People who clean skyscraper windows quite literally have a direct view into other people's homes and workplaces, which makes for a lot of noteworthy awkward moments. While most buildings give their staff or residences a warning about all planned cleanings, not everyone gets the memo, and making eye contact with a stranger suspended in mid-air is known to bring out the weirdest reactions.
In a popular Reddit thread, people who clean skyscraper windows shared their bizarre and memorable stories from the job.
1. zappasbestfriend ate pizza while suspended in the sky.
Once while cleaning a high rise apartment, an old lady kindly ask me if I was hungry and proceeded to open her window and hand me a pizza slice.
So I sat there, 27 stories up, tangling on my chair and eating pizza.
It was a good day.
2. lokidopolous thinks it's funny how anxious people get.
Not as exciting as the other stories but something I’m blown away by when I’m on ropes is how many people feel guilty about not working when I’m around. When you look into peoples work stations you can see that almost no one works, most people are on Facebook, YouTube or on news sites. But the second the notice me outside the window they quickly switch to an excel spreadsheet.
Like they think I’m some kind of productivity spy about to rat them out to management. Keep cruising the internet people, don’t mind me!
And also, pointing to the window and saying “you missed a spot”, isn’t funny - f*ck you.
3. squirrelbeanie made eye contact at the weirdest moment.
I used to live in a high rise condo. Sometimes the window cleaners go up the side of the building where my small bathroom window is. One Saturday morning after a crazy night out, I ended up needing to take a really spicy beer shit. So I opened up the window and sat down on my toilet, hungover, with my eyes closed thinking about where I went wrong in my life choices that lead me to this moment where death seemed like a reasonable alternative.
Then I hear my window close. Apparently the window cleaner needed to close it to go up higher. Cue the slow ascent of their window elevator thing, they saw me destroying my toilet. We made eye contact and I gave him the universal “nod” of understanding. He gave me one back and continued his slow ascent upwards at like an inch a second.
Edit: Holy crap. I didn’t realize the way I worded the story made it seem like I was either sitting or shitting off my ledge so I added a little italicized edit. I mean sat down on the TOILET!! I’m not suicidal but I’m sure we’ve all had that hang over where you become borderline just for a while.
4. thinretrogod has a litany of stories from the sky.
I've been a rope access window cleaner for a couple years and have seen my fair share of weirdness. A couple incidents that stick out are:
a young couple having fun that invited me to join
an apartment in a ritzy building completely empty other than a table with several sheets of freshly printed, uncut $100 bills
a real ass mummy sarcophagus
Been offered several joint hits and various adult beverages while hanging off the side of a building. Animals were always my favorite though. Cats and puppies lose their minds seeing you outside their window and will happily chase your mop and squeegee while you work. Always brightened the day.
Edit: another memorable moment was causing a mild panic in the dining room of a local retirement home dementia ward. We felt bad and went as quickly as we could, but the nurses laughing their asses off as they tried to contain the pandemonium made us feel slightly better.
5. dman2316 got some cash for their silence.
Not a skyscraper window washer but was a janitor who had to wash the windows in a 6 story building as part of my job so I used a mix of ladders and rappelling down from the roof with a harness to clean the outside windows. One day I was washing the outside windows on the executive floor where all the bosses and higher up employees had their offices.
I was done with one window so I moved to the next window and looked in and saw the CEO of the company snorting something in his office with the door locked and the lights off. He looked up and saw me in the window and we made an uncomfortable eye contact for about 15 seconds then I just pretended I saw nothing and kept washing the windows. Never spoke a word about it to him or anyone in the office but the last day I worked there he gave me a farewell card with 200 bucks in it and a free solar powered portable phone charger that the company produced and sold.
6. dom_976 had a wholesome and hilarious exchange.
I once had a bookcase collapse on me in my office, as I was laying on the floor under a pile of books and shelves I heard a knock, there was a window cleaner at the window trying not to laugh and asking if I was ok.
7. bettywhitefleshlight's friend had a NSFW interaction with the window cleaners.
Friend was fresh out of the shower sitting at her computer desk naked when the window cleaners were at her place. She heard a noise so she turned around to see two men outside her third story window. So she screams and runs into the bathroom to hide. Later she calls the building management to complain and they tell her that a notice went out and she must not have seen it.
Then building management decided to ask the window cleaning service to send those guys to her apartment to knock on the door and apologize to her. Hilariously awkward.
8. agtritter feels bad for the patient in retrospect.
Ok, so not exactly what OP was asking for but a funny story nonetheless. I was in medical school on my psychiatry rotation at the local VA hospital. We’re in the 6th floor inpatient psych unit seeing a guy with schizoaffective disorder...we were asking him about any hallucinations or delusions he may have been having, and he tells us that he was seeing ropes outside his window and was worried people were trying to get into his room.
Seeing that there were clearly no ropes outside his window, we made note of his persistent symptoms and went about our rounds. About half an hour later we get to another patient’s room and we suddenly see ropes dropping from the roof down the side of the building. Turns out the poor guy wasn’t hallucinating...they were just cleaning the windows, lol.
9. zeroUSA has nothing but love for the enthusiastic window cleaner.
I am not a window cleaner, but a paramedic. We got a call once to a suicidal window cleaner guy once. We could see what was going on as we approached. He was swinging around and doing tricks in between each wipe of the window. Like giant swinging leaps and who knows what else. The police had him come down and asked him what he was doing, and he said he just really loves his job. So we told him he needs to be safe and left him to go back to work.
10. Raaaaaaaaaandy had the weirdest trial day washing windows.
One time in college I answered a help wanted ad for a window cleaner. I thought it was going to be one of these high rise jobs. Instead when I showed up the interview it was some methy looking guy in a parking lot. I spent the day with him going from house to house cleaning people's windows. He told me to pretend I was his nephew and he kept introducing me to customers that way.
Then when we were cleaning windows he kept telling me his fantasies of f*cking the housewives. It was super weird. Plus, he chewed tobacco and while driving would spit the juice between his legs onto the floor of his ratty truck. Then at the end of the day he told me it was just an audition and tried not to pay me. One of the strangest days of my life.
11. exscapegoat quickly learned why windows on the 47th floor should stay shut.
I'm not sure why, but while I was working on the 47th floor, the window washers had to open a window. It was like a wind tunnel, papers were blowing all over the place.
12. Cojy730's uncle has quite a few window washing stories.
My uncle is a former window cleaner and he said his most memorable moments were when he lived and worked in Rotorua, which at the time was the crime capital of New Zealand.
The most bizarre was when he saw some naked guy, obviously high on something, getting Benny hill chased up and down a street by the police.
The second most bizarre was when he heard a crash, followed by a van tire bouncing down the street that was being chased by a massive Maori guy who proceeded to throw the tire over his shoulder and wander off whistling as if nothing had happened.
13. Azuris-Bane's uncle rescued a dog on the job.
Not me but my uncle has been doing it for years and had many weird encounters, but this one is kinda sad.
Having changed companies he started at this new apartment building. Near the top there was this old lady with a dog, the dog was young enough and was always excited to see him. Eventually he started talking to this woman when he was working through a small window, they became somewhat friends. Then one day almost a year on the job he went up and for the first time the apartment was empty except for the dog, which he found odd, so when he was finished up he tried to check and see if she was in but got no reply.
A day later a member of staff from the apartment block (I think it was the landlord but can’t remember) got back to him and told him that she passed away, and that she had no family. Assuming that my uncle knew her the landlord asked about the dog, seeing if there was anything that could be done. My uncle being the kind fella he was, took the dog.
Nearly ten years later my uncle still has the dog, a little terrier name Pumpkin.
Edit: For those that asked for a picture of the dog, this is a recent enough one. Dog Tax - Here is Pumpkin
14. mopsarethebomb wished they didn't accidentally intrude on this man's moment alone.
Well. I was washing the outside of the windows at the group home I work at (state was coming by later that week and I was super bored).
I walk up to one of my dudes bedroom windows to wash it off and apparently he hears me outside somehow even though he had his radio turned up to about nine f*cking thousand, like he always does.
He rips up his blinds, totes naked, and starts slapping himself repeatedly in the forehead and screaming.
This was pretty normal for him, but it's definitely the strangest thing I've ever seen so far in my life while washing a window.
15. RedditYankee was the creepy visage in the window.
I was visiting my grandparents in a high rise, looking out their windows a few stories up. As the window cleaners went by, I happily watched them clean, hands folded behind my back, because the windows were a one way type thing where they were basically mirrors from the outside in.
I knew this because I’d seen the building from the outside. Unbeknownst to me, the level of reflectivity changes pretty drastically depending on the time of day, and I realized that when the window cleaners were going by, they had to wash the windows while some weirdo (me) stood about 12 inches from the window watching their form.
16. PiercedGeek got fired for their lack of ladder skills.
During my stint as a window cleaner (about 3 weeks) I didn't really see anything outrageous but I will never forget how I got fired. The boss hands me my check, tells me that I don't need to come back on Monday (I wasn't surprised) and says, "PiercedGeek, you can clean a window and it'll actually be clean, and I can't say that about everyone I hire, but man watching you climb a ladder is like watching a dog trying to sh*t a peach seed."
Edit : OMFG this took off, I didn't think anyone would even see it. I think what he meant was the shaky, super careful super slow way I would get up to the window to clean it. I f-ing hate ladders and was battling every survival instinct just to be on the stupid thing. Thus the lack of surprise on my part.
17. normal242 will never forget Brett Lee's downward facing dog.
It was a normal morning and I had just began cleaning windows. I'm cleaning one with the blind down not really paying attention. I realize that the blind is slowly rising and when it finishes opening I see him. Cricket legend Brett Lee doing yoga. Will never forget that day.
18. Son_Of_Science's girlfriend bonded with the window cleaner.
My condo building was having the windows cleaned. Being a teenager, I forgot.
I was in my room with my girlfriend at the time. I start hearing this noise and think "that's weird, there's no floor above us." So I stop and start turning my head (I'm still on top of her) when "bam!"
Ladder appears at my window. Middle aged window cleaner sees us. Starts laughing.
I jump up naked, covering myself, and run for the remote for the automatic blinds.
Pressed the button, and stood there in front of the cleaner while my blinds slowly "vvvvvrrrrrrrr......"
I stand there buck naked for a good minute while the cleaner and my gf laugh their a*ses off.
19. marmite_crumpet got a lot of winks and giggles.
What I got was a LOT of flirting. I don't know if the pane of glass gave them a sense of safety, or if lots of office chicks are just bored, or if our red overalls were particularly fetching but something brought out the bachelorette instinct, notes pressed against the glass, pretend lesbian performances, you name it. Only seemed to happen when there was a group of ladies though.
Edit: I'm not u/PivotPIVOTPIVOOOT's ex despite the weird similarities.
20. thefabulousbomb's friend had a very uncomfortable moment with the window cleaner.
Not a window cleaner but do have a couple of stories.
My parents were having the windows changed one day, and didn’t warn me, so I went to bed nude (it was summer and British houses aren’t designed for heat), woke up the next morning to scaffolding being put up. Luckily my bed was hidden so they couldn’t see me, but I had to hide in the corner of my bed and text my mum to get some clothes for me to wear.
A guy I briefly dated told me the story of the time his parents forgot to tell him they were having the windows cleaned. His entire family went out for the day so he decided to whack one out, nude, with his blinds open. Just as he’s on the edge he looks up and sees a very uncomfortable man at his window trying to clean it.