The world’s fastest window washer lives in SLO County — and you can hire him

On March 20 — a very, very important day in the world of competitive window washing — Jeremiah Hickey had a head cold.

The cold was inconvenient considering that Hickey, a Grover Beach resident, needed to be at the top of his game if he hoped to win the coveted title of World’s Fastest Window Cleaner during the inaugural Window Cleaning World Cup in London.

“And I was jet-lagged,” Hickey told The Tribune in a phone interview on Monday. “I was a little rough. I didn’t get to do my practice session either; I just kind went up there, got a feel for it, and went for it.”

“I was really just going over there for the fun of it, i didn’t have any intention to win,” he added.

Much to his surprise, that’s exactly what happened.

Need for speed washing

For those not in the know about competitive window washing, the premise is relatively simple: Competitors are given nine liters of water, a 300-millimeter squeegee and a mop, and are tasked with cleaning three, 45-square-inch plates of glass as fast as they can.

Imperfections in the cleaning, such as streaks or spots, are an automatic half-second deduction.

Beside the cold, Hickey, 42, was also facing stiff competition. The world record holder in window washing, Terry “Turbo” Burrows, who set the 9.14 second record for window cleaning in 2009, was competing that day, as well as the Swedish champion, Jimmy Strom.

“(Strom) was really coming for it,” Hickey said, noting that only about five hundredths of a second separated him and Strom.

Hickey’s final time came in at 17.02 seconds — just over 11 seconds of actual washing, plus six seconds in imperfection penalties.

“Tough judges,” Hickey joked about the results.

Immediately after competing, Hickey wasn’t told what his final time was. Going into the final ceremony, he was unsure whether he had even done enough to make it into the winner’s circle.

“They started with third place, and when they announced it I thought, ‘OK, I didn’t even place top three,’” he said. “Then second place (was announced) and I was like, ‘For sure didn’t make top three.’ Then they announced first and I couldn’t even believe it.”

The prize for winning? $1,300 in cash and international “bragging rights.”

SLO County notoriety

The London competition wasn’t Hickey’s first foray into competitive window washing.

He’s held the title of America’s Fastest Window Washer five times, he said, since he began competing in 2000.

Hickey said he was first inspired to compete because of a desire to get more involved in the professional side of the business he and wife Amanda Hickey own out of Grover Beach.

The Hickeys started On the Spot Window Cleaning in Pismo Beach in 1998 after Jeremiah Hickey left his job in the wine industry. Amanda Hickey’s father was in the window-washing business and helped the pair start their own company, Jeremiah Hickey said.

On the Spot Window Cleaning has since moved to Grover Beach, where it’s currently headquartered.

Hickey said that, since winning his titles, he has a kind of “local notoriety” from people around the Central Coast.

Just because he’s the fastest doesn’t mean customers should expect their windows done in record time, Hickey joked.

“We do pride ourselves in wowing people with our efficiency,” he said. “But we really keep the quality.”