GANA
Addresses Window Cleaning During Glass Week Meeting
The Glass Association of North America's (GANA) Glass Week kicked
off today at the Rio in Las Vegas. Early in the day the tempering
division's construction subcommittee touched on the issue of glass
cleaning, an issue that has seen much debate between the glass association's
members and the window cleaning industry. (CLICK
HERE to read the International Window Cleaning Association's
(IWCA) recent request to GANA to retract its glass cleaning informational
bulletin.)
In particular, GANA has urged window cleaners not to use metal
scrapers to clean glass, as it can result in scratches, while IWCA
and other window cleaners indicate that these scratches result from
the presence of fabricating debris on tempered and heat-strengthened
glass that is pulled along the surface of the glass.
The GANA construction subcommittee members stressed that it was
important to get the word out about the damage caused by metal scrapers.
"GANA has taken the position that we are here to educate and
will continue to educate the window clearners," says Brian
Pittman with GANA.
It was suggested that a sticker on certain glass products might
help in this education process.
The subcommittee expressed interest in the idea, noting that a GANA-supplied
sticker would carry more weight than individual company-supplied
stickers. In addition, stickers would have to be supplied to nonmembers,
subcommittee members agreed. Some individuals suggested having these
stickers applied by the glazing contractor, although there was concern
about liability should the contractor neglect to use the sticker.
One listener added that there would likely be push-back from the
commercial glazing industry should stickers be required on the exterior
of the glass.
Should this practice be followed-up, Greg Carney, GANA technical
director, pointed out that the sticker would be most useful in the
initial cleaning, when cement and other new construction debris
are most problematic for glass.
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Stay tuned to USGNN.com for further updates from Glass Week.
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