3 Tips for Safely and Effectively Cleaning the Exterior of Your Windows

Window cleaner using a squeegee to wash a window

 

The spring months bring about what is known as the season of cleaning. You begin to dig out of all of the clutter that has built up over the winter and start to get outside and clean away. You work on the shrubbery and the rest of the landscaping activities that require attention. One task that always trips people up, though, is the process of cleaning exterior windows of the home. Your exterior windows need attention periodically, but it can be difficult to get to them unless you have had a modern vinyl window installation done to your Jacksonville FL home.  Newer windows are double-hung, meaning they can go up and down, but also swing inside for easy exterior cleaning.

 

Let’s go through the tips and the various techniques that can be employed to assist in making the cleaning of the exterior of your windows as simple as possible.

 

Spray Down With the Hose

 

You want to start by spraying the windows down with a hose.  Outside windows are going to pick up more dirt, more stains than ordinary interior windows. You want to get the hose and give them a good rinsing. The intent here is not to provide them with a full power wash.  You do not want to do any damage to the windows after all, do you?  

 

Perform the spraying out of the gate to get all of the dirt and grime that is loose on the exterior out of the equation. This is also going to begin to break up the junk that is more caked onto the windows overall.  

 

Clean With Water and Liquid Dish Soap

 

You do not need to have any fancy cleaning solutions when you want to go about cleaning up the exterior of your windows. All you have to do is get a bucket and start by filling it up with cold water from the hose.  Grab some liquid dish soap and proceed to drop some inside of the bucket.  No need to go crazy, usually just a few drops of the soap is all that you are going to need. This is going to create the cleaning solution you can use.

 

A microfiber cloth is what you are going to want to get actually to do the cleanup, the softer, the better. Go over the surface of the window so that you can clean them thoroughly. For the windows you cannot reach, try a sponge mop. This is going to allow you to give the windows a reliable clean, without having to go climbing a ladder or anything.

 

Once you have completed the cleaning process, one final rinse with the hose is all that is needed before you proceed to dry.

 

Final Wipe

 

The final tool that you are going to need is intended to assist with the drying of the windows. For this, you are going to want to have a rubber-bladed squeegee. Make sure that you have the squeegee such that you are angling it towards the bottom of the window. You want to work it from top to bottom, to squeeze the remaining soap and water off of the window.  


When the time comes for the squeegee to be clean, use a dry towel on the bottom. There is no sense in running a squeegee back and forth on the windows when it is already wet and dirty, so wiping it periodically is important.

 

Not all of us are fortunate enough to have a new double hung vinyl window installation in our Jacksonville FL home. When you have aging windows, you need to get creative to clean their exterior. Some tips can be followed to assist with the cleaning of the exterior windows of your home. The more that you follow tips such as these, the easier of a cleaning experience you are going to have overall.