Spring Cleaning

[velochic]

Give me your best tips for cleaning windows. We have sash windows downstairs and crank out windows upstairs.

Do you use newspapers and vinegar? A solution of vinegar and water? Cotton rags? I'll be hanging out a 2-story window to do the upstairs windows, so quick and effective is the key here.

[velochic]

OK... guess I'm on my own with this one.

[LeighB]

Vinegar and water with cotton rags. If you've previously used something like Windex you might need to wash them twice because it leaves a film.

[llnmaw]

I use a damp/wet from the tap microfiber cloth and that's it!

I usually don't even bother to dry/buff the window if it's an inside one. When I'm hitting the outside I use a wetter towel cuz those windows really do have dirt on them...so they need a little extra help. I use a dry microfiber towel for that.

No lint, no streaks, no chemicals. But I'm also not that fussy really.

Love it.
~L.

[artemis33]

Originally Posted by llnmaw

I use a damp/wet from the tap microfiber cloth and that's it!

yes, me too - this is the best way to avoid streaks!

If the windows are REALLY dirty (like outside in the spring) I wash them first with a cotton rag dipped in warm water with a few drops of dish soap.

[muttix2]

I've just started my spring cleaning today. I'm going to use hot water and dish soap for the first wash of the windows and then I'll use the leftover commercial window cleaner that I have left. When that runs out, it will be vinegar and water for the second wash.

[Biggi]

I just keep it simple. Warm water and dish soap with a cotton rag. Then I finish up with a squeegee.

[texmati]

vinegar and microfiber towels. quick and no streaks.

[velochic]

I don't have microfiber towels. Does anyone have a good, inexpensive source for them? Target? Thanks for the replies!!

[bigteamug]

The other thing I had heard from a window washer is to go really easy on the dish soap - you don't want it to be like your kitchen sink for dishes, because it'll leave a soap film, unless you want to rinse the window the same way you rinse your dishes....

[crunchy_mama]

I just use vinegar/water and newspaper myself. This is why I am so very happy that we sprung for double-hung windows when we re-built!

[AlwaysByMySide]

I'm a housekeeper, part-time. One of the houses I do has got to have close to 30 or 40 windows (and we're talking 5 foot tall windows. Beautiful view, on top of a mountain, so I don't really mind cleaning them.) Let's just say, I'm well-versed in windows.

The trick to clean windows isn't the solution you use to clean it. It's to use a SQUEEGEE.

For the outsides (of the ones I can reach), I use a mix of Dawn diswashing detergent (just a squirt) and water in a spray bottle. Spray on, scrub with a sponge, squeegee off. Wipe the squeegee in between passes. If you have any stray lines, buff 'em off with a DRY microfiber cloth. (I buy microfiber by the yard from a fabric store on Hyena Cart. It's much more plush than the junk you get in the stores. The microfiber cloths from the auto department at Costco hold up well, but not as well as the stuff by the yard.)

For insides, I use the soap mixture if they are dirty. If it's just a routine cleaning (as in, I've been cleaning the house weekly, so the windows are clean anyway), I use a mix of rubbing alcohol and water (4 parts alcohol to 1 part water. Sometimes even less diluted than that...I just eyeball it.) and the squeegee.

[velochic]

Wow! Great ideas, everyone. Perhaps it won't be so tedious to wash the windows this year (the outside ones, that is... the inside get done regularly).