Just a brief look at downtown Toronto will reveal a city that can truly boast a modern appearance. This means that you can count on towering skyscrapers, both residential and industrial, which boast the always-popular amount of gleaming windows. In fact it seems to be a general rule among tall buildings that the more windows that are in place, the more aesthetically pleasing the building is both from the inside and the outside (this has been true from the medieval ages of cathedrals right through to the present day).

Windows have a lot of advantages, of course. They let sun in for the people inside, they cut down on energy costs, and they sparkle with the gleam of sunshine on glass. On the other hand, windows also need a fair bit of maintenance ? they are of no use when they are dirty, and may even be detrimental. So it is important for any building to have clean windows, and there is a whole sector of business devoted to keeping the light coming in unencumbered, the window washers.

In a city such as Toronto, the nature of the buildings means that window washing is inherently a risky job. There are several factors which can influence the degree of danger a window washer faces while completing a given job, including:

Height of the window. Obviously, the higher up the washer is the more danger there is of injury or death in a fall.

Weather. Rain and wind will both affect the safety factor of the window cleaner's job. The higher up the window is, the greater the risk of high winds.

Surface. Window washers rely on equipment in order to get to those sheer windows, and that equipment must be attached to a secure surface, usually on the roof of a building.

Proper equipment: the only thing standing between the window washer and a fall

The only way in which a window washer can feel secure on the job is through the use of the proper equipment. This equipment will be different depending on the job in question, but in general there are some qualities that the safety equipment needs to have. These include:

An effective work platform, good both for the washer and his or her supplies

Adjustable, strong cables and clamping equipment that will work for any attachment area

A personal harness used on every single job

Toronto's beautiful buildings just wouldn't be the same without the job done by the city's window washers, and it is important that these people minimize the risks in an already risky job. Use of the right equipment is the biggest step in the direction of safety that window washers can take.