Cleaning Glass Windows

Time

Cleaning all the windows of your house is a big job, one that you’re not going to carry out weekly. General consensus seems to be that cleaning your windows three times a year should be enough.

Tools and Cleaning Materials

A huge amount of time can be saved by using the proper tools. Many decide to use paper towels or old cloths to clean their windows, which can make smudges and streaking worse. Using steel wool, razors or other abrasive materials to get off caked dirt is also not a good idea – once your glass is scratched there is little to do besides replacing it.

Investing in a clean terry cloth, a combination washer and squeegee, a chamois and perhaps an extension for you squeegee (so you can reach those high windows) will really make a difference to your frustration levels when cleaning glass windows. If you’re feeling really committed, you can consider buying more than one squeegee and customising them to fit any smaller or segmented windows you may have by cutting them smaller and sanding off the edges.

A simpler way to get that DIY buzz is to make your own glass cleaning solution. All you need is household vinegar and water, which you mix with a consistency of roughly 1:1. If you’re using tinted or treated glass, however, it may be a better idea to mix them 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water, as too much vinegar can more easily damage tinted windows.

Method

One of the best ways to diminish streaking when cleaning windows is simply to move through the process quickly. Keeping all your needed materials on hand will make this easier to do. If possible, you should also clean your windows when they aren’t in direct sunlight, so that your cleaning solution doesn’t dry on them too quickly.

After washing your window with your washer, you can use your squeegee, and starting from a corner, move your way vertically across the glass in an “S-shape”. You can clean off any left over water in the corners with your chamois.

For removing tougher water and chemical stains from your glass, you can spray a thin coat of oven cleaner on the spot and leave it on for about an hour before washing it off – but be sure not to do this on cut or engraved glass.

Self-Cleaning Glass

Another option for cleaning your windows is not to! It’s not tough to imagine that someone thought to develop windows that can keep themselves clean.
Self-cleaning glass has a microscopic coating that repels dirt, and also stops water from forming droplets on it – but rather has it run down in sheets across the glass, which keeps them clean as well. While this kind of glass is slightly more expensive, it can cut down on the time spent on your windows significantly!

Whatever your choices in keeping your windows clean, sparkling glass keeps your world view glistening!