How To Clean Windows
Squeaky clean windows, squeaky clean household mirrors,
sparkling clean windshield glass; what is a girl to do? I have
over the years armed myself with every type of aerosol glass
cleaner imaginable, various spray cleaners, a multitude of
green cleaners, glass cleaning wipes all for a streak shine that
is eluding me.
Cleaning windows, mirrors and auto glass is considered an
unpleasant task by many, hard work and a laborious chore at
best. I cleaned the windows in my home over this past weekend,
even washed the screens and sparkle and shine did occur. It was
not until the sun came in that the streaks appeared. Were they
on the inside, were they on the outside? Should I have used
straight ammonia, is it true that newspapers
make a good cleaning material? Out comes
the glass cleaner again and I grab newsprint
– I even attempted to use the Sunday comic
section thinking colored ink might work
better than the black and white newsprint.
Less streaks this time around and I admit
that I do not have the proof of the beta test
assessment if it was the Sunday comic new print
or the black and white newsprint that resulted in less streaks
or there was no direct sunlight, or maybe I used more cleaning
solution , or or or….
Monday morning I marched over to see Dan Gallagher at
Bennett Glass and Mirror, because who else would know best
on how to clean glass. With a cry for help and not sure if I
need squeegees, scrapers, paper towels, lint-free towels, liquid
cleaner, spray cleaner or if I should be mixing gallons of water
with white wine vinegar or is it red wine vinegar? I asked Dan
to be my Wikipedia on how to clean glass and mirrors.
I asked Dan if the frequency of cleaning windows has any bearing
on how well they sparkle and shine. Dan said that cleaning
windows is “really up to the homeowner.” “Some homeowners
like to clean their windows every week and other do it once or
twice a year in the spring and fall cleaning cycle.”
Never clean windows on a hot sunny and windy day. The wind
and heat of the sun causes the water in the cleaning product to
evaporate quicker. What this means is that while you are using
the paper towel, the applied cleaning solution dries on the glass
causing streaks. Ahhh I said to myself, it was a very hot day as
I was cleaning my windows and there was direct sunlight.
Dan said that when selecting window cleaners try to avoid
products with vinegar, alcohol and ammonia. These chemicals
tend to dry out window seals which are often made of rubber.
So much for the way my mother painstakingly cleaned windows
with ammonia and I