$2M CGL insurance + WSIB
Working at Heights certified
7 Inverleigh Dr, Etobicoke
Window counts lie. A quote sheet says a house has 18 windows and your brain files it as a small job, half a day, easy money. Then you stand in the backyard and start mapping how a human being gets to each pane: two skylights parked on the roof itself, a row of glass above a gazebo that weighs as much as a grand piano and disassembles exactly as easily, and everything wearing a film of construction dust with tape ghosts underneath. This Etobicoke job cost $240, and every dollar of it was earned by access, not glass area.
The job: exterior-only on a modern Etobicoke build
Quick answer: The client booked DT Cleaning for exterior window cleaning on a modern custom home in Etobicoke at a flat $240, agreed before the crew arrived. The house has a moderate window count, but the layout put glass in three hard places: on the roof as skylights, high on a dark stucco elevation, and directly above an immovable backyard gazebo. Exterior-only service, July 2026.
The house is one of those sharp modern infills that have been reshaping Etobicoke streets: dark stucco and pale block, black frames, big panes, and a twin sibling built next door. Gorgeous glass. Architect-approved. And, as usual with new modern builds, designed by someone who never once thought about the person who would wash it.
The client wanted outside only, which is a common and sensible choice: exterior surfaces catch the road dust, pollen, and rain spotting, while interior glass mostly collects fingerprints on its own schedule. Exterior-only keeps the crew outside the family's day entirely. Nobody moves a couch, nobody watches a stranger walk through a bedroom, and the price stays lean. Our window cleaning in Toronto service runs both formats; this article is what the exterior half looks like when the house fights back.
Where the difficulty lived on this house
Quick answer: Four access problems defined this $240 job: skylights that sit on the roof itself, windows placed above a steel gazebo of roughly 400 kg that cannot be moved or taken apart, high panes over a dark stucco wall, and construction residue that ruled out the fast water-fed method DT Cleaning normally uses on modern homes.
The only way to wash them is to be up there with them: ladder onto the roof, set up again on the slope, and work beside the glass. No pole reaches a skylight properly from the ground.
The backyard gazebo has a welded steel frame and a rigid plastic roof. It does not disassemble and it does not slide. The windows above it might as well have sat behind a parked truck.
Upper panes on the stucco elevations sit a full extension-ladder climb up. Every trip is a set-up, a climb, a wash, and a reposition. The window count stays small; the ladder work does not.
Tape pieces, tape shadows, stucco droplets, and a general film of site dust sat on multiple panes. None of it responds to soap alone, and all of it rules out spray-and-rinse shortcuts.
Any one of these is routine. All four on one moderate-sized house is how a small window count turns into a full crew visit, and it is exactly the kind of home where hiring matters most: the glass a homeowner can safely reach here is the minority.
Why the 40-foot pole stayed on the truck
Quick answer: DT Cleaning carries a water-fed pole system that extends to 40 feet, and on a normal modern home it would have handled most of this job from the ground. Construction residue changed the plan: tape, stucco spatter, and bonded debris need a scraper and steel wool on soaped glass, which is hand work. The pole cannot feel what the hand tools remove.
We own the fast way. A water-fed pole up to 40 feet, purified water, brush the pane, rinse, let it dry spotless. On maintenance window washing visits to tall modern houses it is the tool of choice, and honest companies will tell you most exterior visits need nothing else.
This was not a maintenance clean. The glass carried leftovers from the build: pieces of installation tape and the baked glue shadows where tape used to live, stucco and mortar droplets flicked onto panes by the trades, and dust bonded into the corners. A water-fed brush glides right over all of it. So the crew worked the old way, and if you have ever searched for how to clean exterior windows after a build, this is the sequence that works:
- Soap the pane generously. A wet, slippery surface is the safety layer for everything that follows. Nothing sharp touches dry glass.
- Scrape the bonded debris. A glass scraper, blade flat against flooded glass, lifts tape, glue, and stucco droplets in single directional strokes. Done wet and flat, it is a standard professional technique; done dry, it is how panes get scratched.
- Finish with fine steel wool. Fine-grade wool over soaped glass shears off the residue the blade leaves behind, the same method window cleaning suppliers teach for post-construction detailing. On standard uncoated panes it polishes without marking.
- Squeegee and towel the edges. The regular finish: squeegee off the water, dry the perimeter, check the pane against the light.
Strictly speaking, part of this was light post-construction work, which is normally its own line on a quote; our post construction window cleaning service exists precisely because bonded residue takes several times the labour of dirt. Here the affected panes were few enough that we folded the detailing in free rather than nickel-and-dime a $240 visit. The client got post-construction glass at a maintenance price and never had to learn the difference.
"The pole would have washed this house in half the time and left every piece of tape exactly where it was. Fast is only fast if the glass ends up clean."
DT Cleaning crew lead, Etobicoke, July 2026
Skylights: carrying the ladder onto the roof
Quick answer: The skylights sit on the roof surface, so the crew carried a multi-position folding ladder that converts from 4 to 16 feet up with them, set it on the roof, and washed the skylight glass beside it. DT Cleaning technicians hold Ontario Working at Heights certification for exactly this kind of access, and skylight glass is never stood on.
Skylights are the one kind of window a homeowner should not attempt, full stop. They live on the roof, they are surrounded by slope, and the glass itself is never a walking surface, whatever the installer's brochure implied about strength ratings.
Our answer is a multi-position folding ladder, the kind that reconfigures from 4 feet to 16 feet in a few latch moves. It goes up the extension ladder with us, then rebuilds itself on the roof: A-frame here, staircase configuration there, leaned short ladder somewhere else. On almost any roof geometry there is a stable position that puts a technician next to the skylight rather than on it. Add soap, squeegee, and towels carried in a belt bag, and roof glass gets the same wash quality as ground-floor glass.
The rules on this part of the job are not ours to relax: Working at Heights training per the Ontario Ministry of Labour standard, and the ladder discipline that CCOHS documents for portable ladders: angles, tie-offs, three points of contact. The $2M liability policy and WSIB coverage stand behind every climb. This is the invisible half of a window cleaning invoice, and on this house it was most of the job.
The gazebo problem: washing over 400 kg of steel
Quick answer: A steel-frame gazebo of roughly 400 kg with a rigid plastic roof sat directly under the back windows, and it neither moves nor disassembles. The crew set a small ladder onto the gazebo frame, climbed to its roof, stepped only where the structure has crossmembers, and washed the windows above with a 14-foot pole: sleeve to soap, then squeegee.
Every crew in this trade has a story about the thing the client installed under the windows. Here it was a big box-store gazebo: welded steel frame, hard plastic roof panels, roughly 400 kg of garden furniture that assembles once and never moves again. The windows above it sat too high to pole from the ground at a workable angle and too far to reach from any ladder position around the structure.
The solution was slow and deliberate. A compact ladder went onto the gazebo frame itself. From the top of it, a technician moved onto the gazebo roof, stepping only along the lines where steel crossmembers run under the plastic, because the panels between them are exactly as breakable as they look. From up there, a 14-foot extension pole did the washing: soap sleeve on the pole first to scrub the pane, swap to the squeegee head, pull the water off.
Honesty about method limits is part of doing this well: pole work from a distance is the one situation where a small tape speck or a missed corner can survive, because the technician's eyes are 14 feet from the glass. On this house there was no third option; the alternative was not washing those windows at all, or sending someone through the client's interior to lean out. We told the client the same thing before we started, washed to the standard the distance allows, and the result read clean from every place a person stands.
"You step where the steel is, not where the plastic is. It is the kind of thing nobody teaches you in a course; the gazebo teaches you."
DT Cleaning crew lead, Etobicoke, July 2026
The free extras: a glass garage door and the tape that left with us
Quick answer: Two things went beyond the $240 scope at no charge: the light post-construction detailing on the affected panes, and a full wash of the frosted glass garage door, which was dirty enough to drag down the look of an otherwise clean facade. DT Cleaning treats small free extras as the cheapest marketing it will ever buy.
The garage door on this house is a wall of frosted glass panels in a black aluminum grid, a genuinely good-looking piece of architecture that was wearing months of construction traffic. Washing it was not in the scope. We washed it anyway, because handing back a house with clean windows and a grimy 8-foot glass door in the middle of the facade is like detailing a car and skipping the hood.
The economics of free extras are not complicated. The door added minutes to the visit and finished the facade. The client was, in their own words, very happy with the result. A happy client on a street of identical new builds, each with the same dusty glass and the same unwashable skylights, is worth more than the minutes cost. This is the same logic as the roof check that caught the moss in our North York roof moss case study: the unbilled ten minutes is where the next three jobs come from.
What exterior window cleaning costs in Toronto
Quick answer: Exterior-only window cleaning on most detached Toronto homes runs $150 to $400 with DT Cleaning, with a $130 service minimum. This Etobicoke custom build came to $240, priced on access rather than window count: roof skylights, ladder-only elevations, and an obstacle under the back glass. Interior-and-exterior packages on comparable homes run roughly $300 to $470.
| Scenario | Typical price | What sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior-only, most detached homes | $150-$400 | Window count, storeys, and access |
| This case study | $240 | Moderate count, hard access: skylights, gazebo, high stucco walls |
| Interior + exterior, two-storey detached | $300-$470 | Full in-and-out service, tracks and sills included |
| Service minimum | $130 | Smallest booking we roll a crew for |
The number that surprises people is never the glass, it is the access. Two identical window counts can be an hour apart in labour once one of them involves a roof. When we quote, we are pricing ladder repositions, roof time, and obstacle work; the soap is a rounding error. That is also why phone estimates for modern builds come with a walkaround caveat: the skylight or the gazebo is rarely mentioned on the call, and it is half the job. Full pricing logic lives on our window washing Toronto page, with Etobicoke-specific details on the Etobicoke service area page.
When exterior-only is the right call
Quick answer: Exterior-only makes sense in 4 situations: maintenance cleans between full services, homes where interior glass stays clean, schedules where nobody can be home, and budgets where $150 to $400 outside beats $300 to $470 for everything. DT Cleaning recommends a full interior-and-exterior clean at least once a year, with exterior-only visits in between.
- The rhythm clean. Outside glass weathers; inside glass mostly does not. A spring full clean plus a fall exterior-only visit keeps a house sharp for less than two full services.
- The nobody-home schedule. Exterior work needs no access, no supervision, and no rearranged day. Book it, leave for work, come home to clean glass.
- The new-build reset. After construction, the outside face takes the dust and residue this article documents. Pairing an exterior detail with a later interior visit spreads the cost.
- The budget pass. When $470 is not in the month's plan, $240 outside delivers most of the visible difference, because the exterior face carries most of the grime.
Key takeaways
Where we do this work
Exterior and full-service window cleaning, priced the same way, across Toronto and the GTA:
Exterior window cleaning questions, answered
How much does exterior window cleaning cost in Toronto?
Exterior-only service on most detached Toronto homes runs $150 to $400 with DT Cleaning, with a $130 minimum. Access drives the price more than window count: this Etobicoke case study came to $240 because of roof skylights, high stucco elevations, and an immovable gazebo under the back windows.
What is the best way to clean outside windows?
Soap the glass with a sleeve or soft brush, then pull the water off with a squeegee in overlapping strokes and towel the edges dry. For bonded debris like tape or stucco, professionals add a scraper and fine steel wool on wet, soaped glass. Working top to bottom keeps rinse water off finished panes.
What is the best exterior window cleaning solution?
Plain water with a small amount of dish soap remains the professional standard for hand washing: enough slip for the squeegee, no residue worth naming. Water-fed pole systems use purified water with no soap at all, which dries spot-free. Specialty outdoor sprays are mostly convenience products; the technique matters far more than the bottle.
Is Dawn dish soap good for washing outside windows?
Yes. A few drops of standard dish soap in a bucket of water is close to what most professional crews run for hand washing, DT Cleaning included. The mistakes are dosage and drying: too much soap leaves film, and letting suds dry on glass in the sun causes streaks. Small dose, squeegee promptly.
How do you clean outside windows without streaks?
Streaks are almost always dried soap or dirty water, so the fix is process: modest soap dose, a clean squeegee blade pulled in overlapping strokes, edges towelled dry, and no washing in direct hot sun where the pane dries mid-stroke. On purified-water pole systems, streaks vanish because nothing is left to dry.
How do professionals clean skylights?
From the roof, beside the glass, never on it. On this Etobicoke job the crew carried a multi-position ladder that folds from 4 to 16 feet onto the roof, set it in a stable configuration, and washed the skylights by hand. Ontario Working at Heights certification and fall-safety discipline are non-negotiable for this access.
Can you clean windows above a gazebo or other obstacle?
Usually yes, with planning. On this job a roughly 400 kg steel gazebo sat under the back windows and could not move, so the crew climbed to its roof, stepped only over the steel crossmembers, and washed the glass above with a 14-foot pole: soap sleeve first, squeegee second.
Is exterior-only window cleaning worth it?
For most homes, yes, as the between-service clean. The exterior face carries the road dust, pollen, and rain spotting, so outside-only delivers most of the visible improvement at $150 to $400 instead of $300 to $470 for full service. DT Cleaning recommends one full interior-and-exterior clean per year on top.
Do window cleaners clean glass garage doors?
DT Cleaning does, and on this Etobicoke job the frosted glass garage door was washed free of charge because it was pulling down an otherwise clean facade. On homes where the garage door is a major glass surface, mention it when booking so the crew brings time for it.
How often should exterior windows be cleaned in Toronto?
Once or twice a year covers most Toronto homes: a full clean in spring and an exterior-only pass in fall is the rhythm we see work best. Homes near construction, on busy roads, or under heavy tree cover collect grime faster and often justify a third visit.
Who does exterior window cleaning near me in Etobicoke?
DT Cleaning is based at 7 Inverleigh Dr in Etobicoke and provides window cleaning services across Toronto and the GTA with two permanent crews. Exterior-only or full service, backed by 500+ five-star Google reviews, $2M CGL insurance, WSIB coverage, and Working at Heights certified technicians. Call (647) 558-8411 for a same-week quote.
How do you clean outside windows you can't reach?
With reach equipment, not risk. Professional crews use extension poles from 14 to 40 feet, multi-position ladders that rebuild themselves on roofs, and Working at Heights training for everything above the second storey. On this Etobicoke job that meant washing from the top of a gazebo and beside roof skylights. Magnetic and robot cleaners suit apartment glass; for houses, poles and ladders win.
Related case studies and services
Modern house, impossible windows?
Skylights, tall elevations, glass over obstacles: that is the half of window cleaning you are really hiring. Exterior-only from $150, full service available, across Toronto and the GTA with insured, WSIB-covered, Working at Heights certified crews.
