Cleaning Windows: This way it will be clean without streaks

Cleaning the windows properly is not exactly easy. How do they get clean and streak-free? With vinegar or detergent? We have the best home remedies and tricks at hand.

In the grey winter we postpone it for months, but as soon as the sun shines through the window and streaks and dirt spoil our view, there is no way around spring cleaning – and thus also window cleaning. Especially after many days with bad weather or if you live on a street with a lot of traffic, dirt quickly settles on the glass.

But how do you make the windows really spick and span? Which cleaning agent, which cleaning technique makes the windows really clean? We reveal the best tips for cleaning windows without streaks and smears.

The right accessories

The good news first: You don’t have to hire a professional window cleaner or buy an expensive steam cleaner to get your windows really nice and clean. The following tools make window cleaning easy:

• Broom: You can sweep coarse dirt, such as cobwebs, pollen or dust, from the glass with a soft broom beforehand.
• Kitchen scraper: Fly or bird droppings can be easily removed with a kitchen scraper. Take care to place the blade broadly and flatly to avoid scratches in the glass.
• Squeegee: With a squeegee (or especially with a window wiper or window vacuum cleaner) you get the windows dry quickly and cleanly.
• Cotton cloth/microfibre cloth/shammy leather: A dry (lint-free) cotton cloth, microfibre cloth or shammy leather is suitable for polishing the glass panes.

Cleaning windows with home remedies

We like to do without chemical window cleaners, because this way we protect the environment, do not endanger our health and also save money. You want to clean your windows without streaks? These home remedies help:

• Dishwashing liquid: For the basic cleaning you only need a bucket of lukewarm water with a splash of dishwashing liquid and a soft sponge.
• Washer: Professional building cleaners, who usually have to clean large windows, work with a so-called washer instead of an ordinary sponge.
• Vinegar: Lime stains on the window panes are particularly common in the bathroom. Vinegar is suitable for descaling. You can add a dash of vinegar to the water – this not only helps against limescale spots, but also prevents unsightly streaks when the sun shines against the window. On top of that, vinegar is cheap and protects the environment. Here you can find out what else vinegar essence can do.
• Glass cleaner: For stubborn dirt, glass cleaner makes your work easier.
• Spiritus: Spiritus has also proven itself as a cleaning agent, but it smells unpleasant and dries out the skin, so it is better to wear gloves.
• Ammonia solution: Dirt can also be removed from glass surfaces with a shot of ammonia solution. But ammonia is also a good stain remover in other respects.

Cleaning windows: The right technique

Cleaning windows without streaks is particularly easy with the help of tools – window vacuum cleaners and special window wipers are suitable for this. But if you have the right home remedies and a window wiper at hand, you can achieve an equally streak-free result with the right technique.

1. Once you have applied the cleaning agent to the window pane with the sponge, work in circular movements from top to bottom and from inside to outside.
2. Then take the squeegee and remove the cleaning water from the pane horizontally and preferably in one go per lane.
3. At the end of each lane, wipe the wet rubber lip dry with a lint-free cloth.
4. Whether you use a microfibre cloth, chamois leather or newspaper to polish the remaining strips is a matter of taste. A professional tip: If you polish with a nylon stocking, the windows will be really shiny.

Further tips for window cleaning

• The water that collects at the bottom of the window frame can be wiped off with a sufficiently large, dry cloth.
• You should rinse the latter with warm salt water after cleaning and wring it out so that it does not dry out.
• Many people polish the windows with newspaper, but the printer ink can stain the glass or window frame. The advantage: Those who only clean their windows with clear water and crumpled newspaper save chemicals and expensive cleaning agents.
• Linseed oil provides a beautiful shine. If your windows have become a little dull over time, you can make them shine again with a little linseed oil. Simply rub it in thoroughly, let the oil work in for a short time and then wash it off.

Cleaning windows: How often?

How often you should clean your windows naturally depends on how quickly they get dirty again. In spring and summer, pollen and pollen always make your windows dirtier faster. So if you want to clean your windows during spring cleaning, you should perhaps wait for the first slip of pollen. Then cleaning is doubly worthwhile.

You have to clean the windows particularly often if you live on a busy street. The exhaust fumes and dust quickly settle on the windows. Under normal circumstances, however, it should be enough to clean the windows really thoroughly 2 to 3 times a year.

The right time to clean windows

Strictly speaking, of course, there is no such thing as a bad time, but the weather can affect the success of window cleaning. On very cold days, drops of water can freeze on the glass and window frame. When they defrost later, they leave unsightly water stains.

On very warm and sunny days, the cleaning water dries away before you get to wiping – which also ends with a stained window pane. Many cleaning professionals therefore recommend not cleaning windows on sunny days. It’s best to wait for a dry day with a pleasant temperature – and get going!

Cleaning windows according to the moon calendar

By the way, there are also people who use the lunar calendar as a guide when asking for the right time to clean their windows. They avoid cleaning the windows on damp days. Instead, they rely on days of warmth and light as the moon wanes. Everything can, nothing must …