3 Tips For Avoiding Streaks On The Glass When Cleaning Your Windows

Posted on: 7 June 2022

One major annoyance of cleaning window glass is that you'll sometimes see streaks afterward. They're usually easiest to see when the sun is shining directly through the window. Streaks are caused by residue that's left on the glass, such as minerals from hard water, soap scum, or glass cleaner. This residue will also collect dust that floats through the air, so streaks will tend to worsen and become more visible over time. To find out how you can avoid streaks in your window glass, read on to learn three tips for streak-free window cleaning.

1. Use Distilled Water to Clean Your Windows

One of the best ways to avoid streaks on your windows is to use distilled water to clean them. It's inexpensive, and you can find it at most grocery stores.

Distilled water is made by boiling water, capturing the steam, and letting the steam cool back down into a liquid. This process removes the vast majority of contaminants from the water, as they won't rise up along with the steam.

Using distilled water to clean your windows will prevent any mineral buildup from showing up as streaks on them. If you're using glass cleaner to clean a stubborn stain off of your window like tree sap or bird droppings, make sure you rinse the area well with distilled water in order to eliminate any residue from the glass cleaner, which can show up as streaks.

2. Polish Your Windows With a Microfiber Cloth Until Completely Dry

Once you've finished rinsing your window glass with distilled water, take a completely clean microfiber cloth and polish the entire window pane using a circular motion. You'll need to keep polishing the glass until it's completely dry — any remaining residue from the glass cleaner will be picked up by the microfiber cloth, preventing it from showing up as streaks on your window.

3. Clean Your Window Frames Before Cleaning the Glass Panes

Finally, you should always clean the glass panes last when you're cleaning your windows. Cleaning the window frames first and letting them dry ensures that you won't accidentally get any dirty water onto the window panes while you're cleaning the frame. That dirty water can introduce minerals or soap residue onto the window pane, which means that you'll have to rinse and polish it again in order to prevent streaks from showing up later.

If you're still having trouble with persistent streaks despite using distilled water or if you don't want to go through the effort of polishing them, call a window cleaning service to have the windows cleaned for you. Professional window cleaners can get stubborn stains off of windows without damaging the glass, and they also know how to leave your windows streak-free and shining afterward.

Contact a company like Slick Window Washing for more information. 

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