How to Wash Windows Quickly and Leave No Streaks

Very often, there are streaks on windows after washing. There are many reasons for this, be it a bad cleaner, bad technique, or dust that wasn’t removed at the very start.

5-Minute Crafts is going to show you the little things you should pay attention to in order to avoid leaving streaks on the windows.

Remove the dust from the windows and frames.

Before washing the windows, you should remove any dust or spiderwebs from them. Get rid of them using a regular brush going down the window. After that, clean the frame and the windowsill from the dirt and dust. It’s better to use a vacuum cleaner.

If you want, you can clean the frame and the windowsill with a tissue and rub the surface with an antistatic to prevent the dust in the air from falling back on the window surface.

Remove the worst stains before washing the entire window.

Check if there are difficult spots on the window:

• You can remove the greasy stains with dish soap. Put 1-2 drops of dish soap on a sponge and wash the window.
• In some cases, you can use a vapor steam cleaner.
• You can also use a wet melamine sponge. In this case, you don’t need to add any detergents.

Buy a cleaner that leaves no streaks.

Don’t use alcohol or ammonia cleaners. They leave streaks on the glass. They also create a thin film that attracts dust.

Sometimes, streaks appear because there’s too much cleaner left on the glass. In this case, use water to remove the excess cleaner.

How to make your own window cleaner:

• In a spray bottle, combine 1/4 cup white vinegar and 1/2 tsp wet dish soap, add 2 glasses of water, close the bottle, and shake it. You can use lemon juice instead of vinegar.
• Combine white vinegar with cold water 1:1.
• Use regular tea and soak a kitchen towel in a cup of black tea, then rub the window with it.

Don’t use metal scrapers.

Metal scrapers and ordinary razors can scratch glass. You can only use the scrapers designed for glass. For the scraper not to leave scratches, follow these rules:

• Use a scraper to remove old stains, glue leftovers, tape, and sticker marks. Put some cleaner on them, use the scraper to remove the corners, and then remove the sticker itself.
• When using a scraper, always keep the surface wet.
• Don’t push on the scraper, the motion should be swift and simple.
• Don’t use a scraper if the blade is rusty or blunt.
• Don’t use the scraper unattended.

Use a squeegee to save time, and don’t use paper towels.

Thanks to the rubber at the edge, a squeegee grabs the glass cleaner and makes the window surface dry, leaving no streaks.

How to use a squeegee:

• Place a towel on the windowsill for the dirty water.
• Keep the squeegee so that its handle is at a 45-degree angle relative to the glass.
• Go down, left to right, then turn and go right to left. Don’t make stops and keep the tool on the glass.
• Use a towel or a cloth to wash the tool when it’s dirty.

After that, in order to remove the water leftovers on the edges, carefully use the tool at around 0.5 inches from the edge.

As the last step, rub the window with a dry, clean microfiber cloth or newspaper to polish the window. Don’t use paper towels because they might leave fibers or a thin film.