Cleaning windows is one of the most important tasks for March in my household. I always find it difficult to clean the large windows and sliding doors in the living area without leaving streaks. Especially on a sunny day, when the moisture evaporates quickly, the cleaning water often leaves ugly streaks. And even the trick with the newspaper hadn’t worked until a year ago. Then I suddenly realized that I had cleaned my windows wrong.
Cleaning windows: Streaks often appear in the sun
The windows get dirty quickly and need to be cleaned at least once a month. In the winter months, however, this is not always possible. I often have to struggle with heavily soiled window panes in the spring. From my experience, only one thing helps: roll up your sleeves and clean the windows.
The right time to clean the window
In principle, you can clean the windows in the sun without any problems, as long as the light does not fall directly on the surface. West-facing windows are shaded in the morning. I clean east-facing windows in the afternoon or very early in the morning. Incidentally, a cloudy day like today is ideal for window cleaning.
Black tea, vinegar solution, newspaper: These home remedies get windows streak-free
I already have a system and a household remedy helps me to get the windows streak-free even in the sun. I proceed as follows:
1. Preparations: Remove the curtains, wash and let dry. Prepare black tea and let it cool down.
2. Fill a small bucket with 4 liters of lukewarm water and add 4 teaspoons of white wine or apple cider vinegar to the water. I always try to decalcify the water first, because lime also leaves traces.
3. Take a large soft brush, dip it in the vinegar solution and use it to scrub away any cobwebs and bulky dirt. Then I rinse the whole window pane with just water.
4. I always start with the window frames as that is where a lot of dirt collects and I don’t want the dirty water dripping onto my clean windows. I use soapy water on the window frames. The preparation of the household remedy is very simple: I dissolve 1/3 washing-up liquid in 4 liters of warm water and use it to thoroughly clean the window frames. If they’re a little yellowed, I scrub them a second time with whitening toothpaste, let it sit for about 15 minutes, and then wipe it off with a damp cleaning rag
5. I then start cleaning the windows. If they aren’t too dirty, I soak a microfiber cloth in black tea and wipe the surfaces with zigzag movements. If the window surfaces are very dirty, I first clean them with soapy water and then polish with black tea. Really very stubborn dirt can also be removed with alcohol – but washing-up liquid has always worked well for me.
6. I always try to work on as large an area as possible and then wipe off any dripping dirty water while scrubbing.
7. Then I polish the surfaces with newspaper to remove any remaining streaks.
To be honest, I don’t clean my windows as regularly in the spring as I would like. By June at the latest, I’ll have time to wipe and polish the window panes. However, I can do this much faster than spring cleaning and I plan about 2 hours for it.