Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Cleaning Windows.........

Monday, the sun was shining and it was above freezing, so I decided to clean the downstairs outside windows.

I use a mixture of warm water and white vinegar to clean the windows, and I have a cloth applicator and a squeegee to remove the water.

I clean the inside windows with Windex and paper towels. I buy the cheap paper towels for this job.

When I lived at home (before married) we had to clean the windows every other week with Windowlene, and cloth dusters. We had a window cleaner who came around and cleaned the outside windows.

I can only clean the outside of the upstairs windows with a big ladder, and I need dh to help me move the ladder from window to window.

Why are Clean Windows Important?

"Windows allow light into your home which helps heat your home in winter, helps keep electricity bills low as they brighten your home, and provide your own little picture boxes of the world. You sit at them to read by natural light, you watch your kids play outside, and you place your plants next to them to grow. They bring warmth to your home in many ways. "

Windows - Cleaning with Vinegar

"Many different vinegar cleaning solutions have been used for dirty windows. Here are two of the easier ones:

1) Use a 50/50 white vinegar water solution for normal dirt.

2) Use full strength warm vinegar for very dirty windows or windows that have dried paint or hard-water mineral spots. Spray on the vinegar solution then wipe dry with a paper towel. Alternatively, some people use crumpled up newspapers dipped in or sprayed with vinegar solution to wipe the glass, followed by a dry paper towel or crumpled up newspaper. Why newspapers? Because they don't leave any lint behind, they are readily available, cheap and recyclable. Another widely used vinegar formulation that is my favorite for cleaning windows, involves mixing white vinegar, water and rubbing alcohol(70%) as follows:

2 cups Water (500 ml)
1/2 cup Vinegar (125 ml)
1/4 cup Rubbing Alcohol (60 ml)

Those who use it claim that it works just like expensive commercial products."

So do you clean windows?

17 comments:

Caroline said...

I also have started cleaning my windows using vinegar instead of a commercial product so much cheaper & enviro friendly.
Gill if you want to go in the draw to have Oopsey visit you in Canada please read her post on my blog
Best Wishes

DeniseinVA said...

Another interesting post. I've been wanting a vinegar-mix solution for doing mine for a while and now I have one. Thanks!

softinthehead said...

I do clean my windows Gill but not in mid-winter, I cannot even get around the outside of my house at the moment, still too much snow and I would be scared of being impaled by scarily large icicles - where do you live again !?! :)

Reader Wil said...

This is a very important post for me for I have to clean my inside windows more often. The outside is done once a month by a windowcleaner. Thanks for the information.

Wendy said...

Wow, I only clean the outside of the windows once or twice a year and the inside maybe once every 3 or 4 months. I'm impressed with you ladies!

George said...

A very interesting post. It's good to know we're doing something right!

Scrappy quilter said...

Mine need cleaning so badly, yet it's just too cold to do it right now.

I use vinegar and water to clean mine when I can get to them.

fizzycat said...

Good cleaning recipe.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Oh you are just too ambitious, Gil... I don't clean windows nearly as much as I probably should. We even have those wonderful triple-paned windows that open on the inside of the house for cleaning... Guess I had better get busy!!!!

Hugs,
Betsy

mommanator said...

did ya ever use old newspaper for cleaning windows? it works. I use on the first go round and usually use paper toweling to do the final. I just cant stand to waste things

Anonymous said...

Nice tips. I just bought some vinegar too. Maybe I'll give this a shot.

Clippy Mat said...

windowlene!! ah that brings back memories. when i first came here i used to ask visiting relatives to bring it over when they came. i do like vinegar and water and newspapers, but honestly speaking, i use windex and i rarely clean the windows. ooh what would george formby say?

Kelly Casanova said...

I love clean windows and always notice clean and shiny windows when out walking. I really need to clean mine more often though, we live in a windy and dusty area.

QuiltedSimple said...

I don't clean my windows as often as I would like, but I always use vinegar water and newspapers - but wear rubber gloves using newspapers, or your hands will be black for weeks!!!
Kris

ChaChaneen said...

Wow, I never knew! Great tip, thank you!

Janet said...

You don't fancy coming round and cleaning mine do you? No, I thought not. I always use vinegar on windows, inside and out.

GIT-R-DONE Home and Office Solutions said...

Well when my Grandmother was alive way back when, she swore to use newspapers with windows & mirrors...And I've used that method for yrs. But I hear that newspapers leave the ink on the windows & mirrors...Im working on starting a office/window cleaning biz and the vinegar/water combo works great...

Have a great weekend from Barry in The Niagara Region...

{{{SIGH}}}

Tuesday was a mixed bag type of day. Had the appliance repair guy come again to install another circuit board in the fridge.  When hubby got...