You’ve heard of spring cleaning, now get ready for fall cleaning! Contrary to popular belief, autumn is the perfect time to finish up a few odd cleaning jobs before the snow begins to fly. You might tend to those clogged gutters, get a bit of roofing done, or touch up a few odd spots in the siding. Whatever you choose, it’s important to remember that dreaded beast of burden: your dirty windows.
Now, windows tend to be at the bottom of everyone’s list when concocting cleaning to-do lists, especially during the warmer months. However, it’s significantly less warm than summer or spring, so you won’t have to concern yourself with sweating through two, three, or four outfits after cleaning one window. So, what’s stopping you?
Summer heat can be excruciating. The power of the sun truly knows no bounds, and oftentimes, during a hot, humid summer, it can leave those windows of yours dusty and dull. Those nasty, grimy windows limit the amount of that precious, radiating sunlight that fills a space during those short winter days. That noticeable lack of natural light can send us all into a stuffy hibernation and sometimes, triggers nasty bouts of seasonal depression. Here’s how to get your windows winter-ready:
Window Cleaning Kit
How does scrubbing your exterior windows from the comfort of your home sound? Tantalizing, right? You’ll just need a window cleaning kit, which usually includes a wonky pole in the shape of a U and two pole attachments: both squeegee, and circular sponge with two cleaning cloths. Most of the time you’ll be able to find sets with these tools equipped.
Using this kit is good for removing most of the dirt caked on windows. When cleaning, you’ll want to lay down some tarp or cloth near the windowsill. Don’t forget to vacuum in-between those window tracks, you’ll thank yourself later. Pro tip: window vacuums actually exist! You can even check out some window vacuum cleaner reviews to choose one that’s the right option for you.
You might want to place a plastic drop cloth near the window sill and the floor beneath the window. Don’t forget to vacuum the window tracks. Once you’ve sucked up most of the dirt, use a cloth to get rid of all of those other bits of dirt. Count how many bugs you see if you get bored! Here are some other tips:
- Dry clean the windows with a dry microfiber rag that’ll cover the circular sponge. Eliminating most of the dry dirt just makes your job easier down the road.
- Spray the glass with your favorite brand of streak-free window cleaner. Whatever you find, you’ll want something that will cut through dirty grime. There are some great environmentally friendly recipes floating around the internet, so be sure to check out those recipes.
- Wipe down the cleaner from the windows using those microfiber rags we talked about earlier.
Cleaning Your Screens
Most window cleaning tends to focus on the glass and glass only. More often than not, dirty window screens will sadly go forgotten. But did you know that a dirty window screen can also reduce the amount of light that seeps through? Yeah, you heard right. This might not be a pressing concern, but since we get so little light during the winter months as it is, it can make all the difference between a good day and a bad one. You need that Vitamin D!
Fortunately, cleaning those screens isn’t as bad as it sounds. You can easily pop ‘em out and get to cleaning. If you’ve got a bathtub with a showerhead, you’ll be able to clean the screens a bit easier. First, take one screen at a time, dust and vacuum the screens to eliminate a lot of the dirt without water, and finish it off with a soapy sponge to scrub them down.
You can also take the screens outside to avoid some further post-cleaning projects on the inside.
If you don’t have an outdoor space to clean, you can wipe the screens from the inside with a microfiber cloth or vacuum each screen with a vacuum attachment. You can also mix one part water, one-part vinegar in a spray bottle, and lightly spray them down. But remember to wipe immediately, as you’ll want to avoid any caked-on gunk if you leave it too long.
The Magnetic Window Cleaner
People avoid cleaning their windows because it’s really hard work. Especially if you’re trying to clean the exterior side of the windows of an apartment building or a three-story family home. What are you supposed to do? Put your life in your hands and teeter on a window ledge?
Unless you’re up for some good ole fashioned death-defying work, you can just pick up a magnetic window cleaner! Your limbs will truly thank you, especially during those slippery winter months.
These tools are handy because they wash both sides of the window simultaneously, using a microfiber cleaning cloth and whatever window cleaner suits you best. Sounds easy, right? Right!
However, you’ll want to do some research on these gizmos, some seem to work better than others. They might take a particular amount of craft to get the tool to move around seamlessly, and pushing it around too quickly will disconnect the magnets.
Robot Wizard
Yeah, you heard right. There are robot appliances that clean your windows, and they don’t care what season it is! This is considered the easiest approach to getting those windows winter-ready. The market is fairly new, but there are a few options for you to check out. Think of the Roomba, but this time, for windows only. This might be a game-changer.
Most of these gadgets are then equipped with a high-speed motorized fan. There are a lot of these out there, but most have the same application. You’ll want to place the safety pod and harness that’ll be attached to the machine on the inside. If this robot falls, the safety pod will valiantly rescue it. Each window robot will have a cleaning pad attachment. You spray that with your selected cleaning solution. More often than not, the robot will have two squeegees. Once you spray those down, you flip on the switch, position the robot on the inside or outside of the window, and watch that little guy go!
Conclusion
Window cleaning is hard, tenacious work full of blood, sweat, and tears. Cleaning those windows can absolutely take up almost a whole week of your precious time. However, there are plenty of different applications that can make that job a whole lot easier. While most don’t put much stock into cleaning your windows, it can actually make a harsh, depressing winter much worse. All of that dirt and grime gets in the way of your Vitamin D absorption, and shouldn’t you be spending the holidays without a lot of sunlight in your home.
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