Nothing brightens and improves the appearance of a room in spring like clean windows. (It does wonders for your disposition as well.) One reason most people avoid cleaning them is that they just never learned the right way to go about it. Put away those paper towels, wadded-up newspapers, vinegar, and any other “helpful hints” you may have learned. The fast, efficient, and downright easy professional approach is to use a quality window squeegee and a mild solution of ammonia and water.
- If necessary, dust off the window and sill with a feather duster or dusting paint brush before you begin. Excess dust and water only cause mud and make the cleaning task harder.
- Use only a quality professional squeegee with replaceable rubber blades — forget those cheap, disposable ones in the grocery store, they’re not as effective, and they’re expensive in the long run because the blades are not replaceable.
- Don’t clean windows in direct sunlight. The sun dries your cleaning solution too fast which results in streaking.
- Dip a cleaning cloth (100% cotton is best) into the ammonia and water solution, wring out the excess, and wipe the window to loosen dirt.
- Now grab your squeegee. Start each squeegee stroke in a dry spot. Wipe a strip with a cleaning cloth to start you out.
- Squeegee in a systematic pattern from top to bottom or side to side.
- Keep the squeegee blade dry by wiping it with a cleaning cloth at the end of each stroke.
- Replace the inexpensive rubber blades when necessary. Even the smallest nicks cause streaking.
- Put your squeegee on the end of an extension pole to reach out-of-reach windows.
If you have any other questions about window cleaning or housecleaning in general, call The Clean Team’s free Cleaning Question Hotline at 1-800-717-CLEAN.
By adopting these professional window cleaning methods, you’ll be able to clean your windows, inside and out, in a fraction of the time, with a fraction of the effort, and with greatly improved results.
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