US window cleaner wins the first ever Window Cleaning World Cup

Window cleaners came from across the globe to take part in the competition – and make an official Guinness World Record attempt – at The Cleaning Show trade expo at London’s ExCel convention centre on 20th March.

Jeremiah Hickey, already the fastest window cleaner in the US, became the world champion with a time of 17.02 seconds, scooping a £1,000 cash prize and the trophy.

He said: “I was really surprised. To hear my name as the winner at the end, I was totally floored.

“It’s different windows to what I’m used to, a different technique, so I’m really surprised. It’s been a good event.”

Jeremiah, who is 42 and runs On The Spot Window Cleaning California, was crowned overall winner in the USA’s Speed Window Cleaning contest held in San Diego earlier this year.

Entrants in today’s Window Cleaning World Cup came from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales as well as from overseas.

They included the current fastest window cleaner in the world, Terry ‘Turbo’ Burrows, from Essex, who set his first Guinness World Record in 1995 on BBC1’s Record Breakers.

He went on to set two more record times in 2005 and in Blackpool in 2009, including the current world record of 9.14 secs. The Swedish champion Jimmy Strom also competed, coming second. Terry himself came in third.

Competitors had to clean three consecutive office-style windows set in a frame with a 300 mm squeegee and nine litres of water. They had to remember to wipe the window sill, with time penalties awarded for any smears.

Both the Guinness World Record Window Cleaning Challenge and the Window Cleaning World Cup - sponsored by the global cleaning equipment brand Unger - were adjudicated by the Federation of Window Cleaners (FWC), the UK window cleaning industry’s trade association.