologically attuned to the rising and setting of the sun.

Conclusion

There are countless psychological benefits of sunlight. Natural light is incredibly good for the human body, so being near a window all day can really improve your overall well-being. However, a dirty window doesn’t let as much light in. Make sure that your windows are nice and clean by calling Ernest Windows for our window cleaning services!

Benefits of Gutter Guards

When working properly, gutters aid our home drainage system, but there’s a reason that the word gutter has become synonymous with “the lowest or most vulgar level or condition of human life.” The gunk that gutters get clogged with often gets in the way of what they were designed to do. If you’re fed up with gutter problems, gutter guards might brighten your day quite a bit! Below is a list of some of the wonderful benefits of having gutter guards.

Animal Infestation Prevention

Oh, why does the animal kingdom have to be full of members who adore making themselves at home in damp, dark spaces? But alas, that is where we find ourselves. These creatures not only like to crowd the gutter, but sometimes even band together in symbiosis, to triple the damage. Some of the most notorious culprits include mildew, lichen, mosquitoes, cockroaches, spiders, and rats. But why put up with this monstrous infestation when gutter guards are available? Gutter guards can keep your rainwater flow free of pests by preventing these critters from entering.

Stagnant water is an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Clogging Prevention

Fungi and arthropods aren’t the only things that invade gutters. Debris such as leaves, twigs, and dirt can pile up in gutter water, making it overflow or clog. Like an artery with a buildup of plaque and cholesterol, a clogged gutter can cause damage to a building’s structure as well as make some wooden roofs rot. Regularly cleaning rain gutters and having proper gutter guards, however, can help gutters maintain the consistent flow of liquid.

Water Damage Prevention

So what happens when things clog up a gutter? All that water has to go somewhere. Unless the whole gutter bursts, the water would travel upward and seep into places it can. Of course, all the moisture would be devastating for the integrity of the building, especially for walls and ceilings, and then these compromises would make those weakened spots hotbeds for mold and mildew. Solution? Gutter guards! Putting in these protections would help dry areas stay dry and keep water from seeping into places it shouldn’t be in.

Conclusion

Your gutter doesn’t have to be a haven for nests and spider webs. With gutter guards, a gutter can be organized, kempt, and easy to clean. For gutter guard installation services, simply contact Ernest Windows! If you’re earnestly in need of realigning your gutters to their correct pitch and sealing them with silicon, know that the installers at Ernest Windows are out to do just that!

Glass: An Origin Story

Glass is omnipresent in our daily lives. Every time we look out the window, stare into our phone, pour a glass of wine, set the wine on our glass coffee table, and watch our polarized glass television screen, we’re utilizing one of the oldest and most important commodities. The following is a compressed history of glass manufacturing worldwide and the early developments of glass factories in the United States.

A Glass from the Past:

Before ancient humans figured out how to forge glass, the Earth itself had been creating it for billions of years. Naturally occurring volcanic glass had been used in societies around the world for tools and trading materials. The first man-made glass vessels and trinkets are believed to have originated in Mesopotamia, however archeologists have traced the explosion of glassmaking technology to Western Asia and Egypt. The technique of “core forming” was developed around 1500BC and allowed for a diversity of shapes in glass vessels and jewelry items. While this was a watershed breakthrough in glass manufacturing, only the wealthiest citizens could afford the luxury metal. It wasn’t until over a thousand years later when the Syrians invented glass-blowing tubes that glassware was affordable to the masses. Glass making technique eventually found its way to Germany and France by way of the glass-blowing workshops popularized by the Roman Empire.

The Eight Dutchmen:

The early settlements of what would become the United States were home to eight Germans Poles known as “The Dutchmen.” In 1608, they used local material to make the first glass called “trial glass” and exported it to England. Their products primarily consisted of window panes, glass bottles, vials, and cups. The glass factory erected in Jamestown by these Dutchman became the first manufactory built in the United States. The Jamestown Glasshouse was regularly attacked by Native American tribes, as it was situated near one of their encampments. After multiple sneak attacks on the factory, the Dutchmen decided to go to the Native American village of Werowocomoco to make an offer to build a house for the Powhatan chief. The chief was highly suspicious of their motives and banished them from the village. In the coming years, due to a sudden shortage of food, the population dropped dramatically and the Jamestown Glasshouse was abandoned in 1622.

By the mid-1700s the style of glassmaking was changed because of a law passed that ordered glass be taxed by weight. The new tax forced glassmakers to find creative ways to minimize the glass tax on their products. These novel stemmed wine glasses were popular among the well-to-do, as they were the only ones who could afford to buy them.

Conclusion:

Civilizations have been tinkering with glass-making technology for thousands of years.  While it’s easy to take for granted the seemingly endless implications glass has had on society, we should perhaps be grateful that modern life affords us luxuries that our ancestors could only dream of. Remember that next time you look out the window or drink out of a fancy stemmed wine glass. If your window is too dirty to look out of, don’t hesitate to call Ernest Windows. We give glass the respect it deserves!

Why You Should Open Your Windows in the Winter

During the winter months, colds and flus run rampant. There are a ton of ways to help prevent getting sick, including washing your hands often and getting the flu shot, but one method you might not know about is opening your windows.

Open Windows

THE HARMS OF KEEPING YOUR WINDOWS CLOSED 

Because of how cold the winter is, you probably want to keep your windows locked shut, but this could actually be causing the spread of germs. When it’s warm inside, more moisture builds up, triggering the growth of bacteria and viruses. These germs stay trapped within your home because the windows are opened less in the winter. Keeping the windows closed can cause bacteria and viruses to multiply, as well as trap more dust, mold, and smoke inside of your house. These harmful particles can irritate the eyes and sinuses, and also cause headaches, coughing, and fevers.

Since it’s so cold outside, we tend to stay indoors a lot more during the winter, causing us to be in closer contact with harmful germs and the people who may be carrying them. This is especially seen on public transport. Instead of walking to work or the store, many people choose to take the bus or train in cold weather. This means a lot more potentially sick people are sneezing and coughing on the windows that we touch regularly.

Open Windows

THE BENEFITS OF OPENING YOUR WINDOWS

When we spend so much time indoors, we need to make sure that we are getting fresh air. Keeping your windows and doors shut keeps the warm air in and the cold air out, but it also keeps healthy air out. Even though it is cold, it’s still vital that we open our windows. You don’t have to do it for long – 20 minutes to an hour every day allows fresh air in. This will let some of the moisture and bacteria that’s been building up in your home escape.

When you let the bad air out and good air in, you are at less of a risk of catching the cold or flu. Some studies even show that opening the windows every day creates a healthier microbiome in your home. Circulating your air can improve your overall health in addition to making you more impervious to sicknesses. 

Open Window

CONCLUSION

While it is important to open your windows every day, it’s also important to keep your windows clean. At Ernest Windows, Inc., we clean internal and external windows. Our services not only keep your windows spotless, but eliminate germs from them! Let us clean your windows today! To read more about our window washing services, visit our website.

The Technologies that Culminated in Pressure Washing

If you’re a pressure washing geek, you may already know that Alfred Kärcher developed the first European hot water high-pressure washer. You may even know that the early version of the modern hydraulic pressure cleaning technology wasn’t patented until 1941 by Job Fordyce Malsbary.  But do you know all the littler technological breakthroughs that led up to those breakthroughs? Well, hold on tight, because we’re about to do some time travel.

Powerful stuff.
Powerful stuff.

The Pressure

In the 18th century, Italian physicist Giovanni Battista Venturi, an Italian physicist, discovered that the flow of a fluid in a horizontal pipe, when met with a constricted cross-section, decreases in pressure with decreasing constriction. Known as the Venturi effect, this phenomenon assisted the development of things like the atomizer nozzle and modern cityscape (to calculate things like the air flow between buildings).

Although the first mechanical shower (a combination of a manual pump and a tub that poured water at the pull of a chain) was patented in 1767 by the English stove maker William Feetham, the first nozzle-operated shower arrived in the form of the Victorian velo-douche, which poured out water only once prompted by bicycle pedaling (performed by the bather); taking a shower must have felt a lot like a spinning class!

Dutch painter Van der Heyden invented leather hoses and used them for firefighting, but apparently the manufacturing could not be replicated outside of his country until 1818, when the copper riveting process came into being in Philadelphia.

After the nozzles and hoses underwent various transformations, voila—the water spray used in modern pressure washing equipment was born!

The Venturi effect in action.
The Venturi effect in action.

The Washing

One of the most common use of pressure washing today is window cleaning. And if it weren’t for glass, there wouldn’t be glass windows. Glass may have been around since ancient Egypt, but washing glass windows, or just windows in general for that matter, seems to have taken longer to emerge. Even after Syrians invented glass blowing, many glass products mainly just consisted of jewels and vessels.

Once stained glass became a thing, rainwater often cleansed the bird guano and other deposits off the windows. But once skyscrapers filled landscapes, a harder scrub was in order. The squeegee (a term speculated to have descended from the word “squeege”), having been borrowed from the nautical field and then adapted for the photography industry, finally became known as the moniker of a window-cleaning tool. In 1936, Ettore Steccone patented the squeegee in the form that we know it to be today.

Squeezee? Sleezee? No: Squeegee!
Squeezee? Sleezee? No: Squeegee!

Caption: Squeezee? Sleezee? No: Squeegee!

The Combination

And when the rubber blade of the squeegees and the drizzle of the water hoses did not seem to get the job done, the maintenance industry turned to something more powerful: something that would come to be known as “pressure washing.” Little did they know that it would birth a whole other industry!

Insulating Your Windows During the Winter

Homes capture whatever reflects through the windows – sunlight, heat, and the cold. If you live in a home where uneven temperatures and drafty rooms are the bane of your existence, then you might want to consider insulating your windows. The wintertime is a formidable opponent for your heater – how well can it keep you warm while avoiding high utility costs? A couple of methods that will solve the draft in your home is weatherstripping or utilizing shrink film and insulators for your windows. In our blog, we’re going to offer some tips on how to use these methods so your house stays toasty without feeling burnt.

Weatherstripping

The purpose of weatherstripping is to seal openings in doors or windows, prevent rain from entering, and keep the interior air in. By sealing windows, you’re preserving heating and air conditioning energy. The materials vary: vinyl, rubber, poly foam, brass, and aluminum. Weatherstripping is easy to do and doesn’t hurt your budget. If you have old windows, this method is especially helpful in sealing away those drafts.

Shrink Film

Think of shrink film as another barrier for your windows, sandwiched between the outside air and the inside of your home. This method is another way to prevent air leaks and is generally the popular choice because of how fast you can apply it without spending too much money. Use double-sided tape and seal the film over your window from inside. When you remove it, be careful not to peel off paint around the window.

Insulators

Rope caulking and draft snakes (or stoppers) are forms of insulators for your window. The former’s texture is putty, which makes it pliable for a long period of time. As for the latter, think of it as a pillow for your window. You can have a bit more fun with draft snakes by adding embellishments or altering the colors to match your home’s aesthetic. If you want more creative freedom, then draft snakes are the best choice.

Conclusion

Much like the summer, winter urges you to turn on your HVAC but at the expense of keeping it on for a while. In order to save utility costs, our suggestions that we’ve outlined are sure ways that you can have a cozy winter without worrying about finances. Don’t let the cold air seep through and overstay its welcome – block it out with the necessary defenses!

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