'Monk' brother runs blind-cleaning business out of Tosa-area home

Dan Shalhoub's blind-cleaning business doesn't carry a Monk seal of approval.

But, when they meet him, people can't help but ask: Are you related to Monk, you know, that actor from Green Bay, Tony Shalhoub?

"He's my younger brother," explained Dan Shalhoub, who runs White Glove Ultra-Sonic Blind Cleaning out of his home on the border of Wauwatosa and Milwaukee (his side of 60th Street is in Milwaukee; the other side is in Tosa).

Most people make the connection when they see Shalhoub's business card, although the vibrating water system he uses to clean blinds in area businesses and homes could easily meet the cleanliness standards for his brother's famous neat-freak character, Detective Adrian Monk.

It all started about 25 years ago, when Dan Shalhoub was looking for a way out of the carpet cleaning business and his native Green Bay. Ultra-sonic window blind cleaning offered an answer to both, so Shalhoub relocated to the Milwaukee area and became possibly the first ultra-sonic cleaner in the area.

Since then, Shalhoub has washed away everything from everyday dust and dirt to pet and smoking residue built up on blinds in homes from Delafield to Mequon and at restaurants, hospitals and offices as far away as Chicago, Green Bay and the Fox Valley.

"Everything I do is done on-site," Shalhoub said.

His 7-foot cleaning machine resembles a stainless steel trough, which Shalhoub usually sets up in customers' garages or, when the weather is nice, in their driveways. Shalhoub takes down the blinds and runs them through the machine, which uses a combination of warm water, soap and vibration to clean them.

Vibration is key to the process, since sonic waves create microscopic bubbles that implode and carry away dirt.

"Imagine putting your fingers out and then making a fist," Shalhoub said.

When everything is clean, Shalhoub re-hangs the blinds and heads to the next job.

After 25 years, Shalhoub teases that he's still better known as Monk's brother than as an ultra-sonic window blind cleaner. But he's hoping that might change.

"It's one of those really niche kind of businesses; it's very unique," Shalhoub said. "But if more people knew about it, they'd have it done."

JUST THE FACTS

BUSINESS: White Glove Ultra-Sonic Blind Cleaning

WEB: whitegloveblindcleaning.biz

PHONE: (414) 774-5353

OWNER: Dan Shalhoub

INCORPORATED: 1988

TYPE OF BUSINESS: window blind cleaning

PEARLS OF WISDOM: "It's one of those really niche kind of businesses; it's very unique."