Highly strung workers give building a clean face

THE STATE Government Offices were gleaming like a new penny after a spruce-up yesterday by a team of window cleaners from Melbourne.Hanging high above the street, the team of six from Metropolitan Window Cleaning, was completely in its element.Although the SGO is one of Ballarat's largest buildings it wasn't enough to faze these cleaners. As team member Keiran McCosker pointed out, they have worked on buildings of 33 storeys in Melbourne's CBD."When you get really high up you can get the heebe-geebes, especially on an all-glass building, but on a building this size, even though you could hurt yourself if you fell, there is a sense of security," Mr McCosker said.To be a high-rise window cleaner Mr McCosker completed a twin rope method course at Homesglen TAFE for five days."I lot of people don't make it through the course as it is pretty intensive and you need to be pretty fit," he said.According to Mr McCosker, people are always asking him and his colleagues the same questions about their occupation."People always want to know if you can come to their house next and what's in your water."Having to work up high out in the open has many challenges but Mr McCosker has some good advice: "Woollen thermal underwear - I swear by it."