When I'm Cleaning Windows?

Question

Hi can anyone help me? I can't get my windows pristeen clean. I might be being a bit fussy as they look clean but as soon as the sun is on them you can see all the smear marks. I have tried, window cleaner rubbing in with kitchen roll & drying with kitchen roll. Hot soapy water and drying with kitchen roll & Warm water & vinegar and drying with newspaper none of these are working anyone got any other tips?

Cheers Dave S tried that one already. And grandpas**hole they're only a year old

Answer 1

make up a solution of.....1/2 water 1/2 rubbing Alcohol put into a spray bottle....I use it not just on the windows but on my toilet never smells any more and No streaks!

Answer 2

Make sure you actually wash and rinse the dirt away with plenty of water, and any soap residue too. Nothing else will work if you don't do that!
Lots of good ideas here - especially vinegar. Kitchen roll is not much good though - it's not strong enough. Newspaper is well known to give a good finish - once you have physically removed the dirt and any soap or chemical residue. It's a strong paper and there's something in the newsprint that makes windows sparkle. A chamois leather's good for getting rid of smears too - a real one. The point about the sun drying it too quickly is spot on. It's hard to work fast enough to avoid smears, if the sun is drying it fast.

Personally, I'd just as soon pay the window cleaner £5.50 a month for all the outside windows, upstairs included. I just need to clean paw marks and fingerprints off the French windows from time to time, and of course, do the insides. I didn't know about pollution stains. Will inspect closely on next sunny day.

Answer 3

Make sure you don't wash your windows when its warm. You are best to do it on a cloudy but dry day, as the cleaning solution dries too quickly if in direct sunlight.

Any form of window cleaner should do the trick, but i'd recommend getting a window cleaning blade (like the scrappers you get for cleaning car windows in the ice / snow). With a dry rubber blade, work from top to bottom and wipe the blade between each stroke to reduce streaking. If you are then going to clean the windows internally, repeat the process but wipe from side to side. It will show up any streaks (if any) and you will then be able to rub these out with a little elbow grease and a clean cloth

Answer 4

I used to clean windows in Australia for a living and we used squeegees, hot water with some meths in it and dry cloths. The meths made the windows sparkle and actually the smell wasn't bad either.

Polishing up with kitchen roll or crumpled up newspaper works a treat, but I don't think there is any easy way - just sheer elbow grease if you are fussy and want them to sparkle! I live by the sea so I have salt spray to cope with as well!

Answer 5

The cleaner should be the same temperature as the windows. If the windows are cold when you clean them, they are more likely to streak because you usually don't get them dry enough. If you clean them when there is sun directly on them, you must do a little at a time, drying quickly. The sun will make them streak because it dries the soap on, so you must wash and dry quickly. I find the best cleaner is 1/2 ammonia and 1/2 water the solution should be room temperature and can be stored in a spray bottle for up to a year. Make sure you use the spray and not stream selection on the nossle. Good Luck! (I'm a picky window cleaner myself!)

Answer 6

Astonish make a great window cleaning spray. But what ever you use you will need to rub well with a clean cloth or newspaper (though it's good I'm not that keen because it makes your hands black, oh and the more pictures on it the better because it's the print that cleans best). Main thing to remember is not to try and clean windows when the sun is shining on them as anything you are using will dry too quickly, before you have chance to wipe it off.

Answer 7

Vinegar and hot water is the best thing i've found. If the smears are from something greasy or oily I'd wash with hot soapy water first, allow to dry then go for vinegar and water. Lots of soft cloths and elbow grease to follow. If they don't come clean after that i don't think they will sorry.

Answer 8

You can never be too fussy with cleaning windows, forget chemicals, soaps & the newspaper elbow. Warm water & vinegar... You can't beat it. Use one of those squeegies with a sponge on the other side. Use the sponge side to scrub the window with warm vinegar solution & immediately squeegie it off. I use an old clean & dry towel to remove any water streaks while they are still wet. It's better NOT to do this when it's too hot or when the sun is shining on your windows. It can be done, but the streaks dry faster & it's harder to see them. Not to mention you have to work faster & who wants that? If you have trialed a lot of soap based products (& it seems that you have), it might take more than one wash to remove the excess residue from your previous attempts. I have huge windows at my place & I use this method. It's fast & it works. If you are cleaning windows from the inside, use another old towel to run along your window sill. It will catch the running water & you can use it to remove excess water from the squeegie as you go along.... Happy window cleaning...

Answer 9

The best thing to use is actually newspaper. the reason you can still see smear marks is probably down to how you wipe the window. once you have sprayed (just a single squirt) of the spray, use a piece of scrunched up newspaper and wipe in circles. If that fails, use a non-woven cloth (preferbly a plastic-based cloth) and again, with a single squirt, wipe away with circular motions. A common reason smear marks are left is because too much spray has been used. Just remember, less is more, and all that kinda stuff....
Hope that helps. x

Answer 10

Windalene is good other people have suggested that but the smell gives me a headache, well it used to not used it for years. I love clean windows it looks so much better when they are sparkling I am like you a bit fussy nothing wrong with being house proud though! I use just a normal glass cleaner spray they are all more or less the same and one of those micro-fibre cloths they are brilliant, you wouldnt believe that changing your cloth would make so much difference but it does honestly!

Answer 11

I saw on tv one time that humidity in the room when your cleaning windows or mirrors can effect drying the window or mirror. So when I clean mirrors in the bathroom I keep the lights off by the mirror it seems to work there is not smears. I suggest when u clean your window do it when the sun in not shining through the window. I know it sounds crazy. Also depending what your windows are made of are they real glass or plexiglass. If they are plexiglass windows just use plain water and dry either with a paper towel or dry cloth. That could be the trouble.