Nobody likes to look out of a streaky, water-stained window to enjoy the view.
amazing tricks for keeping your windows but try as we might, so many homeowners fall short when it comes to keeping our replacement windows clean.
It’s not for lack of trying, however. Whether your windows have seen better days or they’re brand new Renewal by Andersen windows, it can be difficult to find a way to keep your windows clean without vigorously cleaning them each day.
That is unless you know of a few amazing tricks for keeping your windows looking their best no matter what.
You don’t have to stress yourself out by spraying your windows with cleaner every day in order to keep your home looking neat and polished inside and out.
If you’ve struggled with getting (and keeping) clean windows, here are a few easy hacks that make it easy to keep your glass spotless for longer.
Table of Contents
1. Upgrade Your Cleaner
The secret to streak-free windows isn’t elbow grease. It doesn’t matter how long you spend squeegeeing or wiping down your windows if you’re not using the right cleaner.
While many cleaners that are made for window-cleaning, such as Windex, are helpful in terms of erasing streaks and spots, they might not do the best job on other problems like water stains or condensation buildup.
If you have hard water stains, you really need to break out the big guns.
Choosing an industry-grade glass cleaner such as Rain-X can help you get the shiny, clear finish you’re looking for.
Since these products are made for and tested on cars, they create the kind of shine that you’d expect from a professional car wash.
2. Swipe, Don’t Wipe
If your windows aren’t looking great, your cleaner might not be to blame.
Many homeowners, in a rush to get their windows to dry without any unseemly streaks, will use paper towels, cotton cloths, or old rags to wipe down their windows after a thorough cleaning.
The problem, however, is that cleaning your windows to hastily or with the wrong material can lead to issues like scratching and staining.
The best thing is to let your window dry naturally and not worry about it.
In order to do this, however, you’ll need the right tool. Using a squeegee won’t just guarantee that your window dries without any streakiness.
It will allow you to quickly clean your window in clear upward strokes, allowing the water to be evenly distributed for a quick air-dry.
3. Use Natural Remedies
You might be rolling your eyes at the idea of a natural remedy for dirty windows, but hear us out:
If you haven’t tried using white vinegar, lemon juice, or baking soda on your dirty glass, you’re missing out.
All these ingredients act as a mild abrasive to help you get those tough-to-erase hard water stains off your window to stay.
What could be better than that? Only the fact that you probably have two if not all three of these ingredients laying around the house at this very moment. Talk about an easy hack!
4. Get Creative with Your Tools
If you’ve been relying on an old rag and a bit of window cleaner to do the job right, you’ve been doing yourself a major disservice.
If you have a kid’s chalkboard or a dry erase board, you can put your erasers to good use by using them to “erase” stains and stripes from your window.
These gentle, efficient tools work wonders on skids and streakiness, and you don’t have to wipe yourself out getting rid of tough stains in the process.
5. Dry Smarter, Not Harder
One of the reasons erasers and dry-erasers are such great tools is because they allow your window to stay dry while being treated.
When it comes down to it, this is a much more important aspect of window cleaning than people realize:
The drier your window stays during treatment, the better it will look afterward.
Using tools like squeegees or microfiber cloths allow for quick, easy drying, which helps you keep your cleaning job from being ruined the second it’s finished.
However, another great way to keep your windows looking their best is to clean them on a gray, overcast day.
It shouldn’t be raining outside, but you should be able to see your window’s stains clearly without the sun getting in the way.
Even though cleaning your windows on a sunny day will ensure a quicker drying period, cleaning them on a gray day will help you actually target the parts of your window that are stained and dirty-looking without risking over-treating or over-wetting.