Window cleaning is usually quoted per pane, which sounds precise and still produces wildly different numbers depending on what a pane means and what is included.
Typical Sydney pricing
Per pane, single storey: commonly $5 to $10, inside and out.
Per pane, two storey: commonly $8 to $15.
Whole house, single storey: typically $180 to $350.
Whole house, two storey: typically $300 to $600.
Minimum call-out charges of $120 to $200 are normal, so a handful of windows costs about the same as a modest house.
Ask what counts as a pane. A large sliding door is often charged as two or three. A multi-pane colonial window may be charged as one or as each. This is where quotes that look different turn out to be the same.
What moves it
Height and access. The main factor. Second storey work needs water-fed poles, ladders or rope access, and anything that cannot be reached from the ground changes the job.
Inside as well as out. Interior cleaning roughly doubles it and requires access to the house.
Frame and sill cleaning. Often extra.
Tracks. Almost always extra, and worth it — see window tracks and sills.
Flyscreens. Usually $3 to $8 each to remove, clean and refit. More on those in how to clean flyscreens.
Condition. A standard clean assumes normal dirt. Builders residue, paint overspray, hard water etching or salt film is restoration work and is priced separately.
The coastal problem
This is where Sydney quotes diverge most, and where people get frustrated.
Glass near the water does not just get dirty. Salt deposits bond to the surface, and over years mineral deposits can etch into the glass itself. A standard clean removes the loose film and leaves the bonded layer, so the window still looks hazy afterwards and the customer feels short-changed.
Restoring that glass needs a different process — specialist cleaners, sometimes cerium oxide polishing, and considerably more time. It is a genuinely different service at a genuinely different price.
The distinction between salt film and hard water etching is set out in salt film vs hard water staining, and it is worth reading before accepting a quote if you are anywhere near the coast. Properties in Coogee and Maroubra deal with this constantly.
If permanent etching has occurred, no clean fixes it. Polishing or replacement are the options, and an honest operator tells you that rather than cleaning the same window three times.
How often
Two to three times a year suits most Sydney homes.
More often on the coast, where salt accumulates continuously and regular fresh-water cleaning actually prevents the bonded deposits forming in the first place. That is the real argument for frequency near the water — it is cheaper to clean often than to restore once.
More often also near construction, main roads or heavy tree cover.
What should be in a quote
- Number of panes, and how a pane is defined
- Inside, outside, or both
- Whether frames, sills and tracks are included
- Flyscreens, and the per-screen rate
- Access method for anything above ground floor
- What happens if glass turns out to be etched rather than dirty
- Public liability cover
Our general guidance is in what a fixed written quote should itemise.
Strata and commercial
Different market and different pricing. Apartment blocks are usually quoted as a whole-building contract, often annually or twice yearly, and anything above a certain height needs rope access or a building maintenance unit, which changes the economics entirely.
For committees, the relevant questions are height safety documentation, insurance, and whether common property glass and lot owner glass are being treated separately. Context in strata exterior cleaning: a guide for committees.
Doing it yourself
Ground floor windows are a reasonable DIY job with a squeegee, a bucket of warm water with a drop of detergent, and a technique that overlaps each stroke.
Two things to avoid: cleaning in direct sun, which dries the glass before you can squeegee it and leaves streaks, and newspaper, which is a myth that transfers ink to the frames.
Above ground floor, the saving is not worth the ladder.
For a fixed quote including tracks, screens and an honest assessment of whether your glass is dirty or etched, see window cleaning.
