Window Cleaning Made Easy

Time to clean your windows? Achieving a brilliant, professional window cleaning look is easy and inexpensive. All you need are these four items:

1. A squeegee
2. Spray bottle with homemade cleaner
3. Newspaper
4. Gloves

The Squeegee

Investing in the professional window cleaner’s number one tool – a squeegee – makes a big difference. Look for a squeegee that has an aluminum handle for durability and one that can accommodate a broom stick or pole should you want to reach higher windows. Make sure the blade is made of flexible rubber, not plastic.

Spray Bottle and homemade cleaner

Chances are good that you have a spray bottle available at home. Ensure its original contents were not toxic then clean thoroughly. Run water through the sprayer many times. You can buy a vinegar based window cleaner but the homemade version is just as effective and less expensive. Here’s our recipe:

• ¼ cup vinegar
• 2 cups water

It’s that simple! Some folks like to add a dash of liquid dish soap. This helps cut the grim on very dirty windows and creates a sudsing action that lets you know where the cleaner is on the window.

Newspaper

You could invest in a professional grade chamois for window cleaning but newspapers work exceptionally well and don’t cost you anything. You will need a thick stack of newspapers.

Gloves

Who wants all that grim on their hands? A pair of household cleaning gloves makes cleaning more pleasant!

This process is efficient and reduces the strain caused by scrubbing windows.

Liberally spray the window with cleaning solution.

Draw the squeegee from one side to the other, starting at the top of the window. Overlap each horizontal swipe so you aren’t missing any glass.

Then do the same from one side of the window to the other using vertical strokes.

It's helpful to wipe the squeegee blade each time you make a pass to reduce dripping. 
(HINT: The newspaper will absorb better after it’s initially wet)

Wipe the edges and corners with newspaper. Look for drips that you might have to dry with newspaper.

You’re all set. Now you have a window that looks professionally cleaned!