During a thorough search on the Internet, I came across a number of articles that advise people to clean their windows with vinegar and crumple a newspaper, or Windex, and a rag, or other ineffective methods. Many of these methods will give you bad results and will be very time consuming and frustrating. Despite the fact that I am a professional window cleaner, I freely tell you how to clean windows, because I know that there are still many people who do not have the time and energy to do it themselves. But if you want to do it yourself (whether it’s a monetary reward or you yourself do it yourself), here are a few pointers.
First, you need equipment. This will entail a squeegee, a washing machine (also called a scrubber), a window cleaning solution, a 5-gallon bucket, a pair of lint-free cloths, that is, microfiber and possibly an extension cord. Your scraper is one of your most important tools, so it’s important that you get high-quality tires with replaceable rubber — avoid car scrapers using wooden handles (located at gas stations). For your scraper, you will probably need from 12 to 18 inches for most windows. You can usually find a decent scraper (ettore or unger) and a scrubber in most home stores, such as Home Depot or Lowes. For your window cleaning solution, you can use a professional ettore, unger, etc. made detergent. Or you can use dish soap. In fact, there is no need for ammonia, which is harmful to people and can damage the shade of the window.
After you have purchased all your equipment, fill your bucket with water and add a couple of servings of dish soap; then dip your scrubber in the soapy solution, and then squeeze the excess water back into the bucket. Scrub the entire window with a scrubber; then take your rag and wipe the left and top edges of your window. Then pull the squeegee horizontally through the window - from left to right, top to bottom. After each stretch, wipe off excess moisture from the rubber for the squeegee (called the blade). For most internal windows, horizontal tension is the easiest.
Then, to finish the window, wipe the right and bottom edges of the window (back from the original wipe).
Something needs to be taken into account, so that the cleaning of internal windows will be much easier than external windows because of the availability and level of debris. Many times, exterior windows will have baked bugs and other hard flame-resistant debris on the surface. Professional wipers use special razor blades (scrapers) and white cleaning pads to pull out this material. For a home user, I would recommend that you use white comb pads (available online at windows 101 or in stores for cleaning) to prevent damage to your windows. Never use green or brown cleaning pads, as they may damage your windows.
To use the white combing pads on the pole, you will need a “doodle-bug”, which is a swivel holder against these pillows. Cleaning the second floor outside the windows can be somewhat complicated due to the availability. Some window cleaners use a pole, some cleaners use stairs, and some, like me, use both. If you are using a pole, it is very important that you get the right angle. For windows on the second floor, you need to stand at some distance from the window to get the right angle. A common mistake is to stand too close to home.
In addition, getting a scraper with a zero degree, for example, a rotary switch Unger with a zero degree (the standard squeegee has a forty-degree angle), is very useful because it allows you to retreat far enough from the window without too much tilting the glass. It should be noted that the windows of the second floor, cleaned by the pole, must be cleaned from top to bottom, not horizontally. A zero degree Unger scraper will be your best friend if you use a pole. In addition, you can use the ladder to clean the exterior windows. If you choose this method, you may want to lay ribbon rags at the ends of the stairs, if they rest on the glass or, perhaps, the stairs with a wingspan of the stairs.
Now, what if you cleaned the exterior window, yet it is still cloudy and possibly spotty, like water glass, which can be obtained after washing in a dishwasher? Then you may have solid water deposits. They can slowly form over time if you have hard water (from sprinklers or hoses from your windows). In this case, you need to get a tool to remove solid water. Winsol produces Crystal Clear 550, which in most cases will completely remove these deposits. You can get Crystal Clear online and in many stores for cleaning.
One of the last tips, if you have to clean your windows with an aerosol, use a “spray” glass cleaner (rubbed on an ammonia-based alcohol) and microfiber waffle cloth or leather chamois. Not all microfibers are created equal, many of them shed tiny particles. But whatever you do, do not use a crumpled newspaper. If fashion newsprint leaves black ink on your hands, what do you think it will do to your windows? I hope this article has helped you, and at least has given you some starting points.
