Encyclopedia

of Home Improvements

*Cleaning Windows*

Cleaning a Picture Window

The first step in cleaning your windows is to have the right tools. Head down to your local home center and pick up buckets, rags brushes, squeegees, extension poles and whatever else you think you might need. Keep everything together in a certain spot because you will be sure to need these tools often.

Washing picture windows call for large tools. The long cloth head of a strip applicator soaks up a lot of soapy water and knocks dirt loose without scratching the glass. For a cleaning solution use just a squirt of dishwashing liquid in a bucket of warm water - the less suds, the better. Everyone seems to have a favorite window cleaning solution - let me know what works well for you!

Wipe starting at the top left; pull the squeegee over the soapy pane in a reverse-S pattern (left- handers would start at the top right). At the end of each stroke, wipe the squeegee's blade clean with a lint-free rag. Cloth diapers or old linen napkins are perfect for this task.
Remove any water remaining on the edges of the glass with a damp, wrung-dry chamois, which soaks up wetness without leaving streaks. Dry the windowsill with a rag.

To clean a divided-light window, you need a smaller squeegee that fits the panes.

Scrub the panes. A handheld sponge or hog-bristle brush works best on multipane windows. I prefer natural sponges. "They're firmer and more absorbent than synthetics. Using the same solution of a squirt of liquid soap in water, rub each pane from left to right, top to bottom, working the sponge edges or brush bristles into the corners to loosen dirt.

Pull the squeegee down each pane in a single stroke from top to bottom. After each stroke, clean the blade with a rag so it doesn't leave streaks. (If the squeegee squeaks a lot, add a bit more soap to the water.) As above, remove any streaks on the glass with a chamois, and dry the muntins and sill with a rag.

Over time, hard-water runoff from masonry or rain falling through metal window screens leaves stubborn mineral stains on glass that normal washing can't erase. So after a regular cleaning, wet the glass and gently "super clean" it either with fine 000 steel wool (if the panes are small) or with the cleansing powders Zud or Barkeeper's Friend, which contain oxalic acid. (Other brands of powder may scratch the glass or fail to remove stains.) Mix the powder into a paste on a wet towel, rubs away the stains, then rinse and squeegee the glass twice to remove the residue. Even with that treatment, the staining generally comes back in about six months.

To get rid of stains for good, Apply 3 Star Barrier Glass Surface Protectant, a clear polymer coating. After the stains are gone, you just put the coating on with a strip applicator and squeegee it off. Protection against staining is permanent, as long as the polymer is reapplied after each regular cleaning.

Windows That Wash Themselves

Given people's aversion to washing windows, it's no wonder that window companies now make glass that cleans itself. The secret ingredient is titanium dioxide, a metallic compound that's permanently embedded in the surface of the molten glass during manufacture but doesn't affect its transparency. When exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays, the titanium dioxide kicks off a chemical reaction that disintegrates organic dirt, such as tree sap, pollen, and dead bugs. The coating also makes the glass hydrophilic; that is, water doesn't bead up but spreads out in sheets that slice off loosened debris like an invisible squeegee. It doesn't leave glass sparkling like it came out of the dishwasher but it's still quite clean. Windows with self-cleaning glass cost about 20 percent more than ordinary windows but need cleaning only about half as often.

Back to Topics Page

Contact