Window cleaning in the Palmeraie, Marrakech

On a window you wet, you squeegee, you wipe the edge, and it is over. On an elevation six metres long and three metres high that sequence collapses: the first metre dries before the last one is reached, and glass left to dry on its own in full sun is marked for the rest of the day.

The method that holds up over a large surface is a different one:

• continuous wetting and squeegeeing, never leaving a wet zone to evaporate by itself; we work in overlapping bands, from the top down;
• pure demineralised water, which no longer carries mineral salts and therefore dries without leaving anything behind;
• no dry-cloth finish. This is the single clearest difference between professional and domestic washing: running a dry microfibre over a large pane redeposits fibres, recharges the glass with static and brings the dust back within hours. We finish with the squeegee and we do not go over it again.
• a maintained rubber blade, replaced as soon as it is nicked: a worn squeegee leaves a line of water visible along the entire run.

What that means for the price: a patio door is counted per unit, 150 MAD incl. VAT up to 4 m², both sides, frames and tracks included; a large sliding door onto the terrace is a patio door.

An elevation six metres by three goes well beyond that size: the estimate starts from the standard size, and the top-up is checked on your photos, with the dimensions, before confirming. It is never applied without your agreement. The full reasoning is on how large patio doors are counted.

In the Palmeraie, the large glazed elevations almost always face south or south-west, onto a garden with nothing opposite. There is nothing to filter the light, and two moments of the day are merciless: early morning and late afternoon, when the sun arrives almost parallel to the glass and reveals every mark, every greasy film, every fibre.

What that changes in how we organise a visit:

1. We do not wash an elevation in full sun. The glass is scorching, the water evaporates before the squeegee reaches it, and the result is poor whatever the technique. We follow the shade: east-facing elevations in the morning, west-facing at the end of the day, south-facing at the start or end of the slot depending on the season.
2. We inspect the result in raking light, not head-on. It is the only angle that tells the truth. We do that inspection with you or with the caretaker before leaving, elevation by elevation.
3. We take the wind into account. On a day carrying sand, a freshly washed elevation is speckled again within the hour: we say so, and we offer to move the date rather than hand over work that will not last the day.

This economics of timing — how long a result actually holds in this sector — is developed across all our services on the Palmeraie district page.

A pane in the Palmeraie rarely carries just one thing. The photos sent before confirming are there first of all to identify which one dominates, because they need neither the same time nor the same movement, nor always the same price.

Sand. It is an abrasive. It is not wiped off, it is rinsed off. Rubbing a sandy pane with a microfibre amounts to sanding it: the micro-scratches never come out.

We flood the surface first, let the load run off, and only then work the glass. Ordinary sand dust stays at the base price; glass left very dirty for a long time, with no hard deposit, takes 20% on top of the base.

Limescale from the irrigation. On the lower glazing reached by the sprinkler heads, the water dries and leaves a mineral deposit that ordinary washing will not shift. It is dissolved, rinsed, then finished; once encrusted, it adds 40% to the base, and the result depends on the surface.

On glass left under irrigation for years, part of the veil may be corrosion of the glass itself: nothing will make that transparent again, and we say so before applying the supplement.

Insects. Stuck midges, wing residue, palm sap spatter: this is organic and it hardens in the sun. We wet it, let it soften for a few minutes, then lift it off with a plastic blade. We never scrape glass dry, and never with a metal blade on coated glass.

The frames and the sliding tracks, meanwhile, are full of sand and palm fibre: cleaning them is included in the price of the patio door or window, at no extra charge — see what we do with frames and runners.

Many Palmeraie properties have double-height living rooms and glazed gables rising to six, eight or ten metres. Here, height is often the problem, because our limit is clear-cut: 5 metres from the ground. Up to 3 metres, base price.

Between 3 and 5 metres, a water-fed telescopic pole, 25% on top of the base, feasibility confirmed on photos — the supplement does not guarantee feasibility. Above 5 metres, we do not work: neither a cherry picker nor ropes.

And even below 5 metres, the second condition counts: from clear ground level. A pole is handled standing up, with stable footing and enough room to step back. At the foot of Palmeraie elevations, though, you often find loose sand, uncompacted gravel, a planted bed, a pool coping or a raised timber deck. On ground that gives way, the pole cannot be controlled and we do not use it.

What we do then, in order: we flag it on your photos; we look for an alternative footing and a workable angle; if there is none, or if the glazing rises above 5 metres, we do not treat that glazing — it comes out of the estimate, by name, and the rest of the property is priced normally. EPUREVA has neither a cherry picker nor ropes, does not hire either in, and will never present itself otherwise.

A worked example: 5 patio doors and 12 windows come to 5 × 150 + 12 × 75 = 1,650 MAD. If some of the glazing needs the pole between 3 and 5 metres, the 25% applies to that base, or 412.50 MAD: 2,062.50 MAD, rounded to 2,063 MAD incl. VAT, to be confirmed on photos.

How the pole works is described on pure-water work above head height, and the service as a whole on our Marrakech glass-cleaning silo. If the glazing has just come out of a renovation, with paint, adhesive or cement on it, the base takes 40%: glazing at the end of a refurbishment.