Doesn't it make a big difference? Many years ago I made the decision that I cannot (will not) wash my own windows and now hire it done a couple times a year (no kids or dogs so that's about how often they need it). It is worth the price, 10 fold, to have someone else do it - it is less expensive than you'd imagine. My whole attitude about life changes when the windows are clean! (If I didn't have to wash them).

No, mine are a mess, it's been far too long since they were done. Would love to have them cleaned, but it is unbelievably expensive. I have double hung windows with panes right in the glass (don't know what that is referred to as), not the fake panes that you can snap out. I've had folks out for estimates a few times, but have never had a quote less than 1K for my windows. We do some of them ourselves, but I have a few that, due to the hill we live on, are 3 stories off the ground instead of 2. Those ones really need a cleaning!

Enjoy your sparkly clean windows!

I was just telling myself how nice fresh, clean windows would look now that spring is here. Thanks for the encouragement. I love sparkling windows.

If I have one pet peeve, it's dirty windows! I always have nose prints on my french door in the kitchen, so have to wash it at least twice a week. I washed the 4 kitchen windows last Friday, inside and out, cause I could reach the top on a ladder, and they're the windows that get the most sunlight. The second story and larger windows will be getting the 'professional touch'. ;o)

It's a tiresome job, but I love to have clean windows. I usually clean them in the fall and spring, and then once or twice over the summer. I head outside with a paper bag for garbage, a small step stool, dollar-store Windex with ammonia in it, and roll of quality paper towels (I buy the expensive ones for window cleaning). I don't stop until I've done the entire first floor. A year or two ago I realized our second floor windows tilt in for cleaning, so now we sparkle all over! :)

Hubby cleans our windows :-) We've found the microfiber cloths work best. One to clean, one to dry. I've been told you can clean them with just the cloths and water, but I like a bit of ammonia or vinegar in the water. He usually does the sunroom a few times a year and the others a couple of times a year.

No, they are not clean right now, here in the south we are entering pollen season!

tina

Mine are filthy and the windows in this house only have screens on the bottom sash, so the dirt really shows on the top sash. Guess I'll have to add window washing to my spring to-do list.

Atleast these windows tilt in. The windows in our old house didn't and I'd be bruised from my wrist to my upper arm trying to reach over and under them to clean the outside of the ones that were too high to reach from the outside. I don't do ladders.

No, I don't have clean windows and I hate it. Our last two houses had tilt-in windows that were so easy to clean. Now I have wood double-hungs with weird screen placements so I can't wash the outsides of the windows without removing all the screens and spending all day on a ladder. No fun.

I'm kind of neurotic about it. I clean at least 4 times a year. Windows and all 3 storm doors, both sides. All screens get washed at least once a year. (I'm always amazed at the clearer view when that's done, so they catch a lot of crud.) Windows are due now, haven't been cleaned since Dec, it's making me crazy, but I can't spare the time till taxes are done.

We'll get fluke days in winter where it's 40s, maybe 50s, and I grab that chance to clean them, tides me over till spring. I can have them all done in a little over an hour, inside and out. (Used to be 45 minutes flat, but I'm gettin' old and slowin' down, lol.)

You know what I noticed? I was outside last winter washing the picture window with my extension pole thingy, and it dawned on me in 14 years living here, I have never once seen a neighbor washing windows. I don't get it. (I'm sure they must clean them sometime, but you'd think in all that time I'd see more of it, kwim? ) They think I'm a little goofy out there in winter, but I don't care. Gotta have sparkling glass. ;)

Mine have removable grids (old house had real divided panes and they *were* a pain!) and tilt in but I haven't gotten around to cleaning any except the insides, the outsides are waiting til I take them all the way out to stain the sashes. So I've cleaned the ones in the garage and the attic when I poly'd those last fall LOL.

Our vinyl siding needs to be washed too...but it beats staining every 3 yrs!

I found long ago to use windshield washing fluid to make the job of window cleaning much easier. Just pour the fluid into a spray bottle, use a super duper handled windshield cleaner with a fat scrubby thing on one side and a squeege on the other side, then, if necessary, dry.

I clean mine twice a year. Dish soap in hot water, clean with a long handled mop. Rinse with the hose and dry with a microfiber cloth. Also remove the screens for the winter (this really makes the windows look clean) and wash those before putting them back up in the spring.

Stupid question, perhaps, but can you clean double hung windows that don't tilt in from the inside of the house? I'm in a second floor condo in a 100 year old home and don't do ladders. I'd love to be able to clean them myself. We've restored the sashes so that both the top and bottom move. totallyconfused, is it just a matter of sliding one sash up and one down, etc., and getting your hand in to try to get at the whole window? Is it possible to reach the outside of both sashes this way?

Gotta have clean windows! We have to clean the glass doors more frequently due to nose smudges, too. I usually pay someone to do ours once a year-27 windows, most double hung, divided lights-but may try to do it myself this year since we replaced windows and I now have the tilt-in ones (still divided). Not sure I want to spend my time washing windows, though. I do find a combo of white vinegar and non-sudsing ammonia with water makes a great non-streaking cleaner. We use squeegees for the doors and have a mini one for the windows just in case a touch up is needed.

We have had quite a winter - although it was in the 60's today (what a relief), it was below freezing last night...so much snow and rain - our windows are a mess but will be cleaned this week.

For difficult to reach windows, DH uses a Windex product called Outdoor Multi-Surface Concentrated Cleaner. He attaches the Windex to a garden hose, wets the windows with water only (there is a setting for this on the Windex container) then sprays the Windex/water mix on to the windows. After 15 seconds he rinses the windows with water only and voila! The windows sparkle!

For easier to reach windows he uses a (genuine) chamois and water with a tiny drop of dish soap added. I clean all the windows indoors also using a chamois and sometimes crinkled newspaper to polish. It is true that sparkling windows have a great effect.

Man...I would LOVE clean windows. I passed a truck today that said the did windows and I am thinking of calling them. I cannot get my windows clean. I have tried everything...ammonia & water, commercial cleaners, microfiber cloths, squeegees...you name it. I ALWAYS get streaks. Maybe it's me??

Our sliders get cleaned 2 or 3 times a year since the dogs have access to them. And we just installed the new dining room windows...wow...what a difference sparkling clean windows are. So once we get past this rain I'm going to do ALL our windows. Take off the screens and pressure wash them, too. I might try my new steamer on the windows and see if that helps, but I'll take any tips!

marita40,

If both sashes move all the way up and down in the window opening, you can clean them from the inside.

To clean the inside sash, move the outside sash completely down and the inside one 1/2 way up. This will expose the top half of the inside sash and leave room above to reach over to clean it. Then, move the outside sash all the way up and the inside sash half way down to expose the bottom half. Clean that part by reaching out underneath the window.

To clean the outside sash, align both sashes vertically in the middle of the opening. You now have room above and below the windows to reach the exterior panes.

I hope this makes sense.

Lisa

I'm trying to get new windows. So that's my excuse for not washing them. Actually looking at replacing them with the windows that are treated to shed the dirt. However, did wash the front door dog nose tracks off the glass. LOL.

sis3, thanks for the info on how the Windex outdoor cleaner works, I've always wondered and now I may try it on the tall windows. I don't like ladders either.

housefairy, I've never heard of windows that shed dirt.

Wouldn't it be nice if windows were cheap enough to replace instead of clean?

Natesgram, they all have their "brand" name but it's baked on and works kind of like the products you put on your auto glass. One brand is called Sunclean. Really want it for the back of the house because when it rains (and the wind blows) the windows in the back of the house get soaked. If it helps keep them cleaner, I'll be a happy camper.

I must be weird. We have double-hung windows and I clean mine every 2-3 weeks. Our house is small, having only 17 windows, 1 solid glass front door and 1 sidelight, so it's not a very daunting task. I love clean windows and it actually makes me twitch when they're not clean ;o)

Marita40 the way I cleaned mine was to slide the top sash down and reach over to clean as much as I could. Then I would slide the top sash up part way and slide the bottom sash up so that I could reach the part of the top sash that I hadn't been able to reach the other way. Then I did the same sort of jiggling to clean the lower sash. As I said, I usually ended up bruised and scraped from my wrist to my arm pit. It's definitely a pain, but I can't bring myself to get up on a ladder or climb out on the roof as some of my neighbors do.

I live in an older house with storm windows. It literally doubles the work of cleaning a window. I have cleaned them all once in the year I have been here. It was apparent they had not been cleaned in many, many years. Now I'm just keeping up with the doggy noseprints.

Another clean window freak here. Fortunately, all 17 our double hungs have the tilt-in feature, since our house is up on piers and you would need a ladder to reach even the first floor! We also have 4 nine foot french door/fixed glass units on the water side that need frequent cleaning, as well as 2 twelve by seven plate glass windows. My Westies do so much window kissing on the plate glass windows that I do the inside of those nearly every week! I do all the rest myself, several times each season. When you have such a magnificent view of the water, it's a necessity!

We're right in the middle of pollen season here in SC now, so this gives me a little break. There's no reason to clean until the pollen's gone........

Marita40, I have the same problem. House is 60 years old with double hung windows - mullions on top and bottom plus storms. Glazing is dried and cracking too. I've tried washing them myself from the outside but they don't sparkle because I can't get to all sides. Job seems to big for me and something I need to hire out. Guess I should get estimates because I have no idea how costly it can be. Dirty windows drive me crazy too. I put blinds in for that reason even though I'd prefer a different window covering.

BTW, I use Hope's Perfect Glass to clean the windows (mirrors, too). Hands down, it's the best glass cleaner on the planet (IMHO).

I just sent this message to Lisa, I see the same info was posted by someone else..... These forums are great for teaching old dogs new tricks!

I've lived in my house for 11 years and never thought once to clean the windows like you said on the forum. I've been waiting for hubby to clean the outsides for years, he gets the same four done and then the rest never get done. I have no idea why this never crossed my mind.

Thank you so much! It took a long time because I have 25 year old double hung windows with screens and storms and real divided windows (mullions?), but I now actually have 1 clean window in my house! It may take a long time for me to get to each and every one of the 22 double hung windows that I have, but thanks to you, I finally have a way to do it!

Thank you!
Sandy

There's nothing like sparkling clean windows. Many years ago we stopped doing this task ourselves and now hire a window cleaning company once a year. In between, we do them on an "as needed" basis. The window cleaning guy is a one man show and does a fabulous job. His company name is Dad Does Windows! His wife has a full-time job with benefits and he's the parent who goes home to be with the kids. He works 9-3, books only one job a day and has a very long waiting list!

Sis3, I tried a Windex product called Outdoor All-in-One, but didn't like the way it left streaks ... even though it said it wouldn't.

I clean the four windows with no window treatment a few times a year. The rest maybe get it once a year. We have storm windows on all the double hungs and cleaning the exterior is a major project!

I have double hung windows with mullions. Whenever the mullions get wet, a white substance drips down on the glass and smears them. If the rag touches the mullions, it picks up the substance and smears the glass. I'm at my wits end. Does anybody else have this problem?

mrsmarv, I love Hope's too! That stuff is outstanding! ;)

We have someone come every 3 months. It's $59 for the whole house (28 windows and 5 french doors), an extra $20 to remove and clean the screens and another $20 for RainX.

Our house is a "U" shape with a pool in the middle. We have an automatic cleaner that skims the pool and cleans the bottom. Unfortunately, it also "sprays" the windows with it's little jet power tail so they don't stay clean for long.

They don't clean the skylights (6 of them); we have to wait for rain if a birdie leaves a present (which the kids deLIGHT in pointing out). Anyone have any tips for cleaning skylights?

Is Hope's hard to find? I've never heard of it before.

Well I have windows that do tilt in and yes, I clean the outside about every 3 months. The inside I clean much more frequently so you'd think I have clean windows right? I have two Dobermans. Windows, noses, drool. They're worth it.

Our idjit PO didn't bother to mask the windows when he sprayed the walls and trim (yes, walls and trim at the same time with the same paint) so every window has a fine, speckly film of paint that leaves the glass looking dingy. It's a nightmare to remove - everything from razor scrapers to green scrubby pads and noxious chemicals that melt your brain - so we've been very slowly pecking away at that when there's nothing more urgent to be done. DH washed the exteriors with the hose (theoretically the screens come off but the cheap plastic brackets break if you do so we don't touch them) last year but with that paint film it doesn't look clean anyway. All it does is rinse off the pollen, which does build up mighty thick all through the warm season.

Some people should not be allowed access to paint sprayers.

$59.00 to clean your windows? Where are you? I want your window cleaner!

I am an hour from NYC, 11 years ago someone cleaned my windows as a first time, new customer, one time only, 750.00 for my house. Now I cannot get anyone under 1K which includes inside/outside, storms, screens, 2 picture windows, 2 patio doors, 2 entry doors and 22 double hung, divided lite windows. Maybe with the economy things have dropped, course now because of the forum, I can work at cleaning mine. :) Good way to jump start spring cleaning now that we've warmed up around here!

Nope. The oak trees are in their romantic mood again and there's a green film on everything. I cleaned all the outdoor furniture before guests arrived last weekend and, by the time they arrived two hours later, the glass tops needed another wipe down. One time when we had the windows cleaned, it rained mud the next day--a rare, but not unique, Central Texas phenomenon. If I can get someone else to clean the windows in May, that's the route I'll go this year. Sigh.

I've never heard of Hope's Perfect Glass. Where can I purchase it? TIA

I have clean windows now...spent all day doing them yesterday. And I bought the perfect glass at Bed Bath and Beyond. It works great--no streaks!

Natal, we haven't noticed streaks after using the Windex Outdoor Multi Surface but there is no doubt the windows don't look quite as good as those we can do by hand. The benefit though is that we can clean the most inaccessible windows from the ground, with a garden hose, with a respectable result.

You can purchase Hope's Perfect Glass at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Lowe's.

"Now I cannot get anyone under 1K which includes inside/outside, storms, screens, 2 picture windows, 2 patio doors, 2 entry doors and 22 double hung, divided lite windows."

Sandra ~ Are you in Westchester County? That would explain the higher than average prices ;o)