It’s common to hear that when we get rain in Bend, Oregon, it’s going to make your windows dirty. What is really going on with your windows when it rains? Should you put off getting your windows cleaned until the forecast is completely clear?
Whenever the forecast calls for rain in Central Oregon, everyone gets a little antsy. And it’s no wonder since Bend, Oregon is known for 300+ days of sunshine a year; so, constant rain is not why we live here (we’re looking at you Willamette Valley).
But does rain in the forecast mean that we have to put home projects, like window cleaning, on hold? Won’t the rain just make those clean windows dirty right away?
Well…rain can’t make your windows dirty! Shocking, right?!
Rain water is plain, unadulterated H2O; so, when it comes down, it is just clean, pure water. It doesn’t have minerals, dirt or anything else in it that can leave spots. But then why does everything look dirtier after a rainstorm?
Because the rain creates contrast. The rain actually leaves clean streaks in the middle of that fine, even layer of dust that’s on everything. It also can concentrate that dust into areas leaving behind “extra dirty” drops that dry up and leave behind everything that they collected. So when you look at your windows, car, sidewalk or patio furniture after the rain, you’re seeing streaks of clean made by the rain next to streaks of leftover dust/dirt.
But whenever I wash my car, it always rains right after and it immediately looks dirty again! That’s usually one of those terribly frustrating “rules” of life but your car is a whole lot different than your home. Remember, you drive your car home from the car wash and down the road where the rain is collecting together all that dust and oil that was on everything else. And that water and dirt splashes up from your tires (and from the semi-truck that went through the huge puddle next to you while going way too fast) and sprays all over your car. Then you drive your car home and park it in the garage where the rain can’t rinse it off, and the next day, when the rain is all dried up, you see all the left behind dirt that was mixed in the dirty road water.
So, if you’re not going to be driving your house 60 MPH down the road, your clean windows on your home should be just fine. In fact, we even clean windows in the rain with great results. You can read about that here: Can you clean windows in the rain?
