Cleaning the windows is a task that many of us find challenging and we are often disappointed and frustrated with the results of our efforts. VRT News asked an expert how we can get our windows sparkling clean and streak-free. Follow our 7-step guide and you won’t go wrong. Forget vinegar, kitchen paper or lots of soapy water. Use newspaper or a microfibre cloth and cold water rather than hot.
There are a wide range of tips about how to get the best result when cleaning your window. But which of these are to be believed? Nana Talboom is a cleaning expert. She works for the Flemish employment and vocational training service VDAB where she works teaches those on vocational courses in cleaning.
Nana Talboom told VRT News that “The greatest misconception is that window cleaning takes a lot of time, and you always end up with streaks. Cleaning windows takes some practice, but if you do it the right way, you only need a few minutes per window.”
What do you need?
Nana Talboom says that cleaning windows can be done easily and with relatively little material. “Water and a good brand of washing up liquid suffice”.
“My preference is a squeegee with a cloth around it. To dry off and remove the drops I use a window squeegee and microfibre cloths that absorb moisture and dirt and are highly durable and easy to maintain. You can buy them everywhere and they aren’t expensive”.
Buy what about the sprays that we find on the shelves of our local supermarkets? "They are expensive and after a couple of days you have a greasy film on your windows. Use the spray for small marks such as fingerprints and when you dog has pushed its nose against the window”.
Clean windows in 7 steps
1. Take a bucket of cold or lukewarm water and put a couple of drops of washing up liquid into it. "Put the water in first and then the washing up liquid because otherwise you will get suds."
2. Put the bucket onto a cloth to prevent water rings from forming on the floor.
3. Remove spiders’ webs and dust. Cover the windowsill to prevent water and dirt from falling onto it.
4. Work from the bottom upwards using the wet squeegee. Move the squeegee about in snake form, overlapping the areas you have already cleaned. Work from bottom to top to prevent water from dripping down.
5. Then go from top to bottom with the window squeegee. Here too this should be done in a snake formation and overlapping.
6. Check if there are drips and, if necessary, wipe them off with a single smooth horizontal movement.
7. Go along all the edges of the window with a dry microfibre cloth. Also dry the window frame.
TIP: When cleaning narrow, high windows you can best use vertical movements and use a squeegee with a telescopic handle.
What's should you avoid doing?
Nana Talboom has some advice about what not to do too “Don't use too much soap and make sure you don't have any suds. Some people put vinegar into their water, but that is not necessary. Also, you should use cold or lukewarm water as hot water causes limescale. It also makes your soap evaporate. Besides, hot water opens the pores on your hands, allowing the product to penetrate, possibly cause itching.”
"It is definitely not necessary to rub the whole of the window dry once you have finished cleaning. The less rubbing you do, the better. You only need to rub the drops of water off.
Safety is also an important factor when cleaning windows. "Don’t ever stand on the windowsill or outside the window. An accident can happen quickly. Never go and stand on an unsafe ladder or a ladder that is too high. Make sure that there are rubber safety pads on each of the legs to reduce the chance of the ladder slipping”.
As regards the use of kitchen roll to clean windows Nana is clear. "Paper is a no-go. Using paper is very time-consuming and outdated as a cleaning method”.
Old-fashioned methods such as using newspaper
"There are a lot of methods that were used in the past. However, today things are much easier. Previously people used newspaper to clean windows without using water. This doesn’t leave streaks and the ink doesn’t come off. However, now we have microfibre cloths, I would use one of those instead. They don’t coast much”.
"Many people still use a sponge or a wash leather. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but times are changing and also the tools to do our work are becoming easier and less time-consuming to use”.