Why don't maid services and office cleaners steam clean floors? I see these products on TV all the time and they look great!

Most house cleaning services will not send out a steam cleaning machine with their maids for cost reasons.  Both cost of the machine and time it takes to clean a floor.  The mops they use like the StarMops we use at Cleaning Enterprises are much faster and actually better at cleaning ground up dirt on tile or wood floors.  Also, the steam cleaning machines that are sold on TV are under powered and subject to short life expectancies.  Plus they take two to three times as long to clean a given area.

At Cleaning Enterprises we do have commercial steam cleaning machines.  Their primary purpose is to clean grout in ceramic tile.  We also use them to clean really dirty floors - like those found quite often in foreclosed homes.  In this case the dirt is really ground in and needs the power of steam to lift it away from the tile.  The steam comes out at 250 degrees and 90 psi.  In comparison the TV brand machines are at about 150 degrees and 30-40 psi.  Plus the boilers in our machines hold a gallon or more of water and have automatic refill capability - rather than a pint of water.

Office cleaners tend not to use steam in favor of large spinning disk machines.  These are ideal for concrete floors and can be used on tile with care.  They are less practical for in house applications; again due to cost.

When I wash the windows there are no streaks but they don't sparkle like my window cleaner's windows. What did he do that I don't.

This is a window cleaner's trick.  If he has extra time he probably cleaned the inside of the glass with either 000 or 0000 steel wool.  This method removes micro-abrasions in the glass without scratching the glass.  In fact if we're cleaning french windows and doors, this is how we clean the inside - because the panels are so small.

This method isn't all that effective for large panes of glass because of the surface area that needs to be cleaned.  Also it is more physical work to use steel wool rather than a sqeegee.  But it surely does a great job.  Also we don't normally use it outside because of the dirt that's on the window.  Scrubbing dirt with steel wool could scratch the glass.  Cleaning it first the normal way, and then using steel wool is very time consuming.  Thus most window cleaners don't do it on the outside.

Why doesn't my vacuum cleaner seem to pick up all the dust?

That's a good question and depends on what type of vacuum you have.  Here at Cleaning Enterprises we use Sanitaire Commercial vacuums.  We tend to them every day because of the number of houses we clean.  Each vacuum has it's bag replaced and belt and rollers checked.  Any items wound around the roller (hair is a typical culprit) are removed.  The belt is checked for fraying and replaced if there are any signs.  Finally the vacuum is cleaned both top and bottom to remove any dust.  Once every week or so the cord is cleaned so that if it were to rub against a wall or a door it wouldn't leave marks.

However your vacuum may not be like ours.  Yours may be a bagless type.  Many people think these don't need maintenance like the bag variety.  Actually, these can emit more dust than a bag vacuum unless the seals are lubricated and the filters cleaned.  What filters you ask - mine doesn't have filters.  My answer is a definite yes it does - or throw it out!  The vacuum needs to exhaust the air somewhere.  Without a filter, all of the dust and dirt in the vacuum chamber that replaces a bag would come out.

Many people don't clean their filters and over time the vacuum loses suction.  Eventually wearing out the motor.  Look around for filters either at the base of the vacuum chamber or on the sides of the motor housing.  Typically the filters are either foam rubber or some other semi-porous material that lets out air but not dust.  Clean with soap and water and replace.  Ultimately these filters will wear out or wont be able to be cleaned.  Your local vacuum store should have replacement filters.