OC · StrataCommon property cleaning for Melbourne owners corporations and body corporates
OC · StrataCommon property cleaning for Melbourne owners corporations and body corporates
S07Glass
Strata window cleaning covers the glass an owners corporation is responsible for: entry doors and lobby glazing, lift lobby mirrors, balustrades on shared walkways and pools, stairwell windows and the outside of low-rise buildings. We clean what we can reach safely and tell you plainly when a facade needs specialist access.
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This page is for committees and managers in Melbourne apartment and townhouse schemes, from Docklands towers to three-storey walk-ups in the eastern suburbs. It maps the glass a scheme usually owns, explains how each type is cleaned, where the limits of safe reach sit, and how glass fits into the cleaning calendar. Window work is one of the periodic scopes in our strata cleaning services, and entry glass is done on every routine visit.
01The glass map
Strata window cleaning covers glass that is common property: entry doors and sidelights, lobby windows, lift lobby mirrors, shared walkway and pool balustrades, stairwell glazing, skylights over common areas and the external windows of common spaces. Glass inside or belonging to a private lot is the owner's to arrange.
Balconies are where this gets murky. On many plans of subdivision the balcony belongs to the lot, so its balustrade glass is the owner's job. On others it is common property. We check the plan, or ask the manager to, before including any balcony glass in a scheme quote.
| Glass | Where | Method | How often |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry doors and sidelights | Front entry, carpark lobby | Traditional squeegee, both sides | Every visit |
| Lobby windows and mirrors | Foyer, lift lobbies, mail area | Traditional, streak-free finish | Weekly |
| Walkway and pool balustrades | Shared walkways, pool fences, podium | Traditional or pole, both faces | Monthly to quarterly |
| Stairwell glazing | Fire stair landings | Traditional from the landing | Quarterly |
| Low-rise externals | Outside faces up to about four storeys | Water-fed pole from the ground | Quarterly or twice a year |
| High-rise facades | Above pole reach | Specialist access, scoped separately | Once or twice a year |
02First glass
Entry and lobby glass is cleaned on every routine visit, both sides, because it is handled constantly and shows every smudge in afternoon light. Lift lobby mirrors and glass panels follow on the same round, finished with a dry cloth so they do not streak under downlights.
Front doors collect handprints at two heights: adults push at the handle, children at waist level, and dogs leave nose marks lower still. The push plate and the glass around it are cleaned last, just before the crew leaves, so the building looks right for the rest of the day.
Lobbies facing west have their own challenge. Low sun in the afternoon lights up every streak left by a quick wipe. We use clean water, a proper squeegee and a finishing cloth, rather than spray and paper towel, which only moves the grease around.
Stainless steel door frames and lift doors sit right beside the glass and get the same care, wiped with the grain. It is a small thing, but a clean pane in a smeared frame still looks grubby.
03Balustrades
Glass balustrades show everything, because light passes through them from both sides and people look at them from both sides. Rain spots, salt, fingerprints and bird droppings are obvious, and balustrades are the glass residents photograph from their walkway or the pool deck.
They also get dirty faster than windows. Being low and exposed, they catch splashback from rain, dust from the path and salt spray in bayside suburbs like Elwood, Brighton and Hampton. The bottom rail and clamps collect grime that runs down the glass after every shower.
We clean both faces and the top edge, wipe the clamps and channel, and dry the bottom rail so the next rain does not leave a line of dirt. On pool fences, the gate glass and the latch area are done by hand, because that is where hands go.
In buildings where balustrade glass forms part of each lot's balcony, residents often ask whether we can do theirs at the same visit. We can quote owners individually, billed to them rather than the owners corporation, which keeps the scheme contract clean.
04Low-rise externals
For low-rise externals the crew stays on the ground and works a water-fed pole: a long carbon pole that delivers purified water to a soft brush. It lifts dirt, then rinses the glass with water that dries without spots. No ladders, no chemicals, and no one working from a height.
Purified water is the key. Tap water leaves mineral spots when it dries; water with the minerals filtered out does not, so the glass dries clear without a squeegee. That makes pole cleaning ideal for walk-ups, townhouse rows and mid-rise buildings with good access around the base.
Reach depends on the ground as much as the pole. A flat path close to the wall lets us clean up to about four storeys. A garden bed, a slope or a carport roof in the way reduces that. We check each elevation on the walk-through and mark on the quote which windows can be reached and which cannot.
Frames and sills get washed in the same pass, which is often where most of the visible dirt sits. If the ground below needs a clean afterwards, it can be done on the same day by our strata pressure cleaning crew.
Height decides the method
05Above pole reach
Glass above pole reach needs specialist access: rope access, a building maintenance unit or a boom lift. We scope that work separately and arrange it through access-qualified partners where we can, or tell you honestly that a facade contractor is the right call. We never stretch a pole or a ladder past safe limits.
Work at height is one of the most closely regulated jobs in Victoria. WorkSafe Victoria lists the boom-type elevating work platform as its own licence class (WP), so the operator must hold that licence; scissor lifts are not on the list. Rope access and building maintenance units bring their own training, anchor inspections and safe work method statements.
For tall towers in the CBD, Southbank and Docklands, facade cleaning is often already arranged through the building's own access equipment and a specialist contractor, on a yearly or twice-yearly cycle. In those buildings we look after the lobby, podium and balustrade glass at street level and leave the facade to them, coordinating dates so both jobs are not happening at once.
Facade glass above about four storeys, glass over a void or roof, and anything needing rope access, a boom lift or a building maintenance unit. We will not quote it as part of a routine window clean.
Source: WorkSafe Victoria, high risk work licences. Checked September 2026.
06In the calendar
Entry and lobby glass sits in the routine visit, while balustrades, stairwell glazing and externals are booked as quarterly or twice-yearly jobs in the same calendar. That way the glass is done after the dusty outdoor work, not before it, and nobody books two contractors for the same week.
Settled weather and long evenings; salt and dust from spring removed.
After the gutter clean, before winter rain streaks everything again.
Stairwell glazing and lobby panels while outside work waits for dry days.
After pollen season and the second gutter clean, before summer.
Buildings on a full program see glass placed around the other periodic jobs automatically. That scheduling is part of our strata cleaning and maintenance programs, where the whole year is approved by the committee in one go.
07Pricing
Entry glass is included in the routine visit price. Periodic glass is priced per visit by the number of panes or metres of balustrade, the height and access, and whether both sides are cleaned. Facade access work, where needed, is quoted as its own line.
Balustrades are usually priced by the metre, because panel sizes vary. External windows are priced per elevation after the walk-through, because two buildings with the same number of windows can differ greatly in how easy they are to reach. Private balcony glass, where owners opt in, is priced per lot and billed to them.
For how glass sits within a full building price, see strata cleaning cost.
08Pricing request
Tell us the number of storeys, whether there are balustrades on shared walkways or a pool, and the suburb. Photos of each side of the building help. We confirm reach on a walk-through and send a quote that lists every glass type, how often it is cleaned and the price per visit.
If the building already has facade access arranged, let us know who does it and when, so our dates fit around theirs. To send plans or photos, get a quote through the full enquiry form. For the rest of what we look after, visit strata cleaning Melbourne.
09Glass questions
That, and two other questions committees raise about glass.
