Best Window Cleaning Practices at Home
When it comes to cleaning the windows in your home, you can go one of two routes. One, you learn to do it yourself and two, you hire a professional window cleaner to clean them for you. Cleaning your windows can be a quickly learned skill, keeping them clean however is the hard part. With children, pets and other environmental factors, it can be a chore on its own maintaining the cleanliness of your windows. To receive the most out of your own attempts at cleaning your glass, we’ve asked the owner of a window cleaning service at Window Cleaners Winnipeg for some helpful homeowner advice. I will point out that this advice is for the average homeowner who chooses to clean them on their own instead of hiring a professional. The ladder will be a different and more skilled method of cleaning possibly requiring different equipment.
First off, choose a day when the sun isn’t as prominent. Sometimes the cloudier it is, the better because the sun produces hotter temperatures and when it is too hot it can be difficult to clean glass due to the solution, soap and water drying very quickly. If you are not a professional and are skilled in cleaning windows fast and efficiently, it is best to clean them on a cloudy, cooler day to avoid this.
If left unattended, your windows and frames can attract a lot of dust, dirt and webs. Begin by cleaning off the frames, tracks and glass using a soft brush or broom to remove any excess dirt and dust. This will lesson the amount of dirt to be cleaned off through the methods applied later. Screens can also be cleaned at this time, take them off and scrub them with a window cleaning mop or cloth removing all the dirt and grime, place them somewhere to dry while you clean the windows. By the time you are finished the screens will be dry enough to put back on.
Choosing the right cleaning solution is as easy as purchasing a quality product or creating your own by mixing some water, vinegar and a small amount of rubbing alcohol. Mix them together and pour them into a spray bottle. If you choose for whatever reason to clean your exterior windows in the winter when temperatures are below freezing, you can use some water and windshield washer fluid. Spray a generous amount of solution on the glass based on how much dirt there is and the condition of the windows. Wipe the glass to ensure all dirt and grime is removed, if there are things that won’t come off you can try using a scraper, but be sure that the glass is still wet if you use it otherwise you can damage the glass.
When wiping off the solution, microfibre cloths work great as they are very absorbent and remove any excess dirt or smears left behind from the initial cleaning. Another option to use is a surgical towel, they are also quite absorbent and very durable. These towels will do a quality job of removing dirt and water from the glass.
If you are not skilled in the profession of window cleaning, using a squeegee can work against you. This is a tool that window cleaners use to clean windows optimally. But for the average homeowner it may not be the best choice. It can cause a terrible unnecessary mess when used improperly. Unless you have it in your budget to pay for window cleaning twice per year, which is the recommend frequency, cleaning them on your own with a spray solution and some quality towels will suffice.
