Cleaning the Windows at the Ft. Worth Zoo

We absolutely love love animals! Having a background in Ecology and animal behavior Sarah and I spent many of our dating years studying insects and other animals as well as giving educational talks in elementary schools.

Fast forward 13 years and our business Dutch Shine is growing strong though we don’t get to work with animals quite as much as we once did. To our surprise we received a call to help clean the renovated hippo enclosure at the Fort Worth Zoo as part of their A Wilder Vision initiative aimed at renovating and building new habitats, improving facilities, and innovating animal interaction.

We didn’t hesitate! The project included 200 feet of ultra-thick glass lining the hippo enclosure and was caked with construction debris and double-sided foam tape. We were surprised by the sheer number of construction crews on site when we arrived.

In order to ensure the safety of our crew and those around us we equipped ourselves with hard hats, high visibility jackets, and all the right tools. What we were not expecting was the rain! And boy did it rain. Every path in and out was a mud swamp coating everything but there was not time to wait for a sunnier day. The zoo had a schedule to keep and we were not about to let them down.

Lucky for us the hippo tank was under a loose palm thatched covering. We still got fairly wet, but nothing slowed us down. Using professional window cleaning techniques, we loosened and removed all of the debris and adhesive one foot at a time. As we finished off and admired our work, I could only imagine the dozens of small faces there would be pressed up against the glass waiting for a glimpse of an African hippo. In fact, later this year we’ll be bringing our own children to enjoy one of the best zoos in the country and of course show them the hippo enclosure we worked on.