City Lifestyle

Want to start a publication?

Learn More

Featured Article

Making Destin Sparkle

Local Window Cleaning Company Reflects on Last Decade

Article by Savannah Vasquez

Photography by Robert Young, Forever Young Images

Originally published in Destin City Lifestyle

It’s not something most people think about, but crystal-clear windows put forth the best image of a business or home. Taylor Wood of Optimum Window Cleaning in Destin knows the value of a correctly cleaned and pressure-washed building and has more than 20 years of experience in the window cleaning business to prove it. Better yet, Taylor and his fiancé Kaitlyn are Santa Rosa Beach locals, wanting the best for this small-town, big impact area.  

“The community is one of the main reasons I love doing what I do, because people always tell us we make them happy,” Taylor said. “For us, making the locals of Destin and Santa Rosa Beach happy is of greatest importance because it shows that they value working with a small-town local business.”

Taylor got his start at the young age of 17, when answering a bulletin board ad for help-wanted in a national window-cleaning company. That experience, he says, taught him how to run a business in the most efficient and professional way possible. 

“What really sets us apart is how we run our business,” Taylor said. “I got the business foundation from the nationwide business, but Optimum, it’s a family locally owned business. One thing I do differently is treat those who work for me like the business is their own. I don’t ever call them employees.”  

When it comes to their work, Taylor said they offer the highest quality window cleaning and pressure washing with the know-how that comes with his business’ longevity.  

“Before 2020, a lot of pressure washers never did window cleaning, and a lot of window cleaners never did pressure washing; but we have always offered both,” Taylor said. “There’s a real technique to washing windows the correct way. We get out there with the right tools and the right level of knowledge and our work really speaks for itself.” 

Taylor explained that his business was one of the first in the area to offer high-caliber window cleaning and both soft and hard pressure washing services. Optimum Window Cleaning is also one of the only businesses in the area that offers window cleaning up to six stories high.  

“Usually, a story is 10-12 feet above ground, but down here in Florida, the first story might be 20 feet up because it’s on stilts,” Taylor said. “Some people tell us that they had a hard time finding a window cleaning company because they wouldn’t go that high. We ladder-up and have a 60-foot ladder.” 

Along with his fiancé Kaitlyn and his two children, Taylor said he is forever grateful for the people of the Destin area who have trusted him to take care of their window and property cleaning needs.  

“Kaitlyn, I and the family, we love the community. We have even opened more businesses because everything has been going so well with our first business,” Taylor said mentioning his recent endeavors opening Beach Bonfires 30A and A1 Junk Removal and Services. “They call people like us serial entrepreneurs. That’s one of the cool things about being in a small town; everyone wants the local business; and that’s us.”