Most streaky windows come down to two things: too much cleaner and the wrong thing to wipe with. Get those right and an average house takes an afternoon, not a weekend. Here is the method we recommend, along with the grime that is specific to living in Central Texas and how to deal with each kind.
What you need
You can skip the aisle of specialty sprays. A basic kit covers almost every window in a house:
- a bucket
- a 10 to 14 inch squeegee with a fresh rubber blade
- a strip washer (the fluffy sleeve on a handle) or a large soft sponge
- two or three lint-free microfiber cloths
- a soft brush or an old paintbrush for corners and tracks
- a vacuum with a crevice tool
- an extension pole if you have tall picture windows or transoms
For the solution, a gallon of lukewarm water with a small squirt of dish soap does the job. A splash of white vinegar helps on glass with mineral spots. Use less soap than you think. Suds that do not rinse cleanly are what leave a film behind.
Work in the right order
Clean from the top of the house down and from the inside of each window out. That way dirt you knock loose falls onto surfaces you have not cleaned yet.
- Take out the screens and set them aside.
- Vacuum the sill and the tracks. Loose grit in the track turns to mud the moment water hits it.
- Wash the glass.
- Wipe the frame and sash.
- Clean and reinstall the screens.
Washing the glass
Wet the pane with the strip washer or sponge and scrub the whole surface, edges included. Dirt collects in the band along the frame, so give it a second pass.
Dampen the squeegee blade, then set it at the top corner of the glass. Pull it straight down, or across in an S pattern if the window is wide. After each stroke, wipe the blade on a cloth. Overlap the strokes by an inch or so to avoid stripes.
Finish by running a dry microfiber cloth around the edges of the glass to catch the drips where the squeegee could not reach, then wipe the sill.
Timing matters
Do not wash glass in direct sun. On a summer afternoon a west-facing pane gets hot enough that the solution dries before you can squeegee it, and you get spots and streaks no matter how careful you are. Do the east side in the afternoon and the west side in the morning, or pick an overcast day.
Reaching the outside from indoors
If you have tilt-in double-hung or single-hung windows, you can wash the exterior glass from inside the room, which is especially welcome on a second floor. Follow the tilt steps from your window’s instructions, support the sash while it is tilted, and make sure both latches click back into the frame when you return it upright. Casement windows on many models open wide enough that you can reach the outer glass through the opening.
Second-story windows
If a window cannot be tilted or reached from inside, think twice about a ladder. A squeegee on an extension pole from the ground handles most upper glass well enough. Many two-story homes in Austin’s newer suburbs have tall windows over stairwells and entries that sit well out of safe reach; those are worth hiring out.
Austin grime and how to handle it
Pollen
Cedar pollen in winter and oak pollen in spring leave a sticky, yellow film. A dry wipe smears it. Soak the glass first, let the solution sit for a minute, then scrub. Rinse your cloth often. Washing screens during pollen season makes a bigger difference indoors than people expect.
Sprinkler spots
Irrigation overspray dries into white mineral rings on lower windows. Plain soap will not lift them. Wipe the glass with straight white vinegar, let it sit a few minutes, then wash and squeegee as usual. For stubborn spots, repeat rather than scrubbing harder. Then adjust the sprinkler head so it stops hitting the house.
Construction and limestone dust
If you live near new construction, and in parts of Leander, Kyle or Pflugerville that can feel like everywhere, fine dust settles on every surface. Rinse it off with plenty of water before you scrub. Dragging a dry cloth over gritty dust can leave fine scratches.
Paint, stickers and tape
Soften stickers with warm soapy water and peel them slowly. Ask the manufacturer before using a razor scraper on any glass. Some glass and coatings scratch easily, and scraping can affect the warranty.
Frames, sashes and tracks
Vinyl frames clean up with the same mild soap solution. Use a soft cloth and skip abrasive pads, bleach and solvents like acetone, which can dull or stain the surface. For wood frames, use a barely damp cloth and dry them right away.
Tracks need more attention than the glass. Vacuum first, then work a soft brush into the corners. A damp cloth wrapped over a flat screwdriver reaches the deep channel along the bottom. Find the weep holes on the outside bottom of the frame and make sure water can pass through them. If a sash still drags after the track is clean, a light wipe of silicone spray on the track helps. Skip oil and grease, which hold dust.
While you are at each window, check the weatherstripping along the sash. Wipe it with a damp cloth and look for spots that are torn or flattened.
Screens
Lay the screens flat on a driveway or patio. Spray them gently with a hose, brush both sides with a soft brush dipped in soapy water, rinse, and stand them on edge to dry. A pressure washer can stretch or tear the mesh, so keep it on the low setting or skip it. Before reinstalling, check for small tears and bent frames.
How often
Inside glass in living areas: every month or two, or whenever fingerprints start to bother you. Outside glass: twice a year works for most homes, late winter after cedar season and again in fall. Tracks and weep holes: at least twice a year, and after any big storm.
When clean glass still looks dirty
Sometimes the haze will not come off because it is not on the surface at all. If you see fog, streaks or droplets between the panes of a double-pane window, the seal on that glass unit has failed. No cleaner reaches inside. On a newer window, that may be a warranty matter, so contact the company that installed it. On older windows with several failed seals, it is often a sign the windows are near the end of their life. Our vinyl windows page explains what a modern glass package looks like.
If you are tired of fighting cloudy glass and sticky tracks, call The Window Source of Austin at (512) 524-9455 and schedule a free in-home estimate. We will show you which of your windows are worth keeping.