Home Window Cleaning Tips
Home Window Cleaning Tips for fresh and sparkling windows, curtains and blinds! A deep clean that can be done once a year.
Covering all the bases for the cleanest windows possible! From the windows, to the curtains and blinds, and the window sills and tracks.
Window Cleaning Tips:
Cleaning windows is a very daunting task, and honestly I don’t enjoy it at all. BUT, I do LOVE the end result…fresh clean curtains and blinds, and sparkling clean windows. It’s really worth all the effort.
- You don’t have to do it all in one day. Maybe designate a week to tackle all of your windows, and work on 2 or more a day. Breaking up this task into pieces makes it much more manageable.
- Schedule: Window cleaning isn’t something you need to be doing monthly, in fact, you can likely get away with doing this deep clean once a year.
- Check the instructions for your own items. Check the washing instructions on your curtains. Check for how to remove your window screens.
- Use the right tools. This is key.
- Cloths: Use lint free cloths, like a microfibre cloth.
- Cleaners: I use Windex, Dawn dish soap and vinegar. See below for more detailed instructions.
Now it’s time to get into the details of Window Cleaning!
Cleaning Curtains
Ok, this is technically not a window cleaning tip, but I don’t think you can have clean windows without having clean curtains! Here are some tips for cleaning your curtains.
- Wash them: If your curtains are machine washable, wash them in your washing machine. Make sure to follow the washing instructions. I usually wash mine in cold water, then I dry them in the dryer for 30 minutes on medium heat, just until they were almost dry. I find it easier to iron them when they are slightly damp.
- Iron them: Make sure to check your washing instructions to see if you can iron your curtains. My curtains are a cotton/linen blend so I iron on high heat, with a lot of steam. And as I mentioned above, I find it easier to iron my curtains when they are slightly damp after washing and lightly drying.
Window Cleaning
I use a streak-free window cleaner and a microfibre cloth (a lint free cloth) to clean all of my interior windows. Give your windows a good spray with your cleaner, starting at the top. Then use your lint free cloth and wipe from the top of the window down. Sometimes I like to go over them again with another dry lint free cloth, just to get them shining!
- Store Cleaners I like: Windex and Method Glass Cleaner
- Vinegar Solution: Or vinegar in a spray bottle at a 1:2 ratio of vinegar to water (example: 2 cups water, 1 cup vinegar)
Window Sills and Tracks
I wipe all of my window sills with the same water, soap and vinegar solution that I use for cleaning the blinds. Just make sure to wipe your sills after you clean your windows and blinds! Use a lint free cloth and get right into the sills and wipe them down.
- Solution: a bucket of warm water, a couple of drops of Dawn dish soap and about a 1/2 cup vinegar
Window Screens
Window screens accumulate a lot of dirt and dust, so they do need to be cleaned occasionally.
- Option #1: The Hose: I prefer to clean my screens in the summer when I can remove them and spray them outside with the hose.
- Option #2: Use Tide: I like to use about 2 tbsp of powdered Tide laundry detergent in a tub half filled with warm water.
- Option #3: Use Dawn: Or sometimes I will use a good squirt of Dawn dish soap in a tub half filled with warm water.
- Rinse and Dry: Make sure to rinse the screens and let them dry completely before putting them back on your windows.
Cleaning Blinds
If your blinds are only dusty, you may be able to just run a microfibre cloth along them or use a vacuum to remove the dust. If they’re dirty like mine, then you will have to clean them and let me tell you, this is by far the worst job EVER! I hate it because it’s tedious and takes a long time. The biggest tip I have for washing your blinds is to tackle one window at a time…seriously, only do what you can in one sitting. Sometimes I will wash one set of blinds each day, maybe two, with the goal being that I give myself a week to get them all done.
- Fill a large bucket (or your kitchen sink) with hot water, a little bit of dish soap, and about a cup of vinegar.
- Use a microfibre cloth.
- Wet the cloth, pinch each individual blind with your wet cloth touching both the top and bottom of the blind, then slide your cloth along the blind horizontally so you clean both sides of the blinds at the same time.
- Rinse your cloth and repeat until you are done.
- Remember, I can only handle 2 big sets of blinds a day. It’s more manageable to approach it this way.
Even though window cleaning is tedious and hard, the rewards are worth it! Your windows will sparkle, your blinds and curtains will look new again, and everything will just look, feel and smell better!
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This is so inspiring. I did some serious deep cleaning Saturday, but still need to tackle some of this.
I have that same little blinds cleaner! It does work very well. Thats the one clean up I hate & its made a huge difference 🙂
Oh dear….this does not look like fun. I have two long nails about 3 feet apart nailed into the fence. I take the blinds down put them on the nails, spray,scrub then rinse. Then turn them around and do the other side. I can get the whole house done in a few hours. 🙂
One trick I learned from my mom for cleaning blinds is to take them down and wash them in the bathtub. You might need to scrub a couple spots if you have some tough stains, but most of the dust will just rinse off in some warm soapy water.
When I worked for a cleaning company we took foaming scrubbing bubbles and sprayed on the blinds , let sit for 5 minutes , then wiped with clean rag.
For my house I just replace all blinds every Spring. I only have 13 windows.