Can I Clean My Own Windows?

Window Cleaning Services Bend OR Blog 11

Since many of you are being cautious with inviting anyone to work in your home during the Covid-19 pandemic or if you need to go the DIY route, here are our suggestions on how best to clean window glass yourself

How to Clean Your Own Windows

Living in Bend or anywhere else around Central Oregon, you have lots of opportunities to let the sunshine into your home and enjoy our amazing natural views. So, if you need to just touch up the occasional window yourself or save some money between professional cleanings, here are some recommendations on how you can clean windows with things you may already have around the house. We’ve also included one of our training videos at the bottom of this page to help you out.

Gather your supplies:

  1. A clean bucket
  2. About a gallon of fresh cold water
  3. Just a capful of dish soap (most window cleaners just use inexpensive blue ‘Dawn’ brand cause it helps the squeegee slide easily)
  4. A soft sponge or terry cloth towel (don’t use one of those pot scrubbing sponges with a green or red pad since those will scratch glass)
  5. A mop up towel for general cleaning and mopping up spills (old bath towels work best)
  6. A clean, smooth fine weave towel (a finely woven microfiber is best or a dish drying towel will do since it leaves minimal amounts of lint behind)
  7. A squeegee with a nick-free soft rubber or silicone blade (a shower squeegee will do if that’s what you have)
  8. Patience

Learn the technique:

  1. With your mop up cloth, wipe down the areas around the window including the frame, track and sill to get them clean. You want to do this first so you don’t end up accidentally touching your clean glass.
  2. Gently mix the soap and water. You don’t want a lot of suds since that means you’ll leave behind a lot of soap residue which will streak
  3. Try to clean windows in the shade since the sun can dry out the solution before you can squeegee it off.
  4. Using your sponge, apply a moderate amount of the soap solution to the glass and scrub off the dirt, bug marks and other soiling. Leave just enough water so that all of the glass is slightly wet. The more water you leave, the more you’ll have to clean up.
  5. Clear water from the top edge of the glass using a quick wipe with your smooth towel or the cutting in technique with yout squeegee. (See the video below)
  6. Starting with the squeegee at the very top of the glass and tight up to either the right or left corner, pull straight down maintaining light pressure and keeping the squeegee at the same angle against the glass (about 30 degrees is ideal)
  7. Dry off your squeegee blade before the next pass
  8. Move the squeegee over and start at the top of the glass to clean the next area. Let the squeegee blade overlap about 1/2″ over the area you just cleaned. When you pull down this time, you’ll tip down the overlapping end of the squeegee just a little to keep the water from sliding out of this end and leaving a long vertical streak.
  9. Repeat until the whole window is squeegee’d.
  10. With your smooth towel, wipe the perimeter of the window glass to get the tiny bead of water that is along the frame. This is the water that ends up dripping out right as you think you got everything perfect.
  11. Inspect for any streaks or marks and re-clean as necessary. Note: Dish soap always leaves behind a little bit of residue and over time it will start to look hazy and show imperfections in your technique but you can a quick re-clean is all it needs.
  12. Enjoy your masterpiece!

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