Clean sweeps: Seattles window cleaners have seen it all

Originally published June 27, 2014 at 12:03 PM | Page modified June 27, 2014 at 12:36 PM

TRAVIS SEERA is sitting on the sun-drenched rooftop of a high-rise in Belltown, enjoying the last few bites of his lunch until its time to climb off the edge.

To the uninitiated who peer over the parapet to see where hes headed, it feels like this could be Seeras last meal.

Its a stomach-churning drop, one that has turned his safety cones, parked on the sidewalk 26 stories below, into puny orange dots not much bigger than the period at the end of this sentence.

But Seera is unfazed. A high-rise window cleaner in Seattle, hes gone over the edge hundreds of times and always comes back for more.

So does Ben Cruzat, a married father of three boys with another on the way. Now 36, hes rappelled down Seattle high-rises with a bucket and a squeegee for 15 years.

I didnt have any plans of being a window cleaner this long, and every winter I have a different plan, says Cruzat. Hes smiling, but not laughing.

Remember the subfreezing temperatures during the Super Bowl parade? Cruzat and Seera worked nine hours that day, hanging off ropes attached to the roof of a high-rise on Second Avenue; it was so cold they put methanol in their buckets to keep the soapy water from freezing.

Seera, 31, wore four layers of clothing that day, including two beanies and gloves that did nothing to stop his fingers from freezing to the point of immobility. He cried that day. Everyone on the job did.

In the winter, I look inside and Im jealous, Seera says.

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Clean sweeps: Seattles window cleaners have seen it all