Residential Window Cleaning · Southern NH & North-Central MA
Residential Window Cleaning
Interior glass, exterior glass, storm windows and screens. On a schedule, by the same crew, from an insured company.
At Joslin & Co, we clean windows for homeowners across southern New Hampshire and north-central Massachusetts. Residential service covers interior glass, exterior glass, storm windows and screens. Most customers settle into a maintenance plan, annual or semi-annual, timed to the season they actually want to look through clean glass.
What residential service covers
| Included | Detail |
|---|---|
| Exterior glass | Water-fed pole systems for reach, hand detailing where the window calls for it |
| Interior glass | Cleaned by hand, room by room |
| Storm windows | Yes. Including the sashes behind them |
| Screens | Yes |
If there is anything beyond that you want looked at, ask when we are there. We would rather tell you what we do and do not handle than leave you guessing.
The part other companies leave out
We clean storm windows
This sounds like a small thing until you own a house that has them. A great deal of the housing stock across southern New Hampshire and north-central Massachusetts has exterior storm windows, and not every window cleaning company will touch them.
An exterior storm sits in front of the primary sash. That means additional glass surfaces to reach, and the storm itself has to be handled before the window behind it can be cleaned properly. Triple-track and double-track units have to be moved through their tracks to expose the outer face of the lower sash. It is real additional labor, and it is why some companies decline the work outright and say so on their own websites.
If your house has storm windows, that does not disqualify you from getting the glass cleaned properly.
Divided lites and grids
A six-over-six or eight-over-eight colonial sash is not one pane of glass. It is twelve or sixteen small panes, each with its own perimeter of muntin to detail around. A window with true divided lites takes several times longer than a modern picture window the same size, and it needs hand work rather than a pole. This is the single most common reason two houses on the same street get very different quotes.
Older glass
Antique glass scratches more readily than modern tempered units, and wooden sashes swell and stick with humidity. Both are reasons to be careful about who takes a blade or a scraper to a window in an older home, and reasons the cheapest quote is not always the one that leaves the house in better shape than it found it.
How the work is done
Water-fed poles for reach, hand work for detail
Two methods do most of the work in this trade, and the right one depends on the window rather than on habit.
Pure water and water-fed poles
A water-fed pole system filters tap water to remove the dissolved minerals that cause spotting. Ordinary water leaves those minerals behind as it dries, which is what produces spots and streaks. Purified water carries nothing to leave behind, so glass can be rinsed and left to dry without toweling. It also means upper stories can be reached from the ground, which keeps ladders off gutters, siding and planting beds.
We use water-fed pole systems along with traditional methods.
Hand detailing
Interior glass, divided lites, delicate glazing and anything needing close inspection is worked by hand. A pole is efficient on open exterior glass and wrong for a colonial sash with sixteen small panes.
When the glass needs more than cleaning
If windows still look cloudy once they are dry, the residue is mineral rather than dirt, and that is a different service. The same is true of paint and construction debris after a renovation. Both need abrasive treatment, and we will tell you which one you are looking at rather than scrubbing at it and hoping.
Why homeowners hire us
Ask any window cleaner whether they carry workers’ compensation
Most homeowners know to ask “are you insured?” Fewer know there are two different answers behind that question, and that only one of them protects the homeowner.
General liability covers damage to your property. A broken pane, a dented gutter, a scratched sill. Workers’ compensation covers the person doing the work. If an uninsured cleaner is injured on your property, off a ladder or off a roofline, that claim can reach your own policy.
Plenty of small operations in this trade carry liability and skip compensation coverage, because it is expensive and often not required at small headcount. We carry both: $1,000,000 in general liability and workers’ compensation, with a certificate of insurance available on request.
Nico Joslin has cleaned windows for ten years and founded Joslin & Co in March 2024. There is more about the company if you want it. Joslin & Co is owner-operated, the same cleaners return to the same house, and you are messaged the day before we come, so nobody arrives at your door as a stranger on a day you were not expecting.
What changes the price
What we need to know to price it
Two houses with the same square footage can be very different jobs. These are the factors that actually move the number.
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Number of panes | Pricing tracks panes, not rooms. A grid sash counts as many small panes, not one window. |
| Divided lites and grids | Multiplies detailing time substantially over plain sashes. |
| Storm windows | Additional surfaces, and the storm has to be worked to reach the sash behind it. |
| Screens | Removed, cleaned and reinstalled. |
| Interior and exterior | Interior work adds access, furniture and floor protection. |
| Number of stories | Ground-floor glass is faster than anything needing pole reach. |
| Access | Decking, plantings, slopes and tight side yards slow ladder and pole placement. |
| Glass condition | Mineral scale, paint or construction debris is restoration work, not routine cleaning. |
| Frequency | Glass on a maintenance schedule never reaches the state that one-off cleans start from. |
Tell us those details on the phone and we can give you an estimate. We confirm it when we walk the property, and on most jobs we complete the work on that same visit. There is no separate estimate appointment and no second trip.
When to book
Spring and fall are when this work gets done in New England
Window cleaning in this region is seasonal, and the two natural windows are straightforward.
Spring
Winter leaves road salt, sand and grime on exterior glass. Spring cleaning clears it and restores light after the darkest part of the year. One thing worth knowing: booking during the heaviest pollen weeks means fresh pollen lands on newly cleaned glass within days. Scheduling once the worst of it has passed gives a noticeably better result.
Fall
Clearing summer pollen and dust before winter matters more than people expect, because grime left on glass through cold months has time to bond. Fall cleaning also buys maximum light going into the shortest days of the year, which is the part most homeowners actually notice.
Maintenance plans
Most residential customers settle into a twice-yearly rhythm, and some prefer annual. There is nothing to sign up for and no package to choose between. We simply agree an interval that suits the house and come back on it. It is the simplest way to keep glass from ever reaching the state where it needs more than a routine clean.
Common questions
Residential window cleaning questions
How often should I have my windows cleaned?
Once or twice a year suits most homes in this region, timed to spring and fall. Houses near busy roads, under heavy tree cover, or exposed to irrigation overspray benefit from more frequent cleaning, because the material landing on that glass is the kind that bonds if it is left.
Do you clean storm windows?
Yes. Exterior storm windows and the sashes behind them are part of residential service. Not every company takes that work on, so it is worth asking whoever quotes you.
Do you clean the inside as well as the outside?
Yes. Residential service covers interior glass, exterior glass, storm windows and screens.
Do you clean screens?
Yes, screens are included in residential service.
What if it rains after you clean?
Rain does not make clean windows dirty. Dirt makes windows dirty. Clean glass with nothing on it to bond to sheds rain without spotting. What causes spotting is rain running over glass that already carries dust, pollen or mineral residue.
Do I need to be home?
For exterior-only work, no. Interior work needs access, so we arrange that with you. Either way you are messaged the day before we come.
Can you give me a price over the phone?
No. Pane count, grids, storms, stories, access and the condition of the glass all change the job, and none of that is visible over the phone. We come out, look at the house, and quote it, and on most jobs we complete the work on that same visit.
Are you insured?
Yes, and it is worth being specific. We carry $1,000,000 in general liability and workers’ compensation, and a certificate of insurance is available on request. General liability covers damage to your property; workers’ compensation covers the person doing the work.
Who actually shows up?
The same cleaners each visit. Joslin & Co is owner-operated and family-owned, so the crew that learns your house is the crew that comes back to it.
My windows still look cloudy after cleaning. What is that?
Almost always mineral deposit rather than dirt. Lime and mineral scale bond to the surface and washing will not lift them. That is hard water restoration, which is a different treatment involving polishing and abrasive work.
Where we work
Window cleaning by town
Joslin & Co is based in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, offers four window cleaning services, and provides window cleaning across southern New Hampshire and north-central Massachusetts. Each town below has its own page covering what the work involves there.
New Hampshire
Nashua, NH · Manchester, NH · Concord, NH · Keene, NH · Peterborough, NH · Milford, NH · Salem, NH
Massachusetts
Worcester, MA · Lowell, MA · Fitchburg, MA · Leominster, MA · Chelmsford, MA · Littleton, MA · Acton, MA · Concord, MA · Marlborough, MA
Get your house quoted
We come out, walk the property with you, and quote it. On most jobs we complete the work on that same visit. There is no separate estimate appointment and no second trip.