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In the spirit of Keeping it Real, I must confess that my windowsare filthy. I mean really, really filthy. As in...I haven't cleaned
them in years! Well, the one at the kitchen sink
has been cleaned on the inside
since it gets splattered and I look out of it a lot. But the rest....yuck!
What's your favorite way to wash windows?
Is it with vinegar? Newspaper? A bucket of soapy water
and a hose for the outside? I'd love some advice
so when the weather gets warm enough, I'm ready to go!
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Oh, nice photo choice! Guess what we did today, after the torrential rains, that is. Yep... we cleaned windows. Hose and soapy water from the outside, Windex and newspaper on the inside. It really does make a difference. Let the sunlight flood right in. Happy cleaning.
ReplyDeleteOh my windows are in a sorry state right now too. I usually do the soapy water and hose on the outside and just windex or window cleaner on the inside. I'm just waiting for the weather to cooperate and I'll give them a good cleaning.
ReplyDeleteI also love to hose down my back patio and sidewalks out back and in the front yard. There's something about watching the dirt roll away that is so pleasing to me! I'm weird I know!
Boy, with that blog title, and without first reading any further, I thought the image you posted was of some inspirational, bronzy statue in some Times Square-ish somewhere where people come to look at it, filling themselves with I'm-glad-to-be-alive thoughts. Then, upon closer inspection, I find I am studying a squeegee! No wonder I didn't recognise it- I DON'T DO WINDOWS! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI haven't washed my windows since I moved into my apt 5 1/2 years ago. I'm a HORRIBLE housekeeper.
ReplyDeleteActually I'd be a good housekeeper, if I could get motivated to do just ONE thing a day.
I am lucky to have a professional cleaning my windows.;)) From the outside.;)
ReplyDeleteFrom the inside I simply use clean water and after that the cheapest glass cleaning agent available and tissue paper.;) Works very well for me.;)
I use a little dish detergent and a chamois cloth if they're really dirty.
ReplyDeleteMine are the same. I hardly ever clean them, especially on the outside because I simply can't reach them. And I keep forgetting to phone a window cleaner! My late fil cleaned them inside once with vinegar and it absolutely stunk the house out. Never again!
ReplyDeleteCJ xx
Betsy, I am guilty of this too...we have only been at The Glen for a year yet my large center window is SO VERY DIRTY...the sun shines beautifully through it yet also POINTS OUT every smear and speck and cobweb!
ReplyDeleteI will be back to see if others have "tried and true" ways to make windows sparkle!
Betsy, I love this post. After the paint job I noticed how dirty the window was above the ledge, so today I went at it with my usual, a natural-brand window cleaner and newspaper or paper towel, although paper towel tends to leave lint behind. What a difference!
ReplyDeleteOnce it warms up I'll be like you, working on the windows from the outside, but I get up on a ladder and use what I use on the inside. I've never done the hose thing. Maybe I should try it!?
My living room window is a big A-frame. It shows all the cobwebs with leaves and dirt stuck up there something terrible. I've never come up with a really sure-fire way to clean it either. I've stood on a chair out on the front porch and tried to clean it with a Windex coated paper stuck on the end of a mop....worked better than nothing...but not great.
ReplyDeleteI find the clear windex with vinegar does the best job for me, & newspaper. It is getting hard to find lately. Also they clean better if sun is not shining directly on the window. Seems like windex dries too fast and streaks more.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite way is to not do them. But every so often it has to be done. Abe use to wash the outside while I did the inside, but I have a feeling I will be doing them myself this spring. I use Windex and paper towels. Try not to wash them while the sun is shining on them. If they are really dirty, like our window sills in the back in the office, since we lay bird seeds and nuts on them, they will need to be scrubbed down with soap, water and a heavy duty scrub brush. I wish I could either snap my fingers or twitch my nose and it would be all done for me.
ReplyDeleteHappy washing what ever you use.
Thanks everyone! Sounds like I'm not alone in the dirty window department! I've never used newspaper but it sounds like it's the favorite. I'm sure I'll need a bucket and hose for the outside...they are too far gone for windex and paper towels! I think I'll start on the insides now...maybe one window a day? ha-ha...can you tell I hate to do windows?
ReplyDeleteI bought an inexpensive squeegee that has become my new toy! I love it and it makes cleaning windows easy, inside and out! I do like vinegar and water to clean them with.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Ohilda
PS Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Hoorah for the new vintage header! Ugh... I wish that my hose reached as far as my front windows. I need to scrub mine too...
ReplyDeleteI use soapy water fo the initial cleanup and then I go at it with diluted white vinegar. I like when they smell like salad dressing!
Hello from a fellow hardly-ever-does-them cleaner! I appreciate the tips here, and you've encouraged me to actually try cleaning at least some of mine. Not today though - we're currently at windchill of -1!
ReplyDeleteSusan
Windex and a squeegee for the inside and a bucket and hose for the outside, with a mop, but I hate the water running down in to my armpits! The squeegee with the microfiber cloth on one end works really well on the ones you can reach.
ReplyDeleteRosezilla...I like the mop idea for the outside!
ReplyDeleteI use Bio-Kleen glass cleaner and an old rag.
ReplyDeleteI used to neglect my windows too. Now, I rotate them. Each week pick a room and do just the windows in that room. Inside and out. This is a workable system for me and my windows stay shiny. :)
Happy washing! :)
we have huge windows across the back of the house...squeegee vinegar and Mr ELK!!
ReplyDeletei use the tried and true joyce farmer method (my mom, of course)!!! supplies: several rolls of paper towels, a spray bottle with a mixture of vinegar, ammonia and water. yes, it smells but it works like magic!!! i've used newspaper before as well but usually just go back to cheap paper towels.
ReplyDeleteMine are crudsy, too! And those bright sunny snow days really showed off the grime!
ReplyDeleteOne of my dearest friends gave me this advise about windows and now it is the only way I will clean windows.
ReplyDeleteHose down your window, take Dawn liquid and draw a line with soap at the top of the window and then rub it in with your fingers and then rinse with hose water.
Each window takes just minutes and there is no cleanup mess. Just sparkling windows.
Smudged windows...sigh. I like to think that I leave them like that as a safety measure.
ReplyDeleteLike those stickers applied at hotels so you don't walk into the sliding glass door?