Dirty windows can significantly affect the beauty your home. However, though window cleaning on a regular basis is necessary, it’s a kind of task often dreaded and less prioritized because of the time and effort it requires. They say window cleaning is 90% labor and 10% equipment. You can save yourself the hassle and headache of having to deal with this if you live in or around Orange County, California as there are a number of reliable Orange County window cleaning service providers that can do the job for you at an affordable rate.
Window Cleaning 101
The right window cleaning equipment can significantly lessen the amount of time you have to spend to dramatically clean your windows. Thus, for an easier yet as much effective window cleaning, investing in cleaning detergents is a vital step you will want to take.
Besides this, here are more dos and don’ts you have to keep in mind:
The Dos
Dust the window surface and blinds before you start cleaning your windows to ensure a cleaner output.
There’s no use having clean window glasses if the frames and blinds that cover them are still contributing dust to the area.
Use the right cleaning solution.
Your window cleaning solution can either make the job easier or break it. Stores will recommend to you many window cleaners that use some type of dishwashing liquid as these are great at removing grimes and greases. However, the downside of this solution is it can get a bit sudsy and foamy which can cause more mess instead.
For a more effective window cleaning, using a proper window cleaning solution is highly recommended as its formula can help your squeegee glide easily with minimal foaming. However, as much as possible, stay away from a cleaning product that has an ammonia ingredient as this can damage the materials your windows are surrounded with. Ammonia can also discolor your tinted windows, and can leave a heavily toxic particles that can irritate your lungs and skin.
A DIY cleaning solution is also okay as long as the ingredients used are safe and ammonia free. For instance, you can dilute a liquid dish soap with water and add a bit of white vinegar in it.
Clean on rainy days.
While it is more motivating to work when the sun is out as the natural sunlight can also improve your view, window cleaning on sunny days is strongly discouraged as the sunlight quickly dries up the solution, disrupting its capability. In which case, you’ll most likely end up having to redo the process.
Window cleaning is often more encouraged during rainy and gloomy days because the absence of sunlight allows the cleaning solutions to absorb better, leaving minimal to no streaks when they dry up.
Wash the windows by section.
Though it is tempting to soap and wipe them all dry simultaneously, doing it section by section is more advisable as this prevents the occurrence of one section drying up faster than the other, significantly reducing the likelihood of streaks.
Use a stable ladder with ladder pads.
This prevents unnecessary window scratches especially on the higher areas.
The Don’ts
Do not clean your windows in sunny days.
As mentioned above, the sunlight can dry up the solution applied on the window glass very quickly. As a result, window marks can be seen which consequently requires more effort in rinsing them off. If the weather forecast indicates that rainy days are less likely coming, clean your windows at dawn or early in the morning instead; just before direct sunlight hits your window area.
Do not use the wrong solution and tools.
Besides ruining the quality of your cleaning, using wrong tools can also leave a long lasting impact on your windows. It is usually tempting to use a glass cleaner and paper towels for the activity but squeegees provide a more efficient and effective performance in removing greases and grimes off your window surface especially for outdoor windows. Paper towels or microfiber cloths are only fit for indoor windows as these can help reduce the dripping.
Other tools that you should stay away from are the following:
- Razor blades or other abrasive tools (These can leave a permanent scratch on your window surface).
- Abrasive cleaning solutions (These can also scratch the glass.)
- Scrapers (Scrapers are only necessary for windows that have persistent stains and marks like those caused by stickers).
- Newspaper in lieu of microfiber cloth to dry the window glasses (Newspapers contain chemicals that can surprisingly damage your windows or leave the latter with ink smudges).
- Towels (Towels can leave particles behind, leaving a messy result that you will definitely not want to see).
- Too much soap (Soap residues are dust-inviting. Using them excessively may require you to redo the whole process instead).
- Spray bottles and rags. (What is used frequently may not be the best for the job. The same is true in window cleaning. Just because spray bottles and rags are commonly used, they do not always guarantee a good result. For instance, the rags used to dry up some areas of the window glass can slowly get wetter and wetter. As a result, the next areas the rags are bound to pat dry will end up with different chemical amounts and moisture. Though these residues cannot be seen with low light, with sunlight, smears and streaks can become highly visible.)
Use a squeegee instead as its short soft rubber edge is designed to wick moisture away, thereby spreading the water evenly off the glass surface. With squeegees, a perfectly uniform reflection can be attained.
Do not do it halfway.
Before you decide to undertake the long window cleaning process, do make sure you intend to complete the activity from screens, outside, insides, and window sills; do not do it halfway. Window cleaning comes in black and white, there is no in between. Hence, if you only intent to partially clean the windows, your effort will deem useless; it will look like none of the windows got cleaned at all.
DIY cleaning your window like a pro is possible but you need not go through the hassle. There are a lot of window cleaning service providers in California like that in Orange County that offers high quality service to its customers, taking the cleanliness of their properties to the next level. These professionals know exactly what they are doing.
