Jessica Routledge – Owner/Operator at Twenty20 Window Cleaning. Jess runs a window cleaning business on the beautiful Gold Coast, Australia, along with her husband. She is passionate about her work, business and home. Jess also has experience writing tutorial articles to help people clean and maintain their own homes and windows.
Have you ever watched a window cleaner and wondered how they get the windows so clear and smudge-free?
Before my life as a window cleaner, I worked in an office job and would often watch window cleaners and think the same. They would make it look so easy, but I wondered why my windows never looked the same when I tried to do my own DIY window cleaning, and it felt like I was working twice as hard.
I would use popular products labeled for window cleaning and spray it on and wipe it off, exactly as it described. So why weren’t my windows streak-free?
First of all, I was using the wrong products. Contrary to popular belief, most spray-on window cleaning products can be the least useful for creating beautifully clean windows. As a window cleaner, I now notice that these products leave a residue on the glass that attracts dust and moisture. Using these products require a lot of effort and a mountain of paper-towel.
It would take me hours of work, window by window, to get my whole house cleaned. By the time I was finished, I would have to wait at least another year to muster up the energy to clean them all again.
I thought my husband was a lunatic when he suggested that we start our own window cleaning company to be able to have a little more flexibility and control over our work lives. However, after some training and a little practice, I had learnt new techniques for cleaning windows that simplified the whole process.
It is very understandable that with the growing cost of living, professional window cleaning is not always a top priority in a family budget. While we recommend that you get your windows cleaned professionally once a year, we are always happy to pass on some tips and tidbits to help people clean and maintain their own windows.
Let’s get into some of the top window cleaning ‘hacks’ that will enable you to clean and maintain the windows in your home.
DIY Window Cleaning Hack #1 – Tools
Soon after my husband and I decided to start our business I realized that I had never had the right tools for the job. Certain cleaning tools can really make or break how much effort you expend and how much time it takes to clean your windows.
The tools you will need for DIY window cleaning are as follows:
- A decent squeegee, preferably a reputable brand from a window cleaning tool supplier. However, a squeegee from your local hardware store should suffice.
- A sponge or rag to mop your window cleaning solution onto the glass. Professionals use a tool called an applicator mop, which you can also find at a hardware store in the cleaning aisle.
- Some microfiber cloths for tidying up any drips or streaks of water. Remember to always use a dry section or you will leave a smudge.
- A towel to protect your flooring from falling water, and for possibly wiping your squeegee dry (more on that in hack #3).
DIY Window Cleaning Hack #2 – Cleaning Solution
For your window cleaning solution, you won’t need any special products, just a bucket of warm water and a fairly liberal squirt of dishwashing detergent. Yes, the magical ingredient for lovely clean windows is good old faithful dishwashing detergent! This soapy water solution, along with the work of the squeegee, is one of the keys to easy and efficient window cleaning.
DIY Window Cleaning Hack #3 – Technique
Reaching this point of this article you might now think to yourself, “. . . But I don’t know how to use a squeegee!” The good news is that it doesn’t take much to learn a simple technique to use a squeegee. It may take a little practice, but you’ll soon find a rhythm with it, you may even find it therapeutic.
Begin with just squeegeeing from top to bottom, wiping the squeegee’s rubber dry each time before you touch the glass. Any streaks you leave as you master your technique can be removed with a dry section of a microfiber cloth.
A quick YouTube search reveals a multitude of tutorial videos on ‘how to use a squeegee’. If you’re not quite getting the hang of it, it might be worth taking a look. Note that the time of year can make mastering this harder or easier.
DIY Window Cleaning Hack #4 – Tracks and Sills
If your tracks or sills are a little dirty, you can use any water that has fallen while squeegeeing your window to wipe them clean with your towel. If your tracks are really dirty, you can agitate the dirt up with a brush, for example, an old toothbrush. Then vacuum up the dirt and residue before you clean the windows.
If you do it after you have already cleaned the windows you might find that the water run-off will make it harder to vacuum up the dirt.
DIY Window Cleaning Hack #5 – Have Someone Do the Hard Stuff
What if you have high or hard to reach windows? If you aren’t comfortable getting on a ladder or investing in expensive tools for the difficult windows in your home, you can always contact a local window cleaner for a quote on those windows specifically.
How did you go trying out some of these hacks? A bit of time and patience is needed as you master your new skills, but there is no reason why you can’t have sparkling clean windows at a fraction of the cost of getting a professional window cleaner.
DIY window cleaning is both satisfying and rewarding, in that you really notice and enjoy the results of your hard work.
