With summer on the way, it’s a perfect time to make sure you’ll get to enjoy all the benefits of a sunny weather not only while outside, but also inside your house. Cleaning your windows is a fairly easy and cost-effective way of obtaining that bright living space everyone strives for. Sunlight can easily transform any room and ensure that spending your free time there will be a much more enjoyable experience. However, light does not only add to the visual side of things, it also has a big impact on your mood. Sunlight deprivation can have serious health repercussions, therefore maximising its influx into the house is in your own best interest.
Cleaning windows can be an easy enough task, unless said windows are placed in a location that is difficult to access. High windows guarantee great effects but demand a lot of effort to keep them clean.
The difficulty of the task will depend on the type of building you live in. For flats situated particularly high with access to the exterior being particularly difficult, it may be necessary to hire professional window cleaners or even a rope access technician.
In this article, we will highlight a few tips to clean high windows like a pro:
1. Consider the weather
If you want to get the best results out of your window cleaning, you need to consider the weather conditions of the day. It’s not as simple as just deciding you have some free time, so it’s a perfect moment to get this over with.
It’s a good idea to check the weather forecast beforehand. Surprisingly enough, it’s not only rain you need to watch out for. Hot and sunny days will be a bad choice as well. That’s because when the window surface gets too warm, the cleaner will dry too quickly for you to wipe it off and this will lead to streaking.
2. Decide how you will access the windows
If all your windows are accessible from the inside of the house, it’ll make the job easier. In fact, it will not vary at all from the usual window cleaning. However, if the access is restricted, remember to never attempt cleaning a window while standing inside and leaning out through the window. A clean window is not worth risking an accident, so be sure to always make safety a priority.
The height on which your windows are located will determine what tools are necessary to reach them. You may need a squeegee with a long handle or a ladder. When using the ladder, be sure to check whether it’s positioned safely and at a right place. If you’ll need to stretch too far to reach the window, you may lose balance and risk falling down.
3. Make the preparations
Windows, especially those which are difficult to access, aren’t usually cleaned more than once or twice a year. Therefore a lot of dirt might accumulate on them, which is important especially on the exterior. Before starting cleaning, it may be a good idea to make sure that there are no leaves or insects to get rid of.
4. Select your tools
Getting all your tools ready and set in one place will be a huge help during cleaning. It’ll be much easier to just reach for necessary objects, instead of looking for different things all over the place. Among the things you may find useful are:
- White vinegar or a dishwashing detergent
- Two buckets
- Squeegees
- Sponges
- Gloves
- A cleaner
There are many window cleaning tools available on the market and while all of them will promise you great results with minimal effort, not all of them will deliver. You may want to consult one of the many product review websites to narrow down your choices.
5. Clean the windows
When all the preparations are done and the weather is fitting, you may finally get started with cleaning. First, get the two buckets ready by filling them with water and add white vinegar or a detergent to one bucket. The water in the other one will be used for rinsing the sponges and squeegees.
At the beginning, wash the window using the cleaning solution from the first bucket. Then, starting from the upper right corner, move the squeegee in overlapping, vertical strokes. Make sure to clean the edge of the squeegee of any foam and dirt after every stroke.
Use the cleaner to wash the frames, but if you have wooden frames, remember to dry them immediately, as water can be very harmful to them.
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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