Windows Already Dirty? Keep Them Clean Longer
You may love windows in theory, but in practice, you might find them difficult. Though they provide views, fresh air, and natural light, windows also get dirty much too quickly. Perhaps you just cleaned them last week, but when you open the blinds to let in the morning sun, you see streaks and grime again.
All kinds of things can make your windows dirty quickly. Read on to find out four of the most common culprits and what you can do to fix the issue.
1. Children’s Hands
If you have kids, you’ll know too well how good they are at making messes. Your windows are no exceptionif your children look out the window at something that interests them, they will probably touch the window while they are at it. The natural oils on their skin will leave marks.
If you have pets, you may have a related problem. Your dog may love looking out the window to watch for passersby or to wait for you to come home. Dog noses are wet and greasy, which means that if your pet presses against the window with his or her nose, the window will get a spot wherever it’s touched.
Unfortunately, children and pets can be difficult to reason with, as you’ve probably experienced. While you can discourage your little ones from touching the windows and make the windows less accessible by moving furniture away so the windows are harder to reach, you may just have to live with the problem. Make washing the affected areas part of your normal cleaning schedule, and consider having your children learn to help.
2. Airborne Particles
If the air carries dust or pollution, those particles can be deposited on your windows. The problem can come from outside, especially during dry, windy days when dust is blown around. However, you may experience this issue inside too.
While there’s not much you can do to improve the air quality outside, you can improve what’s in your house. The first thing to do is to check your HVAC system’s filter. If your filter is dirty, it can’t do its job, which means that all kinds of dirt can get blown into your home.
The other solution is to check what’s around your windows. If you have huge piles of dust on nearby shelves, curtains, or blinds, then the dust will affect your windows-especially when you wash them. If you have dusty blinds near a wet window you’ve just cleaned, any dust that gets blown onto the window will stick. Clean the area around your windows before washing them in the future.
3. Grease
You may have noticed that your kitchen windows are the worst in your home. The kitchen is already one of the most difficult places to clean in your home, so the windows are no exception. While you’re sautéing chicken for your family’s dinner, the oil can splatter surprisingly far.
If you can, prevent the issue. Invest in a grease guard for your stove, and fry food items in a deeper pan or pot-the sides will keep a lot of the grease contained. And when you add items to the hot oil, make sure those items are not cold or wet since those qualities increase the splattering. You can also make sure to never apply cooking spray to cookware while standing too close to a window.
Though these measures will keep your kitchen windows cleaner, you will still have to clean them more often than your other windows. Because of the oily buildup, you’ll need to use a product that cuts grease. Fortunately, soap and water do the trick just fine. Use a mixture of soap and water first to get the worst of the grime off, and then use Windex or a similar product to finish the job.
4. Debris in Screens
You may have meticulously cleaned your windows, but that effort is wasted if you leave the screens alone. All kinds of debris can get caught in window screens, such as dirt, cobwebs, and bird droppings. If you put the screen back in the window frame while the window is still wet, the problem will be worse when all of that grime smears.
All you need to do is to spray down your screens with a hose and give them a light scrubbing with a brush. Then, tap the screen frame against the ground to shake the water off before putting the screen back in its place. Your windows will stay cleaner much longer.
While these tips may help you keep your windows cleaner longer, they can’t fix windows that are too old, broken, or scratched. If your windows are damaged, they need to be replaced. Contact Central Glass Company to find the perfect new windows, and use these tips to keep them shining for as long as possible.