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Cleaning windows is one of the most unpopular household tasks. That’s why some people hesitate for as long as possible. Depending on the location, cleaning the lookout hatch sooner or later will be inevitable for everyone. Anyone who is at home next to a main road, a coal-fired power station or a wooded area with a strong pollen count knows how to sing a song.
It is all the more annoying if you spend a lot of time wiping the windowpanes unnecessarily. You should therefore avoid these 9 common mistakes.
1.) Forget the frame
“Get started immediately, then I’ll have it faster behind me” – that’s what some people think. But before you go immediately with the spray bottle to the window, you should first wipe the window frame. On the one hand, this prevents the cloth from repeatedly smearing dirt on the glass. On the other hand, the disc stays clean longer afterwards, because in rainy weather the dirt is not washed from the frame onto the glass.
2.) Superfluous foaming
Much helps a lot, is often the motto. But if you take too much cleaner, the mop water can be more difficult to remove or rub dry. Last but not least, extensive lathering on slightly soiled windows is simply superfluous. Here is usually enough cold water and a dash of vinegar.
3.) Wrong outside temperature
When cleaning the windows you should wait for the right weather. If it is too hot or if the sun shines on the windows, the mop water evaporates too quickly. Gray veils of dried window cleaner and muddy water are the result. Temperatures between 5 and 25 degrees as well as indirect daylight are optimal. If the temperatures are below zero degrees, a shot of antifreeze helps to prevent the wiper water from freezing. A little vinegar also lowers the freezing temperature.
4.) Wrong water temperature
From washing dishes you know that warm water dissolves the dirt better than cold. When cleaning the windows, however, you do not have to do with dried leftovers, but with lime and light dust spots. For them, hot water is not only unnecessary, but reduces the performance of the detergent and provokes streaks.
5.) Too few towels
To clean the windows you should always have enough cloths ready, but at least two: one to rub off the dirty cleaning water and one to repolish. For polishing is also a worn nylon tights.
6.) Fabric softener
Microfiber cloths should never be washed with fabric softener. The fabric softener wraps around the fibers, causing them to lose their special function. Even soap residue should always be washed thoroughly with clean water
7.) Do not wipe off the rubber puller
Although microfibre cloths are becoming increasingly popular, the classic in window cleaning is working with sponges and rubber pullers. The latter should be rubbed dry with a cloth after each draw and then overlapped with the previous run, overlapping it by 3 cm.
8.) Wrong newspaper
A very common household tip is that windows are best cleaned with newspaper. At the tip is quite a bit off, because classic newsprint is coarse-pored and does not fuzz – so is extremely absorbent and suitable for polishing. However, the printing ink does not promote the cleaning performance, but the concentration of the solvents contained therein is too low. On the contrary, the printing ink can rub off on windows and frames. Really recommended, this home remedy is not. In addition, the paper of today’s newspapers is often too smooth and hard, so you scratched at most the discs with it.
9.) No telescopic rod
Window cleaning is not only unpleasant, it can also be really dangerous. Time and again people are balancing on ladders, tables and chairs to reach the upper edge of the window. A telescopic rod on which you can put on the mop head and puller is the safer and time-saving solution.
