Exterior Window Cleaning

Welcome to our blog post about Exterior Window Cleaning. In our last post we discussed cleaning the inside of a homes’ windows and today we will discuss how to safely clean the exterior windows of your home safely.
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Like the interior of your home you can clean your interior glass with traditional methods using a mop and a squeegee but how do you get the best results and what challenges will you face. 

So, let’s look at some of the items you will need to do a professional job on the exterior glass. 
·         Ladder with stand off
·         Mop and squeegee
·         Right mix of detergent
·         Hard water remover
·         Scraper
·         Steel wool 0000
·         White scrubbing pad
·         Tool belt 
·         Track brush
·         Screen removal tool 
·         Pole 
·         Microfiber Towels

Starting off with the ladders, as you noticed I also put a standoff in there. A standoff, attaches to the top of the ladder giving you room to push away from the glass so you are not right up against it tight. The problem with just laying your ladder against a wall is you have a very tight angle to try to get to the glass once you reach the top. This can make it unsafe and can leave you feeling a little vulnerable up there as you try to reach your equipment. The stand off really is a huge help and gives you room to work. Make sure though you purchase the right standoff for the ladder, after all it is holding you against the wall. The standoff is essential for the home owner to reach high windows safely. You would also want to have a leg leveler built into or included in the ladders for uneven ground as you make your way around the home. 

Next a tool belt kitted out with your mop and squeegee, additional water, hard water remover, steel wool and track brush. When climbing your ladder, you will need to have everything on hand but put away within easy access, so you can leave your hands free for safety as you go up and down the ladder. 
When you reach the level of the glass, you will need to remove the screen this can be done from either inside (safer way to do this) or the outside. You will first want to assess if you need hard water remover to take of the mineral build up left on the glass from rain. Hard water remover comes in different forms, the most popular being either a liquid that you can spray on or in a paste which you use a white scrubbing pad to polish in. You can tell you have hard water deposits as it leaves a white milky film on the glass which cannot be washed off with soap and water alone. Apply the product to the glass and use your scrubbing pad in a circular motion to remove the stains. You will then need to wash down the glass using your mop and squeegee off the water, once you have done this check to make sure you have gotten all the hard water stains off and then wash again as the hard water remover can leave a residue which will show up in sunlight. 
You then need to wipe down the frame and clean out the track using your track brush and then you can exit down the ladder. 

Often cleaning first floor homes you will need to have an extension pole handy to reach over plants and bushes. Washing the glass with a pole is simple enough but you must take care not to force the water and soap up in the frame. This is a common mistake, you will squeegee the glass walk away and then you will get runs on the glass. We call these tears. Now you have done the easy part washing down the glass the next part is not so easy especially when using a pole to reach over obstacles. Squeegeeing off the glass is really an art form, doing it with a squeegee, by hand is tough enough but doing it on a pole can be very difficult and will require a lot of practice to make sure you get into all the corners. Next you can close out with the squeegee either at the side of or at the bottom of the glass. Remember to go around the frame with a dry piece of microfiber cloth when you are done to pick up any excess water. You must use a clean dry piece each time you wipe, or you will leave lines. 

 A+ Window Cleaning uses a variety of techniques to get your glass gleaming and looking like new again. We use a combination of traditional mop and squeegee and a water fed pole. The water fed pole uses filtered water shooting through a small diameter hose up to a brush head to clean the glass and rinse leaving a spot free finish. This is a much safer way to clean glass at high levels from the ground as no ladders are needed. The operator uses a telescopic carbon fiber pole to get to the exact height and washes across the top of the glass cleaning the frames as we go. We use a special solution which leaves the glass streak free with traditional window cleaning methods and remove all the hard water from the glass. 

Stay tuned to this channel for more tips and hints for keeping up with the ‘Joneses’, as we talk about shower door cleaning, broken seals, soft-washing and more.