Window Cleaning Glossary of Terms

AIRSPACE

The measured distance between the inner surfaces of the two pieces of glass in an insulated unit.

ANNEALED GLASS

Non-tempered glass. The most common glass used in window products.

How Glass is Fabricated

ANODISE

An electrochemical process that increases the natural oxide coating of aluminum.

Clear anodizing gives aluminum a smooth consistent surface that reduces corrosion, especially in salt air. Color anodizing can be effected by the use of dyes or special alloys.

APPLIED MUNTIN

A muntin in a glazed window that does not actually separate individual lights of glass.

This muntin may be of a material different than the main frame- work of the window. The applied muntin may be attached to the glass with an adhesive or placed over the glass and held in place by the glazing bead.

ARCH TOP

Any window with a horizontal sill, vertical jambs, and a head that is curved upward.

ASTRAGAL

A channel on a sliding glass door panel, which allows another panel to slide into it.

BALANCE

A device in a hung window that allows the sash to be adjusted to any position between fully open and fully closed.

BAY

A combination of three window units mulled together with the end units offset at a 45 degree angle.

BUMPER

A soft vinyl or rubber cushion that prevents the moving panel of a sliding glass door from striking the jamb on the fixed panel side of the door.

CAULKING

A soft semi liquid material used to seal cracks around a window and doorframe adjacent to the wall opening.

Normally, this is applied from a tube in a caulking gun.

CLERESTORY

A window in the upper part of a lofty room, usually out of reach from the floor.

These windows can be fixed or operating and an extension device is used for operating clerestory windows.

COLONIAL LITE

Windows with small rectangular panes or divided lites and designated as a 12-lite, 16-lite, and so on.

CONDENSATION

A condition caused by warm moist air coming into contact with a colder object with moisture appearing on the colder surface.

A large difference in the temperature of either side of a window and humid air present on the warmer side will cause condensation to appear.

CTF

“Cut To Fit”

CUSTOMER

One that buys goods or services.

An individual with whom one must deal.

DEIONISED WATER

Water that has had the ions removed from it. It is 99.9% free of any impurities which cause water spots

DI WATER

see DEIONISED WATER

DOGHOUSE WINDOW

A fixed-lite window with a horizontal sill, vertical jambs and a peaked head that resembles the front view of a common doghouse.

Also known as a pentagon or a double rake head. or a dormer

DOOR

A movable device used to close off the entrance to a structure, room, or covered enclosure, typically consisting of a panel of glass, wood or metal.

It slides horizontally or swings on hinges.

DOUBLE HUNG

A type of window with two vertically moving sashes, with each sash employing balances. (See BALANCE and HUNG)

EXFILTRATION

The escape of air from a structure.

The opposite of infiltration.

EYEBROW

A fixed lite window with a gently arched head similar in appearance to one’s eyebrow and has jambs of equal height.

EYELID

A fixed lite window with a gently arched head similar in appearance to one’s eyelid.

Similar to an eyebrow but the eyelid has no jambs.

FIXED FRAME

A type of window with no operating parts, just simply, a frame and glass.

Also, referred to as a Picture Window.

FIXED LITE

A light of glass in a window or door that does not operate.

It is usually the upper light of a single hung window. Sometimes the same as a picture window or fixed frame window.

FIXED PANEL

The non-operating panel of a sliding glass door.

FIXED VENT

The non-operating sash, lite, or panel of a sliding window or door.

FRAME

The outer members of a window or door.

The frame includes the head, sill or threshold, the two jambs and the meeting rail of a window.

GLASS

Any of a large class of materials with highly variable mechanical and optical properties that solidify from the molten state without crystallization.

GLAZE

The act of installing glass or other glazing materials, such as plastic, into a window or door.

GPM

Gallons per minute

Water Fed Pole

GREEN HOUSE WINDOW (Garden Vu)

A five-sided window unit that protrudes out from the exterior wall of a structure.

The unit contains shelves and has ventilating apparatus.

GRID

A removable muntin pattern applied to a single light of glass.

HEAT-STRENGTHENED GLASS

This glass is produced in much the same way as tempered glass, but with lower levels of surface compression.

HUNG

A type of window with one or more vertically moving sashes that employs balances.

INFILTRATION

The air or moisture that leaks through the cracks of a window or door from outside of a structure.

The opposite of exfiltration.

INSULATED GLASS

A light of glass made up of two sheets of glass, a spacer bar filled with a desiccant material placed between the two sheets at the perimeter, and a sealant applied around the entire perimeter of the assembly.

INTERNAL MUNTINS

Muntin bars located between the sheets of glass in an insulated glass unit. These muntins are purely decorative.

IWCA

International Window Cleaning Association

Nonprofit trade association committed to raising the standards of professionalism within the window cleaning industry.

JAMB

The sides or outermost vertical side members of a window or door frame.

KEEPER

A part of a locking device attached to the frame or mid-rail of a window or door that accepts the mating part of the lock. (See STRIKE)

LAMINATED GLASS

The permanent bonding two pieces of glass together with a tough plastic interlayer (polyvinyl butyral) under heat and pressure.

Automotive

LATCH

The locking device on a door or window.

LIGHT

A piece of glass in a window or door.

LOW-E GLASS

Low emissivity glass, it is a glass type with a transparent coating applied to its’ surface that helps keeps your house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

MULLION

A horizontal or vertical member that holds together two adjacent lights of glass or windows or sections of curtain wall.

MUNTIN

A part of a window that divides a light of glass into smaller sections.

MWCoA

Master Window Cleaners of America

An association for residential and route window cleaners

OBSCURE GLASS

A type of glass with one surface roughened in such a way as to reduce visibility but yet allow light to enter a structure.

This type of glass is often used in bathroom windows. Also referred to as translucent glass.

PANE

A lite of glass.

PANEL

A part of a door, or sometimes a window, composed of a light of glass and surrounded by a frame.

Panels can be fixed in place or movable. It is similar to a sash or vent.

PASS-THRU WINDOW

A single-hung window without a sill that is used for counter-top applications.

PATIO DOOR

A sliding glass door used in a patio area.

PICTURE WINDOW

A non-operating window consisting only of frame and glass.

Living room

PRIMARY WINDOW

A window installed into the wall of a structure.

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)

A material used to make vinyl window parts, weather strip and glazing bead.

PYROLYTIC

Decomposition or transformation of a compound caused by heat.

(sp) Pyrolitic not in the dictionary

Pyrolytic is the correct spelling.

Produced in the factory, not sprayed on site.

“Pyrolytic or “Hard coat” reflective coatings and Pyrolytic Low-E coatings are mass produced, easy to obtain, and usually cost less. The pyrolytic reflectives do a good job of solar resistance and thermal insulation. Pyrolytic coatings are applied as molten glass is cooling: thus making them part of the glass. Pyrolytic coatings are scratch resistant, and can be used as a single pane application, exposed directly to weather and elements

RAIL

The outer members of a sash. (See STILE)

REFLECTIVE GLASS

A type of glass with a mirror-like surface that reduces the transmittance of sunlight through a window.

REGLAZE

To glaze a window or door again or to replace broken or defective glass or other glazing material in a window or door. (See GLAZE)

REVERSE OSMOSIS

In simple terms, reverse osmosis is the process of pushing a solution through a filter that traps the solute on one side and allows the pure solvent to be obtained from the other side. More formally, it is the process of forcing a solvent from a region of high solute concentration through a membrane to a region of low solute concentration by applying a pressure in excess of the osmotic pressure. The membrane here is semipermeable, meaning it allows the passage of solvent but not of solute.

The membranes used for reverse osmosis have no pores, the separation takes place in a dense polymer layer of only microscopic thickness. In most cases the membrane is designed to only allow water to pass through. The water goes into solution in the polymer of which the membrane is manufactured, and crosses it by diffusion. This process requires that a high pressure be exerted on the high concentration side of the membrane, usually 5 MPa – 20 MPa (50 bar – 200 bar).

Pure Water Window Cleaning

ROLLERS

Wheels attached to the bottom of the sash or panel of a window or door that allows it to slide easily.

SAFETY GLASS

A type of glass designed to prevent injury if it is broken. (See LAMINATED GLASS and TEMPERED GLASS)

SASH

Normally the moving segment of a window, although sash is sometimes referred to as fixed sash.

SASH STOP

A device placed near the top of the jambs of a hung window to prevent the sash from striking the head of the window.

SCREEN

A product used with a window or door, consisting of a four-sided frame surrounding a mesh of wire or plastic material used to keep out insects.

SIDELITE

A fixed lite rectangular shaped window that is placed next to a door for ornamentation and/or to allow light to pass through.

SILICONE

A plastic type material used for sealing cracks in window frames, and is used sometimes as a glazing compound.

SILL

The threshold or lowest horizontal member of the frame of a window or door.

SKYLIGHT

A type of window installed in the roof of a structure to allow admittance of sunlight.

Fixed in placed or they can be of a type that opens for ventilation.

SLIDING GLASS DOOR

A type of door with one or more horizontally sliding glass panels.

It is commonly used for access to patios and may be called a PATIO DOOR.

SQUEEGEE

A T-shaped implement having a crosspiece edged with rubber or leather that is drawn across a surface to remove water.

STACK

A condition where one or more windows are attached above another window or door that is to be installed in a structure.

STILE

Another name for the vertical side rails of a sash or a sash jamb.

STOOL

The part of the framing around a window located at the bottom of the window opening and either under or next to the window’s sill.

STORM WINDOW

Attach to or over a prime window, are called secondary windows.

STRIKE

A part of a locking device into which the moving portion of the latch engages.

The moving parts to the lock are usually located on the sash or panel of a window or door, while the strike is located on the jamb or meeting rail.

TCL

see TRUE CUT LITE

TDL

see TRUE DIVIDED LITE

TDS

Also called Total Dissolved Solids ; a measure of the total amount of dissolved material in the water.

Water Fed Pole

TDS METER

Total Dissolved Solids – It is a simple meter, usually digital, with which you test the TDS of the water coming out of your waterfed pole. (taken from Jeff Klass’s post)

TEMPERED GLASS

A type of safety glass that has been heat treated so when it breaks it separates into very small pieces that reducing the possibility of injury.

Doors, windows located near doors, and other locations where safety is critical.

THERMAL BREAK

A type of window that employs an insulating material in the sash and frame members to reduce the flow of heat either inward or outward.

TINTED GLASS

A special type glass with additives, usually metallic particles that reduce the passage of sunlight.

TRANSOM

A fixed lite rectangular window that is placed over a door.

TRUE COLONIAL

A pattern of muntin bars using horizontal and vertical members to form a “tic tac toe” design on a light of glass by dividing a single glazed light into smaller individual pieces.

TRUE CUT LITE

also known as “french pane”; one of as many as 4 to 15+ small panes of glass that make up an entire window or door

TRUE DIVIDED LITE

Sometimes referred to as “French Windows”; Windows and doors that have anywhere between 4 and 15 (or more) small panes of glass

French Windows

VINYL

A shortened form for polyvinyl chloride or PVC. (See PVC)

WATERFED POLE

A telescopic pole fitted with a brush and a means of delivering water for window cleaning

WEATHER STRIP

A part of a window or door, used to seal the cracks around moving sash or panels against the passage of air or water, when the door or window is in the closed position.

Weather strip can be made of metal, vinyl, wool pile or other materials.

WEEPHOLE

An opening at the sill of a window or door allowing moisture to drain free.

WFP

See “WATERFED POLE”

WINDOW

An opening constructed in a wall or roof and functioning to admit light or air to an enclosure, usually framed and spanned with glass mounted to permit opening and closing.