How To Clean Windows In Your Home Like An Expert

Ever wonder how to clean windows like an expert?

You can be an expert window washer too, and get it done relatively quickly, by following these steps.

Photo by newlivinghouston

Gather Your Supplies

Before you begin anything else, you must gather all necessary supplies.

You will need:

Window washing solution (this can either be commercially bought, such as Windex, or a homemade cleaning formula for window washing).
Squeegee (an extension pole for the squeegee can be handy when doing outside windows for an upper floor)
Old towels to catch drips
Cloths to wipe and dry your squeegee with between uses on the windows
A window scrubber to apply your window washing solution (it can be a sponge, non-linting cloth, or a specialty tool on the other side of the squeegee, for example)
A large bucket or spray bottle

Steps To Take Before You Actually Start Washing Windows

This article is all about how to clean windows, the glass itself.

However, if as a part of spring cleaning, for example, you decided to also wash other parts of your windows at the same time, such as your windowsills, window frames, or window screens, you would need to do these first.

Otherwise, you would get your glass dirty again doing any of these tasks afterward.

How To Clean Windows: Step By Step

Step 1:

Dampen your window scrubber with the window cleaning solution and rub down the window you are cleaning.

The goal is to wet the window thoroughly enough that it washes the window but to not get it so wet that it drips a lot.

Step 2:

Use your squeegee to dry the window and remove all the cleaning solution.

There is a technique to doing this like a professional.

First, draw the squeegee across the top of the window, moving horizontally from left to right to stop the drips. Do this for one pass only.

Second, move the squeegee vertically from the top of the window to almost the bottom of the window.

Third, continue the vertical movement of the squeegee with overlapping strokes from the left to right, to prevent streaks, until you get to the right side of the window.

Fourth, finish by drawing the squeegee at the bottom from left to right, horizontally to get the remaining drips and even out the uneven bottom of each vertical stroke.

Note that between each pass with the squeegee described above, you must wipe the squeegee with a cloth to get rid of excess cleaning solution and dirt so there is no streaking.

Step 3:

Wipe up any drips around the window frame with an old towel.

Tips When Washing Windows

Always wash windows from the top down to the bottom. The reason for this is to prevent dirty drips on the ones you have already washed.
Do not wash windows when the sun is shining directly on the window. This hastens drying of the window washing solution, which can cause streaks
Wash your windows on both the inside and the outside.
If you have outside windows that are very high, you must use proper safety precautions when trying to reach them, or better yet, pay a professional to clean those high windows to keep you safe.

How To Dry Your Windows If You Don't Have A Squeegee

The key to window washing is actually not the washing, which is achieved pretty easily.

The key to window washing is how you get the window dry, so it dries without streaks or drip marks.

Therefore, the almost universally recommended tool for doing this job quickly and easily is the squeegee.

However, if you don't have a squeegee don't despair. You can use the following products to dry your windows, each of which has some disadvantages, but none of them are terrible choices.

Lint-free cloth (you need to change these out frequently do have a large supply on hand, because they start to cause streaks when they get too damp from drying the windows and you will need to replace with a fresh dry one)
Paper towels (if these are not non-linting you can see little bits of paper towel debris left on your windows)
Old newspapers (some claim that old newspapers don't do a very good job, because they are not very absorbent, and I have personally found they can quickly blacken your hands, so no telling what kind of ink they are putting back on your clean windows)