Cleaning your windows is a quick and easy way to give your home a boost. Not only does it make your windows look cleaner and smarter, it’ll also maximise the amount of natural light that gets into your home, making rooms look brighter and airier.
Cleaning your windows is easy to forget and tempting to avoid, so if you haven’t done it in a while you’re not the only one. Follow our cleaning tips to get your windows looking bright and shiny in no time.
Prepare your windows
Before you get started with your cleaner and cloth, make sure you prepare your windows. Tie back any blinds or curtains and give your windows a good hoover or brush. This will help to get rid of any big bits of dust or dirt so you don’t end up with wet, muddy marks that take longer to clean off.
Choose your cleaning solution carefully
There are several different products you can use for cleaning your windows, and each comes with its own pros and cons. Diluted vinegar is really popular and can leave you with shiny results. But bear in mind that, unlike other manufactured products, it won’t kill off germs.
Soap and water is another cheap and easy option but can leave you with soapy, smeary windows if you’re not careful. And there is a variety of different cleaning sprays that both clean and disinfect your windows. If you want a premade spray but want to avoid harmful chemicals, try an eco-friendly product like Ecover’s window and glass cleaner.
Get all the equipment you need
There’s no set equipment that you need for window cleaning, but certain things will help. To start with, you’ll need something to clean your window with – a sponge or cloth will do. You’ll also need something to dry your windows with. Popular materials include a dry cloth, kitchen roll, newspaper or a combination. It’s important to use whatever you need to dry your windows properly – otherwise you’ll end up with smears or watermarks.
Other things you might need include a squeegee, which will help to remove excess water from your window, and a bucket if you don’t use cleaner in a spray bottle.
If you want to reduce waste, try to use cloths that you can wash and reuse, or newspaper that you would buy anyway and can recycle afterwards.
Pick the right time
When you clean your windows is pretty important. Try to pick a day when it’s not too hot and sunny – you don’t want your window cleaner drying prematurely and leaving smudges on your window. You’ll also need to avoid rain or days when there’s lots of moisture in the air, otherwise you might find it hard to get your windows dry.
You should also give yourself plenty of time for cleaning your windows. Try to clean all of the windows in a room in one go – if you don’t then the clean ones will look good but the dirty ones will look even worse.
Following this guide should help you end up with clean and shiny windows that make your home look great. Got any other handy tips? Tweet us @Quotatis