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ANOKA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
Exterior cleaning and care in Andover, MN
Owner-operated from Ham Lake, next door, with Andover on our regular route and every service shaped by its water and oaks.
Glass House cares for the whole exterior of Andover homes: windows, siding, roofs, gutters, decks and concrete, along with the stains and seasonal work that come with living here. Every service page below is written for Andover homes and explains the local facts that change how the work is done.
Andover's city water is very hard, and in summer untreated wells can add iron and manganese. Oaks shade many lots, and the Rum River, Coon Creek and Crooked Lake keep the air humid. Each quote is confirmed with a quick walk-around, so the method suits your home before work begins.
OWNER-OPERATED
Carson Brenny quotes your home, does the work himself and walks it with you once the job is finished.
★ Rated 4.9 on Google · 44 reviews
Insured to $2M
Owner-operated
Based in Ham Lake
ABOUT ANDOVER
What we see on Andover homes
WATER
220 PPM, with iron in summer
Andover's water averages about 220 PPM (parts per million) of hardness, past the 180 PPM mark the USGS calls very hard. The city's 2002 plant removes iron and manganese, but at peak summer demand the city runs untreated wells, which bring both back into the system. When sprinkler or hose water dries on a home, the minerals stay: calcium spots glass, and iron and manganese leave orange and brown stains, heaviest in summer.
TREES
Oaks on the Anoka Sand Plain
Andover sits on the Anoka Sand Plain, where northern pin oak and bur oak are the common oaks and the city calls oak wilt a big problem. Emerald ash borer arrived in 2016. Oak shade keeps roofs and siding damp after rain and dew, which algae and moss need, and oak leaves and catkins pack gutters every year. Ash trees killed by the borer turn brittle and drop limbs and twigs onto roofs and into gutters.
WATER NEARBY
The Rum, Coon Creek, Crooked Lake
The Rum River forms Andover's west edge, Coon Creek runs through town, Crooked Lake sits on the Coon Rapids line, and Kelsey Round Lake Park is here too. Humid air near water keeps roofs, siding and decks damp, which is where algae, mildew and moss take hold, usually on the shaded north side first. A soft wash, matched to each surface and applied at low pressure, kills that growth; on roofs, the rain often does the rinsing.
HOMES
A median home built in 1994
The median Andover home was built in 1994, with about half built in the 1990s and 2000s. After three decades of sun, the surface of vinyl siding, painted trim and gutters breaks down into a chalky film called oxidation. Rain running over it leaves streaks, and the rougher surface gives dirt and algae more to hold on to. A wet white rag tells them apart: white chalk is oxidation, and a green or grey smear is algae or mildew.
Sources: City of Andover, Water Department; USGS, Hardness of Water; City of Andover, Oak Wilt; City of Andover, Emerald Ash Borer; City of Andover, Natural Resources and About Andover; Minnesota DNR, Crooked Lake; Point2Homes, Andover demographics (U.S. Census ACS 2019-2023).
ANDOVER WATER
How Andover water stains a house, and what helps
Andover's hard water, and the iron that returns with it in summer, leave two different marks on a home. Here is how each one forms, why the usual household fix backfires, and how we work with your water.
Two stains from the same water
Iron and manganese oxidize into orange and brown streaks on siding, brick and concrete, and calcium dries into white spots on glass. Dissolved iron is invisible and turns to rust once the water meets air on a porous surface, which is why a sprinkler stain traces the arc of the head. Same water, two different problems, and two different treatments: one for the siding and concrete, another for the glass.
Why bleach makes rust worse
Bleach is the usual first instinct, and on rust it is the wrong one. Bleach is an oxidizer: on rust, it oxidizes the iron further and sets the stain. Iron comes out with acid-based chemistry that dissolves it or binds it into a form that rinses away. Acid and bleach must never meet, mixed or one after the other without a full rinse, because together they make chlorine gas.
What prevents most of it
Aim every sprinkler head at the grass, never the house, and keep hose spray off siding and glass. Iron can come back in summer, when Andover runs untreated wells, so check the heads before watering season starts. A head that still reaches the house will bring the stain back. Where it matters most, filters on the outside spigots can remove the minerals before the water leaves the house.
How we clean with your water
We connect to your outside spigot and run the water through reverse osmosis, carbon and deionization filters in our van until it reads 0 PPM. Water with nothing dissolved in it cannot spot as it dries. Hard water wears the filters out faster, so we check the meter as we go, and the filter resin is replaced before the next job once a reading reaches 15 PPM.
THROUGH THE YEAR
A year of home care in Andover
SPRING
Clear the winter
Pollen and winter film come off the glass, and spring gutter cleaning clears seeds and catkins. Trim branches back so the roof dries faster, but leave oaks unwounded in spring and early summer.
SUMMER
Watch the sprinklers
City water follows odd/even watering from May 1 through August 31, with none from noon to 6 p.m. Aim the heads at the lawn, and treat new stains early, before they bond.
FALL
Gutters before the freeze
Gutters are cleaned once the leaves are down and before the first hard freeze, so wet debris does not freeze in place. Exterior cleaning wraps up November 15.
WINTER
Ice dams and lights
When storms create ice dams, they are removed with steam only, which melts the ice rather than chipping it. Roofline holiday lighting installs begin November 1, with takedown and storage included.
ANDOVER QUESTIONS
Questions from Andover homeowners
Do you serve all of Andover?
Glass House serves every neighborhood in Andover. The business is based in Ham Lake, next door, and Andover is part of our regular north metro route, so there is no trip fee. Lake lots are a regular part of the work, and a home on Crooked Lake costs the same as any other.
Can you clean my windows with Andover water?
Yes. We connect to your outside spigot and run the water through reverse osmosis, carbon and deionization filters in our van until it reads 0 PPM, meaning no dissolved minerals are left to spot the glass. Andover's hard water wears the filters out faster, so we check the meter as we go. Please make sure the spigot is turned on and easy to reach.
Why are there orange stains under my windows?
Orange stains under windows are usually iron, carried by sprinkler or hose water and left behind when the water dries. At peak summer demand, Andover runs untreated wells, so the water reaching your house can carry iron and manganese at the very time watering peaks. It takes an iron-specific, acid-based treatment, never bleach, which sets the stain. The sooner it is treated, the better it comes out.
How often should a house in Andover be washed?
Most homes in Andover should be washed every year or two. Homes near the Rum River, Crooked Lake or Coon Creek, and homes on shaded lots, should be washed every year, because algae and mildew return faster where siding stays damp. Trimming shrubs a foot or two back from the walls lets air move along the siding and helps it dry between washes.
How do quotes work?
To request a quote, send a photo or book a walk-around. Every online quote is verified in person before the work starts, so Carson can confirm the surfaces and bring the right mix for each one. You will have the exact price before any work begins. Normally nothing changes, and if something does, he explains it and works out a plan with you first.
When is your season?
Exterior cleaning runs March 1 through November 15. Roofline holiday lighting installs begin November 1, so the two overlap in the first half of November. Through the winter, ice dams are removed on call with steam only, and interior window cleaning remains available.
Who does the work?
Carson Brenny, the owner. Glass House is owner-operated, with no crews or subcontractors, and is insured to $2M. The person who quotes your Andover home is the person who cleans it and walks the finished job with you, so the standard does not change from one visit to the next.
What if the weather turns?
Weather reschedules are always free and never count as a cancellation. We send a text the day before with your arrival window, and another when Carson is on the way. For any other change to an appointment, please let us know at least 48 hours in advance, as the service policies explain.
THE OWNER
Serving Andover from next door in Ham Lake
Carson Brenny owns Glass House and does every job himself, with no crews, subcontractors or handoffs. The business is based in Ham Lake, next door, and Andover is on its regular route. He has worked full-time in exterior cleaning since 2020, and on each Andover home he quotes the job, does the work and walks it with the homeowner at the end.
Andover's city water runs about 220 PPM of hardness, and at peak summer demand untreated wells bring iron back into the system. Add oaks and the Rum River and Crooked Lake nearby, and one home can show mineral spots, rust and green growth. Carson identifies each one before anything is applied, because for most families, the house is their largest investment, and the wrong product can set a stain for good.
IN CARSON'S WORDS
“It's my neighbors' homes: their biggest investment, one of the places they spend the most time, and where the people they care about most live. It's something everyone should enjoy, and I believe that.”
Carson Brenny, owner
Fully insured to $2M
Owner-operated
Locally owned in Ham Lake
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