Cleaning windows is one of the most important tasks for March in my household. I always find it difficult to clean the large window surfaces and the sliding doors in the living area without streaks. Especially on a sunny day, when the moisture evaporates quickly, the cleaning water often leaves ugly streaks. And the trick with the newspaper hadn't worked until a year ago. Then I suddenly realized that I had been cleaning my windows incorrectly.
Clean windows: Streaks often appear in the sun
The windows get dirty quickly and need to be cleaned at least once a month. However, this is not always possible in the winter months. In spring I often have to contend with heavily dirty window panes. From my experience, only one thing helps: roll up your sleeves and clean the windows.
The right time to clean windows
In principle, you can clean windows in the sun without any problems, as long as the light does not fall directly on the surface. Windows that face west are in the shade in the morning. I clean east-facing windows in the afternoon or very early in the morning. By the way, a cloudy day like today is ideal for cleaning windows.
Black tea, vinegar solution, newspaper: these home remedies keep windows streak-free
I already have a system and a home remedy helps me keep my windows streak-free even in the sun. I proceed as follows:
1. Preparations: Remove the curtains, wash them and let them dry. Prepare black tea and let it cool.
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 descale the water first, because lime also leaves traces.
3. Take a large soft brush, dip it into the vinegar solution and use it to scrub off all spider webs and large areas of dirt. Then I rinse the entire window pane with just water.
4. I always start with the window frames because that's where a lot of dirt accumulates and I don't want the dirty water to get on my windowsclean windowdrips. I use soapy water on the window frames. Preparing the home remedy is very easy: I dissolve 1/3 dishwashing liquid in 4 liters of warm water and use it to thoroughly clean the window frames. If they are a little yellowed, I scrub them a second time with whitening toothpaste, leave them on for about 15 minutes and then wipe them off with a damp cloth
5. I then start cleaning the window panes. If they are not 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 them with black tea. You can also remove really stubborn dirt with rubbing alcohol - but dishwashing 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 dirty water that drips off while I'm scrubbing.
7. Then I polishthe surfaces with newspaperand 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 will have time to wipe and polish the window panes. However, I can do this much faster than spring cleaning and I plan on doing it in about 2 hours.
You can find our top 3 cleaning products including a bonus tipin this article.
