Squeegees set for the highest window-clean

An Australian company has described the epic task of cleaning the windows of the world's biggest skyscraper in Dubai, using squeegees, buckets – and $7.3 million (Dh26.81m) of high-tech equipment.

Dale Harding, General Manager of Cox Gomyl, said the firm designed and installed the Burj Khalifa's unique window-cleaning carousels, which were in action ahead of its official opening this week.

Twelve machines weighing 13 tonnes carry up to 36 cleaners, who use ordinary soapy water to wash down the Burj's 24,830 reflective windows in a process that takes three months, top to bottom.

"It's the same as an average shop front cleaner would use – there's nothing complex about it at all," he said.

The cleaners stand on the specially designed machines, which emerge from cavities in the skyscraper and track along rails skirting its curved towers. He said the firm had been working overtime to get the building gleaming for Monday's opening ceremony.

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