Home

[OKPrincess]

---

@BirkiLadywrote:

@OKPrincessNewspapers worked in the "old days" before they changed inks. Today's ink is soy-based and doesn't clean windows! I gave up on newspapers for windows about 10 years ago. My windows are clean, but have not sparkled since! <sob>

---

Yep my newspaper days are over too. Besides I no longer take the paper!!

[BirkiLady]

@OKPrincessSadly, our paper isn't worth taking any longer. I'm from a journalism family, but no longer take the paper expect on Sunday. <cringe> And, I now hire off-duty firefighters to do my windows. They do a great job and are so much quicker than me!

[151949]

---

@depglasswrote:

Let's be honest here, I am not a good housekeeper.  But certain things bug the heck out of me, like windows I work on for hours and they still look terrible.  I have "discovered" a way many others possibly use, but just in case . . . I use one microfiber cloth with window cleaner first.  Then a completely clean dry cloth to finish.  I can't wait until spring to do the outsides of the ones I can't reach.

---

I use soapy water to wash them first with just any old rag then I rinse and finish them using HOT vinegar water and a super cloth. Here in Florida the windows seem to always have pollen or something on them which must be washed off first.

[RedTop]

I like clean windows too, but rarely have them, even tho my windows tilt in for easy cleaning.   The issue is that my bug man sprays around all windows and doorways monthly, and the spray gets on the glass.   

I only use microfiber cloths and water, no glass cleaner, no streaks.  

[Mominohio]

I've said my two cents worth on other threads about window cleaning, but in case anyone missed my many years of window cleaning wisdom (LOL) here it is again!

First, I have lived several places, and I noticed that what your windows are framed with makes a huge difference in how hard it is to get the glass streak free.

I had old wooden pained windows, and they streaked just a little, mostly on the outside, and I believe it was the paint that once oxidizing, would come into the mix and make it a bit easier to streak the glass, regardless of what I used.

Then I had a place with aluminum framed storm windows. Biggest streaking issues ever with those. Again, the metal seemed to get oxidized and the center of the glass I could get pretty streak free, but the closer you got to the edges, the harder it was to get the streaks out. Again, tried numerous methods. 

Now I have new tilt in vinyl windows, and boy howdy, this is the ticket to streak free windows with absolutely no fuss. 

I use the white Bio Cleaner cloths, (but they now have some new blue ones, and so far the are working great too) and just plain water. No streaks, takes just 2 minutes to wash both the inside and the outside of a window when tilting them in, and absolutely no streaks. 

I spent a lot of years using Windex and paper towels, because that is what I was raised with, but between the two, I always had a streaky mess. Never again. 

So for many, I'm sure what kind of dirt is on the windows, and what they are framed with that is interacting with your products and cloths/rags/towels is part of the problem. I know it was for me, and I bet the 'right' answer isn't the same for everyone because of those varying factors.

[LonestarBabs]

I have a hose with a twist-on sprayer I fill with a commercially available window cleaning solution and I hose down the exterior windows. Then rinse.

This is because we installed tilt-in windows a few years ago but can't use the feature. Imagine our chagrin when we discovered we can't tilt them in more than 3 inches because the framing of the plantation shutters is too wide! Only solution is to remove shutters and plane down the frames or install new ones -- neither is an economical solution.

Oh, and the new  windows have screens that are secured from the inside. This is done for security reasons so someone can't remove your screens from the outside. But what a pain.

[pattypeep]

@depglass  I'll start by saying that we have really good water here, so partly why my method works so well. On our deck we also have glass instead of posts. For the outside I use vinegar and water and wash the windows and glass with the same brush that we wash our cars with and then hose them off and walk away. People sometimes think there's no glass partitions on our deck because they are so clean and streak-free. On the inside of our windows I use vinegar and water and a squeegee. Put towels under for drips.

[Pooky1]

i knew a guy that did windows as his job in big building and places like that so i asked him what doos he use. in the water they use they use use dawn dish detergent and the sponge on a handle and the sqeegy. and he said ever time you make a pass with squgie allways wipe it with a rag.  sun makes windows dry faster so when ever possble its better to do windows when its cloudy.

[Mominohio]

---

@LonestarBabswrote:

I have a hose with a twist-on sprayer I fill with a commercially available window cleaning solution and I hose down the exterior windows. Then rinse.

This is because we installed tilt-in windows a few years ago but can't use the feature. Imagine our chagrin when we discovered we can't tilt them in more than 3 inches because the framing of the plantation shutters is too wide! Only solution is to remove shutters and plane down the frames or install new ones -- neither is an economical solution.

Oh, and the new  windows have screens that are secured from the inside. This is done for security reasons so someone can't remove your screens from the outside. But what a pain.

---

@LonestarBabs

Thanks for posting this. 

I was considering shutters for some areas in the future, and now I will be very careful about the installation of them, so as not to interfere with the tilt in windows. I waited decades to have such functional and easy to use windows, I won't want to do anything to compromise that!

[Lilysmom]

@depglass@pattypeep et al, I don't usually respond to these kinds of threads u less I have a really good solution.

I live on a lake.  The back of my house faces the lake and is literally a wall of windows on both floors.  I hated cleaning the windows until my friend (who also lives on my lake) gave me this suggestion.

Buy the Karcher Power SqueeGee.  This is fast and does a great job.  I wash down the window with dish detergent and water.  Turn on the power squeegee, go over the window and it sucks up all the water and soap.  Job done is half the normal time.  

This can be purchased at Walmart and other retail locations.  LM